Let me show you 25 Brown Paper Christmas Wrapping Ideas - from quick designs for busy mums to elegant, natural and kid-made wrapping.
As a mum, I LOVE Christmas and there is always so much to do. If I can simplify one job and leave more time for the fun stuff, sign me up.
That's why I love wrapping Christmas gifts in brown paper. One roll gives you a simple base for every present. Then you can dress each one up with a ribbon, twine, greenery, paint, handmade decorations or gift tags.
Here you'll find 25 easy brown paper Christmas wrapping ideas including quick options, ideas the kids can help with and some beautiful natural wrapping inspiration.
Where To Buy Plain Kraft Paper
Kraft paper (or brown paper) is most affordable purchased in bulk online but most department stores like Target and Kmart sell it in rolls now.
If you don't have brown paper, for smaller presents a great way to recreate the look is using a brown paper bag.
The ones you get in a big pack at the grocery store.
Jump to:
Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas Using Brown Kraft Paper
I can't really start this post without throwing in a little line of 'brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things.' Sorry not sorry for getting that stuck in your head.
1 – Brown paper wrapping with stencils
This one would take a bit of patience but if you didn’t have too many presents to wrap how beautiful is it? (image source)
It would work nicely on a brown paper gift bag too.
2 – Rudolph faces on brown paper
Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. On paper.
With fluffy noses – does it get more adorable?
This would be a great little activity with the kids. (image source)
You might need a hot glue gun to stick the noses on cause I've found craft glue doesn't work very well for pom poms.
3 – Black and white photos
This one uses pretty winter photos to decorate but if you want to be really clever, you could print a black and white photo of the gift recipient and use that instead of a card.
What a beautiful personal touch that would add. (image source).
4 – A touch of nature on brown paper
I can’t go past adding natural elements like an evergreen sprig (or rosemary sprig if you can't get evergreen) and white tags. Fresh greenery is so pretty! (image source)
5 Brown paper with white painting
I must have a thing for white paint on brown paper but I just love how beautiful and simple it looks.
You wouldn’t have to have any artistic skills for splashing a bit of paint on it and it is such an easy way to make it look festive.
You could just line up all the presents, throw some paint at them (how that for fun ways to decorate), leave them to dry throw a white ribbon around and voila… original artwork-wrapped gifts. (image source)
6 – Leaves + brown paper + twine
This idea with brown paper makes for a beautifully wrapped holiday gift.
You could mix it up with some white paper and black paper like they have here (they’d be just as useful after Christmas. (image source)
7 – Drawn on bow (instead of ribbon) on your brown paper wrapped Christmas gifts
Forget the ribbon? Draw the bow on your brown paper wrapped gift.
I think even with my lack of artistic skills I could manage this one. You could even draw on the tag. (image source)
8 – Paper straw star
Paper straw stars wouldn’t be for the impatient but for a one-off special Christmas gift it’s pretty adorable. (image source)
9 – Paper Christmas lights on string
This idea for decorating brown paper wrapped Christmas gifts is so pretty, so festive and you could make them any colour you like.
It would take a bit of patience but the effect is gorgeous! (image source)
10 – Black, white and brown paper
One year, my #giftgoal is to have an assortment of slightly different but still gorgeously-matching gifts like these under my tree.
Maybe one of the boys will share my love of gift wrapping and give me a hand? (image source)
Isn't this a beautifully wrapped gift idea?
11 – Rosemary decoration
I’m still tempted to embellish this year’s gifts with a sprig of rosemary like this.
It would be a good use of my overgrown rosemary bush and add a nice scent to the present collection. (image source)
12 – Fingerprint Christmas lights
Another one you could get the kids in on – finger prints and sharpie-drawn ‘string’.
Again this one might take a bit of patience but it would also be a cute idea for homemade cards or tags. (image source).
I think this one wins for creative gift wrapping.
13 – A touch of fluro
This one instantly reminds me of one of my besties.
I can see them under her tree.
I think I could manage the triangle + line drawing and smudge of paint – this might just be next year’s creation.
I’d better get the boys going with pompom making now so we’re ready. (image source)
14 – Hand-lettered gift tags
You'll need a steady hand but these are gorgeous! – free printable hand-lettered gift tags.
15 – Printable Gift Tags
If you want something quicker than making gift tags from scratch, printable tags are an easy way to finish brown-paper-wrapped presents.
We have our own printable Christmas gift tags (shown below) that you can print at home, cut out and tie on your gifts with ribbon or twine (I hand-painted the picture).
If you don't use the printable, you could use a cookie cutter to trace around for the shape then decorate.
16 – Mixed colour twine
I love the idea of having a few matching elements and them mixing up how they are used.
Here they’ve chosen forest green and natural and brought it in with twine and leaves.
Each present may look a little different but they’re all part of a pretty story.
17 – Sketched leaves
All you need is a fine tipped black marker and a little bit of patience to make these beautiful leaf design presents.
Another good one to get the kids involved with.
18 – Lace
A little strip of lace wrapped around a simple twine-finished present looks so pretty and elegant.
You can get lace inexpensively at thrift shops or buy it by the roll at your local craft store.
19 – Candy canes
Is it really Christmas without a candy cane?
Here they make a really cute addition to a gift wrapped in brown paper, natural jute twine and a sprig of pine needles (you could also use rosemary).
20 – Simple ornaments
Here they’ve matched simple, inexpensive ornaments with the ribbon or string tied around a brown-paper-wrapped gift and it looks super festive.
If you were really extra with your Christmas decor, you could even have them match your tree ornaments.
21 – Cotton
Add a few pieces (sprigs, buds? what do you call them?) of cotton to your brown paper Christmas gift with bakers twine to make it look like a little snow.
22 – Festive ribbon
Don’t underestimate the beauty of an elegant Christmas present wrapped simply in brown paper with a satin ribbon.
Red is obviously a classic choice but metallics look great too as does mixing two colours, widths or textures of ribbon.
23 – Salt dough decorations
Salt dough is really easy to make (another good one for kids) and doubles as cute little gift tags added to elegantly wrapped Christmas gifts.
Yes we’re calling them elegant Christmas gifts now. Brown paper is very elegant.
Here’s how to make salt dough. Use a stamp before baking or write/paint on them when they’re dry.
24 – Dried citrus
Dried citrus, dried oranges especially look really pretty on top of your gift wrapped with brown paper.
Here’s how to make dried oranges for Christmas wrapping – there are some ideas in there for decorating the house with them too.
Imagine the scent waking up to a tree full of presents wrapped like this on Christmas morning.
It has a beautiful rustic look. You could add some mini pine cones if you can get your hands on them too.
25 – Reindeer faces
A fun idea for kids presents, these reindeer faces just need a marker, red pompoms or craft paint and brown paper or a pen to make the antlers.
A collection of different ones would look really cute.
(source).
Wrapping gifts like this would double as doing Christmas crafts I think.
So there you go… 25 Christmas gift wrapping ideas using brown paper or craft paper.
I hope you've found a few brown paper Christmas wrapping ideas you'd like to try this year.
I love that you can start with the same simple paper and make every present look completely different just by changing something as simple as the ribbon, decorations or gift tags.
If you're getting your Christmas wrapping organised, you might also like our homemade Christmas Gift Tag Ideas, Salt Dough Decorations or Dried Oranges for Decorating.
You can also browse all our Simple Christmas Recipes and Ideas here.
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