This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WrapGiveRepeat #CollectiveBias
How do you give back during the holiday season? Do you volunteer? Do you do small random acts of kindness? What do you do? While I volunteer year round I do extra during the holidays to help make sure everyone has a great holiday. Each fall I figure out and develop a plan that centers around our military members and veterans and what I can do for them. It usually revolves on small homemade or store bought goodies of all types that let them know they are being thought about. I learned that small stockings can be hard to find and when you do, they can get expensive but making my own DIY Gift Bags were a snap! Sure I could buy them but when you are needing a bunch it is often cost effective to make your own. Plus, I could have the sizes I need with all sorts of different patterns. They are a great way to wrap, give, and repeat during the holiday season.
Being a military family many of the causes we volunteer at are military related. One of my favorite causes is Fisher House. The easiest way to explain Fisher House is that it is similar to the Ronald Mcdonald House, but for the military. The houses are homes where military and veterans’ families can stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving medical treatment and in some cases when a service member has passed. I have had the honor over the years of meeting many people who have stayed there. They have all been wonderful and have had amazing stories.
Being away from home isn’t easy and if I am able to make one of the guest days brighter I am going to do what I can to help. From baking cookies to putting together bags of different comfort items. Every little bit helps. That is why I can really get behind Scotch® Brand right now. They are donating $200,000 to Fisher House this holiday season and I think that is wonderful! Anything to help our military and veteran families’ is a fan of mine and that is why this holiday season I will be stocking up and saving on Scotch® Brand products on Rollback at my nearby Walmart.
I use Scotch® Brand tape to put together my easy DIY gift bags that I will be filling with treats for military and veteran families.
The base of my gift bags is good quality wrapping paper and Scotch® Brand tape. You will also need scissors for cutting, a small box (or even books) and finally, tissue paper or ribbon for when you are done.
Making these gift bags is similar to wrapping a gift. You need to first measure out exactly how much wrapping paper you need to cover your box. You want no more than a half-inch overhang for your long seam. For the bottom and top of the bag, you will need 2-3 inches. Before cutting your paper be sure to check the design of your paper so it is going the way you want it. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way with some sideways Santas
Personally, I like using wrapper paper that is lined. This helps ensure you have nice straight lines.
Next, tape your long seam, making sure your seams are all straight and even. Depending on the height of your bag you will need 2-3 pieces of tape.
Once the seam is made it is time to work on the bottom of your bag.
You will make folds, leaving a top and bottom triangle. Place a piece of tape on the base seam. Then fold down/up each triangle and secure it with tape.
All that is left to do now is to flip your bag over and take out your box and fill with goodies.
These easy DIY gift bags have helped me out on more than one occasion. There are always those gifts that are oddly shaped and then those times you need a bag but you forgot to grab one. As long as you have some gift wrap and Scotch® Brand tape you have everything you need to wrap up some holiday magic. I can’t wait to pack up these goodies and head on over to the Fisher House and deliver them to our military and veteran families!
Is Scotch® Brand tape on your holiday season must have list? How do you wrap things up?