Santa Sacks - Reusable Fabric Gift Wrap

I was growing up, Santa Claus did not wrap the gifts he left. They were laid out on the couch in a pile for each child. Gifts from family members were wrapped, but gifts from Santa were not. We simply went into the living room and we were faced with everything all at once, which means my mom & dad didn't necessarily get to see our reactions to our gifts, because all the kids got to see their things all at once. I have always liked wrapped gifts from Santa, simply because it seems to make Christmas morning last a bit longer, but the mess and expense add up, and poor Santa and his elves certainly spend a great deal of time wrapping those gifts!!  And sometimes, Santa realizes he forgot to wrap a certain gift. This way he can quickly toss it into the sack along with more than one other gift, if necessary.

So, last year I decided to purchase several yards of fabric for each person in my family and make "Santa Sacks." The idea behind the Santa Sacks is that Santa Claus is a very busy man, and this way he doesn't have to take the time to wrap our gifts. We are helping him to save the environment, and also save him some time. Each person in my family has a specific pattern/material for their bags. For example, my daughter has a green bag with reindeer on it, and my son has candy canes on his bags. That way we didn't have to put tags on them, though you could embroider names onto the sack. We set the bags out on the couch on Christmas Eve and then Santa can just slip our gifts into the sack during the night.  My kids had fun setting out their sacks and putting a note with it so Santa would know which sack belonged to whom.

Now, toys in boxes are easier to wrap, no question. But another neat thing we discovered about the Santa Sacks is that Santa's gifts can come completely assembled, with all the packing removed.  You know, the boxes that dolls or toys come in, and they have all the little twist ties and tape and as a parent you spend a lot of time just trying to get the toys removed from the box? This way you can relax because Santa's elves have removed the packing. Since the items just get tossed into the sack, the shape of the gift doesn't matter.  And then, mom and dad can sit on the couch, sip hot cocoa, and enjoy watching their kids play with their presents, rather than spending time trying to wrestle the Polly Pockets and Star Wars Action Figures from their boxes.

I made 3 large sacks for each person in my family (various sizes). You can make them any size you'd like. Just do some math considering how much fabric you purchase. I added a strip of fabric in a contrasting pattern (leftover from another family member's sack material) as a tie closure for the sacks. I lined the top portion only of the sack. You could line the entire bag, but that does get more expensive. It's not really necessary, though. Since they're only used once a year and they're not carrying anything, the sacks are just not going to get that much use that they will wear out. I just lined the top about 8 inches or so, and then sewed the tie closure just below the lined portion on the back of the sack (so the tie wouldn't get lost).  Then when the sack is tied shut, the top portion that sticks out is still cute and you don't see the seam.

They are sewn in a basic pillowcase pattern, very simply and they turned out really fun. I was a bit hesitant last year that my idea would go down in flames, but the mess it eliminated on Christmas morning was very worth it! I was also hestitant that my kids could untie the sacks and sneak a peek in the night, but I decided that their choices have consequences, and if they want to ruin the surprise, that's their choice. (And besides, it's no different than a gift in a paper gift bag with tissue paper. They can easily peek into those, too.)

You might try purchasing your fabric at an after Christmas sale when you can get 75% off or even better, or use a coupon to cut down the cost. Just consider the quality of the fabric so your bags will last year after year. A quilter's cotton will be a better quailty than some other choices, though it is a bit more expensive initially (but not too much).

According to Gift Bags Gone Green, wrapping paper and other paper gift wrap adds up to more than $5 billion dollars annually.  This is one way you can cut down on your own personal carbon footprint.  Just think, not wrapping gifts from Santa ever again times the number of people in your family, year after year? That will definitely reduce the amount your family spends on wrapping.  The initial cost will pay for itself very quickly, likely within a few years, depending on how much your family typically spends on paper gift wrap and how much you spend on your fabric and thread to make the sacks.

If anyone is interested, I am willing to create a tutorial on how I did this.  Let me know if you'd like to see one in an upcoming post.