Brown Paper Packages

Brown paper packages tied up with string......well, maybe not string, but tied up with beautiful ribbon! Brown paper, better known as kraft paper makes a great gift wrap. We saw these packages in showrooms at the Atlanta and Dallas markets on the last trip. Kraft paper is fairly inexpensive. After searching on Amazon, we found a roll of 200 feet that was the best price and had good reviews. And it's made in the USA, that's always a plus when shopping. Now, in my younger days, you didn't buy kraft paper. You used brown paper grocery sacks. Yes Virginia, groceries used to be sacked in brown paper bags. These bags had many purposes after the groceries were put away. Brown sacks were used to make great mask. You could flatten them out and draw faces, cut holes for eyes, mouth and nose, decorate with construction paper. You could cut away the bottom, split up the side and flatten out the sack. Sometimes even iron the sack to smooth out the wrinkles. Several sacks would be stacked together, one inside the other for a makeshift cooler to hold a jug of ice water to take to the field. This would usually be a half gallon or gallon glass jug of water with a mason jar ring and lid top. The ice water would last in the thick sacks for several hours. When we would stop in the field for a break, the lid would be unscrewed and the just jug passed around from one person to the other. In my case, it was usually just the family. If you were working with others in the field, they would bring their own jug. The lid would eventually get gritty from all the unscrewing and handling. Goodness, that's a sound or feeling that you never forget))) When we would come to the house for lunch (or dinner as it was called), it was always someone's job to refill the ice water for the afternoon work. You had to be careful not to put too much ice or there wouldn't be enough water to last all afternoon, but enough ice to keep it cool for a couple of hours. By the end of the day, if you wanted a drink, it was warm but rarely turned down. The flattened sacks were used for wrapping packages that might be gifts, or just something that needed to be wrapped up and stored. See, my generation was into re-cycling before it was the thing to do! Well that's enough about brown sacks! Lets talk about using kraft paper for packages. Brown kraft paper lends itself to most any kind of ribbon. Plus, this is a perfect way to use up those scrap ribbon pieces! Doesn't matter if you only have enough for a loop or too. Combines those scraps together and make a bow with tails. Snippets of greenery from picks and sprays. or something fresh right out of your backyard. Pinecones are free! Everyone loves getting beautiful packages but you can also just wrap assorted boxes and place them around to use as decorations under the tree, mantels, tabletops etc. A great place for large packages would be on the top of your kitchen cabinets if you have space between there and the ceiling. Even these cute RAZ elves decked out in their black white buffalo check clothes are holding brown paper packages. And if brown isn't your thing, plain white paper works too! Beautiful package with gold and silver accents. Love this package with it's red ribbon, berries and sprig of pine. All it takes is just a little more effort to make a beautiful package. Tell me you're not guilty of wrapping a package and not even putting a bow on it! Well....we've all been there and done that. But not this year! I'm going to refer back to this post for inspiration and create beautiful packages. At least for decoration! There is nothing wrong with a gift back and tissue paper for the goodies! They're quicker to get into to get the good stuff anyway))) White kraft paper costs a little more than the brown, but here's what sounds like a good buy from Amazon. So save those ribbon scraps! You only need a few inches to make a loop. Save your odds and end pieces from your greenery. I know it takes up space and gets cluttered, but come Christmastime you'll have just what you need with those little pieces that are too small for your wreath or centerpiece. They will be perfect on top of a pretty package. *This post contains affiliate links.