30 December 2006
The End of an Era
What is pictured above is the last gasp of a roll of wrapping paper.
This might not seem like a big deal until you realize I’ve been using this paper for 4 or 5 years now, and you’re only seeing a fraction of the gifts that I’ve wrapped with it. I got it while dumpster diving at our local “Reuse Center”. That’s a place where one can donate building supplies, household goods that are still usable, and so on. For example, you replace your kitchen sink with a new one, but the old one still has years of serviceable live, you take it to the Reuse Center (they have lots of sinks!). Or you install a new tile floor and have half a box left over, you can take it to the Reuse Center (someone might buy it to make a mosaic!)
Some years ago, I was there dropping off some items (medicine cabinet / mirror, a light fixture, stuff like that). As I was leaving, I saw a perfectly good roll of Christmas wrapping paper in the dumpster. After getting a “whatever!” nod of approval from a member of the staff, I retrieved it. We have some reusable cloth bags, so I don’t use it for every gift, but I have been using it extensively over these years (mainly for gifts we ship to relatives). I was starting to think of it as my “Hanukkah Lights Christmas paper” – if that splicing of holidays is not too sacrilegious! – because it just never seemed to end. The cornucopia, horn of plenty, never-ending roll of paper.
Well, this year, it finally came to an end. Here’s the last pile of presents, with the sad looking empty tube. Our niephlings aren’t going to recognize our gifts next year!
Jonski Blogski 
Ruth said,
2 January 2007 at 3:09 pm
A moment of silence for your wrapping paper.
I grew up re-using wrapping paper. We don’t do it much any more, but it’s still hard for me to just rip the paper off a gift. And if it’s an especially large and intact piece, I do save it.
Your Reuse Center sounds like a great idea!
Tricia said,
2 February 2007 at 8:07 pm
Actually Ruth, we do that too! (re-use big pieces of wrapping paper)
Kitchen Chick said,
15 February 2007 at 12:21 pm
A toast to your wrapping paper! You saved it from an ignoble end, allowing it bring forth joyous smiles before being tossed away.
I have a role of wrapping paper that has been in use since my childhood, and it looks like I’ll finally use the last of it probably next holiday season. My mother wrapped some of my presents with it, and then I “inherited” it sometime college (“need some wrapping paper, dear? here, have this…”) and have been wrapping other people’s presents with it. (Obviously it wasn’t the only paper she used, otherwise it wouldn’t have lasted a few dozen years!)