Pippi-Inspired Retro Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas

These new Christmas gift wrapping ideas are a refreshing departure from the traditional red and green.  What's more, they are inspired by Pippi!  Yes, Pippi. When I was a kid I absolutely adored Pippi Longstocking. She was creative, brave, and quirky to no end.  I never read the books, and I didn't really care for the later movie remake or cartoons, but I really loved the original English-dubbed version of the movies from the late 60s, early 70s.  My dad taped them for me on VHS in the early 80s when they were broadcast on TV, and I watched those grainy tapes for years and years.  The Pippi I knew from those old school movies was, and still is, a total style icon for me. In one of the movies we get to see Pippi's amazing Christmas celebration which was like a folky, bohemian, retro mid-century, Scandinavian winter wonderland. Fun, bright, and colorful.  If you haven't seen it - you should!  

So I've come up with a few retro Christmas gift wrapping ideas with Pippi-inspired flair:

Bohemian Tissue and twine

Because Pippi lives alone in her giant house (with the exception of her horse, monkey, and wall-dwelling mouse,) she celebrates Christmas by giving gifts to all of the kids in her town.  She hangs them in her "lemonade" tree outside in the yard, and the kids get to scramble up the tree to get them.  I have always loved these scenes because the gifts look just so fun - each wrapped a little differently.  It's like she just used whatever leftover papers she had lying around the house.  When they are all hung together in the tree they look like rainbow candy.  

So for these gifts I'm using a whole bunch of different colored tissue papers.  These come in mixed packs for $5 or $6, so this is a really great cheap gift wrap that looks fantastic.  Pro tip: get a pack of plain white tissue too which is even cheaper, and use it for layering.  To wrap each gift, use 2 layers of colored paper, and 2 layers of white underneath.  This way the paper is opaque, thick enough that it won't tear, and the color remains bright and saturated.  

To embellish the packages I'm using a few different colors of jute twine from my shop:  red, orange, mint, and royal blue.  The key to that retro bohemian look is to put colors together that you wouldn't normally think of as complementary.  Think 1970.  Pink and orange, anyone?  I think so!

Pippi's friends, Annika and Tommy, are totally on point with their color choices.  A bright patterned sweater helps little Swedish kids stand out against the snow.  

I've got my bohemian tissue and twine packages all piled up in a big white basket, but how fun it would be to actually hang them in the Christmas tree!  

Gift wrapping idea #2:

Retro Scandinavian Charm Gift wrap + DIY Button Wax Seal

This second gift wrapping idea is inspired by Pippi's totally awesome winter sweater:  

The late 60s was good moment for knitwear, wasn't it?!  I love the stripes and texture.  Also, that folky Scandinavian style has been really popular for Christmas over the last few years - maybe thanks to Ikea?  Most Sandinavian Christmas stuff seems to be on the red and white theme, but for these packages, I've thrown in a crisp sky blue and cobalt, because Pippi made that look fantastic.  

I wrapped all the gifts in 3 layers of white first, and then added some decorative folded stripes of red and blue tissue.  Some got a little charm added to the edges with some pinking shears.  I was thinking it would also be really cute to use a heart shaped paper punch to create a design in the stripes.  Will have to try that next time.  

There is an extra fun DIY gift wrap project in here too.  One scene of the movie shows Pippi tacking down a ribbon with some sealing wax.  Awesome job, Pippi! The crafter in me salutes the crafter in you. Soul sisters.  

So naturally, I decided to add some sealing wax to the tissue paper wrap. Rather than buy a wax seal, I found some cool vintage metal buttons, and hot glued them to the ends of a spool.  I let some of the wax dribble here and there - an ode to Pippi's perfectly imperfect style.  Let the wax blob set for a couple seconds, and then push the button into the wax to impress the design.  

Eccentric Scandinavian flair. Done.  

Inspiration can come from the weirdest places. Isn't Pippi amazing?  Happy wrapping!