Repurposing A Brown Paper Bag For Holiday Uses

When I think of the holidays I think about all of the paper that is used and then thrown out for waste. Instead of buying wrapping paper, gift tags, and Advent/Christmas countdown calendars, how about making them from the paper you already have in your home? Because I sometimes forget to take my reusable bags grocery shopping, I end up with a few brown paper bags. These have some fantastic uses for the holiday season– I could list several but I will just tell you my top three below.

Cut cardboard piece to the size of your colored paper (usually about 8.5 x 11). Glue the colored paper to the cardboard piece. Cut your paper bag to the  same size of your cardboard piece. Fold the brown paper evenly into fifths and crease each time you fold. Now unfold the paper and use something circular (slightly larger than a quarter) to trace circle’s onto each of the five creases. Cut the traced circles out leaving a small portion underneath so it stays attached. Next, glue the paper to the cardboard piece. Now is the really fun part–after you number each circle write in a little messages for your child. Some examples I used for my 7 year old daughter were help mommy make dinner, pick one toy to donate to shelter, choose one Christmas movie to rent, and various holiday themed jokes/riddles.