I don’t know how many families made this a practice. Possibly every family who had parents who came of age in the Great Depression did this. I’m talking about re-using wrapping paper from one year in future years.
Yes, wrapping paper used to wrap gifts. For children.
As far back as my memories go, which might be to 5 or 6 years old, we always unwrapped our gifts in a way that minimized damage to the wrapping paper so that it could be used again. We gently slid a finger under the Scotch tape, removing it with the hopes of not damaging the surface it had been attached to, then folded it underneath the paper so the loose end wouldn’t do more damage. Do this with every piece of tape on the package. Remove the paper. Set it aside. Take some time with the gift. Go on to the next one. Repeat.
By the end of the day, the papers were all stacked and brought to the basement and put on a shelf.
The next year, whenever anyone, parent of child, wrapped a present, they went first to that shelf in the basement and looked for a used piece of paper. Try to get one that’s not bigger than you need, and of course not smaller. Use it again. Go on to the next present.
Year after year this was our practice. I imagine each year our parents bought at least one new roll, but mostly we used the old paper. Sometimes you would be given a gift on Christmas day and recognize the paper. “Oh, I remember last year I used this paper to wrap….” Each year some papers would get smaller and smaller as you trimmed away damaged places or—heaven forbit—you couldn’t find a piece the right size and used one way too big and cut it in two.
This was actually a fun part of our Christmas traditions.
Of course, I wasn’t able to continue that into adult life. Oh, I still unwrap gifts in that manner, but I never forced my children to do the same. I tried, and to some extent they did it. But we didn’t have a whole shelf in the basement or storeroom dedicated to used Christmas paper.
Time marches on. We have new traditions now when the kids come home. There’s the hidden Chex Mix that they have to find somewhere in the house if they want to have any. The last few years there’s been the Christmas village that has all sorts of toys added to it. Grandpa protests, but not too hard. It started years ago when our oldest grandchild added a toy rock to the village, and it’s expanded from there. The last year or two I hid that toy rock, but not too much hidden. They found it and added it to the village.
Christmases past, present, and future. Memories were and are being made, and recalled and enjoyed over and over.
I can relate to this a lot! I too was raised saving wrapping paper, also using comics as wrapping paper often. My mom did away with wrapping altogether by just giving each of us a Christmas “Pile.” My dad was offended by the saving of wrapping paper and urges us these days to just rip it off and throw it away (my parents are divorced). Mom still saves every bit. As for me, I do have a stack of used paper and that’s always what I look for first when wrapping. This year a sister-in-law commented on how much she liked the wrapping on her gift. It was a piece that a piano student had wrapped a gift for me in a few years ago. I like the idea of paper having another life, as well as the idea of using it more than once before tossing it into the trash. Enjoyed your thoughts and photos!