• Beautiful Christmas gifts under the tree raise the excitement level in kids as the holiday approaches. Anyone can use commercial Christmas wrapping paper from the store. Taking time to make a creative wrapping for the presents adds a customized touch under the tree. Getting the kids involved in creative Christmas wrapping turns a mundane task into a family craft project.
  
  

Artwork

• A child's artwork creates a personalized option for gift wrap. The kids will enjoy seeing their artwork on the packages they give to others. Collect some previous artwork from your child and help her pick out her favorite pictures. Photocopy the artwork so you can keep the original. Wrap small gifts in the photocopied artwork with your child. For larger gifts, a photocopy store can make larger color copies of the artwork.
  
  

Hand-Painted Wrapping Paper

• A roll of craft paper turns into wrapping paper with hand-painted images. Tempera paint works well to create the designs on the homemade wrapping paper. Give the kids a paintbrush and several different colors of paper so they can paint designs on the plain paper. You can also use crayons, markers or colored pencils to create the homemade wrapping paper design.
  
  

Decorated Bags

• Lunch bags double as a wrapping idea for homemade treats and smaller gifts. Craft stores sell the bags in a variety of colors if you don't want to use the standard brown paper bags. Let the kids decorate the outsides of the bags with stickers, glitter, paint, construction paper cutouts, felt or jingle bells. If you choose a brown paper bag, you can decorate it to resemble a reindeer. Antlers cut from construction paper, wiggly eyes and a red pompom for a nose work well. After the gift is placed inside, fold over the top of the bag a few times and punch to holes in the folded area. Thread a ribbon through the holes and tie a bow to hold the bag closed. A candy cane tied onto the ribbon adds a delicious finishing touch to the gift bag.
  
  

Custom Gift Boxes

• An old oatmeal container, cereal box or other recyclable container gives kids a way to make their own gift boxes. They can either paint the boxes or cover them in construction paper or contact paper. They add designs to the paper to give the boxes a Christmas look. Some tissue paper stuffed in the box provides a colorful and soft filler for the gift. Tie a ribbon around the box as a final touch to the Christmas wrapping idea.
  
  

Mailing Envelopes

• Mailing envelopes offer a simple wrapping option for small, thin items such as a book or framed photo. The boring outside of the mailing envelope gets a makeover with paint, construction paper, glitter and other craft materials. Most mailing envelopes have a self-adhesive seal so that kids can handle wrapping the gifts completely on their own. They simply slide in the gift and close the flap.