Every year on the holidays, the joy of gift-giving can be slightly tinged by the final tally—what you spent on gifts, decor and wrapping. Well, this year you’re in luck. Hometalk community bloggers are sharing crafty budget gift wrap and trim ideas to ease your mind (and save you cash).

Project via Hometalker Mary of At Home on the Bay
Save up your brown paper shopping bags this month, and by the time the holidays roll around, you’ll have all the material you need to wrap up gifts for friends and family. Though we like to think of brown paper as “rustic,” this blogger has plenty of great ideas below to dress your gifts for something a little more festive.

Project via Hometalker Linda at Crafts a la Mode
Hold on to your retired glass jars from jams and jellies, and allow them to find a new purpose as stunning gift wrap. This idea is perfect if your gift is on the small side, or if it has lots of small components that you want to keep together.

Project via Hometalker Lisa of Concord Cottage
Empty cans and canisters make durable gift boxes, and they’re a cinch to decorate. Cover canisters in leftover wrapping paper scraps, or just cover them with a white sheet of paper and add fun decorations!

Project via Hometalker Sarah of The Free Range Life
Turn old, saved-up holiday cards into new, decorative gift packaging! This trick is as simple as cutting, folding and taping—and for a hefty price tag of zero, it’s a tough gift wrap hack to pass up.

Project via Hometalker Susan of Oh My! Creative
If you’ve got old sweaters that are worn or too small, snip off the sleeves and create great one-of-a-kind gift wrap, perfect for packaging holiday wines. Dress your gifts up with pom-poms or ribbons to create incredibly an extra eye-catching presentation.

Project via Hometalk Elena of ‘A Casarella
Collect a small supply of paint chips (free!) and cut the chips themselves into shapes to decorate your gifts, like this adorable paint chip Christmas tree.

Project via Hometalker Lisa of Concord Cottage
Add festive painted details and personalize your gift wrap by using stencils, painting free-hand, or having some fun with stamps and stickers. Save money by wrapping your gift with brown paper and simply using whatever paint and art supplies you already have on-hand.
Looking for more DIY gift wrap ideas? Check out the Crafts page at Hometalk.com to find budget-friendly holiday inspiration and tutorials.