Brown Paper Packages...

'Tis the season when the makers of gift-wrapping products are rubbing their hands in glee.
Well, sorry rich dudes, but I wrapped all my presents for the grand sum of 89p.

(Yes, 89p!)

...which was the cost of a roll of brown paper from the Post Office.

Admittedly I used some of the brown paper left over from last year, but one roll alone probably would have done it.

Last year, I wrapped some gifts in brown paper with jute string and pine cones.

This year I opted to use brown paper for all of them! No gift tags here--simply the names stamped onto the presents with an alphabet stamp set (bought in Tiger earlier this year for a few pounds).

For gifts too small to stamp a name on, I stamped an initial.

This year's presents are finished off with satin ribbon. I bought a huge reel of it at a charity shop a year or two ago, for the grand sum of £1. Realistically if buying all this stuff from new, I would have stuck with cheap plastic gift ribbon instead, but as I had this in my stash it made the option 'free' (and I still have tonnes of it left).

Brown paper is often overlooked as gift wrap, but with the right extras - be it a bow, a stencilled name, or potato-stamped print - it can look just as great as an expensive wrapping paper.

P.S. Dear Family, no peeking!