Brown paper

I have flash-backs of my Granny, and her saving habits, when I catch myself saving pieces of brown paper for wrapping up parcels.  My sister and I, as children, were always amazed at how much stationery Granny re-used.  She had a cupboard dedicated to paper, string and all the other paraphernalia used for wrapping.  Even now, I can visualise her folding up a piece of brown paper nicely and neatly into a square and in the cupboard it went... for another occasion!  Although it's probably not rational to be saving paper as if we were still in the middle of the Second World War, I can understand why women from my Granny's generation adopted such habits.  And it's not a completely mad thing to do - there are so many uses for a scrap piece of brown paper: sending a parcel, endless creative projects with children, wrapping presents up...  In our extended family, it is certainly a habit that has crept through the generations - my mother, sister and me are all made fun of (in an affectionate way) by our partners for our stock-piling tendencies (from tinned food, to toiletries to stationery...)  The habit has become a bit less eccentric down the generations, but it is certainly a principle that has been instilled in us: "waste not, want not."

That brings me to a related topic: gift wrapping.  I always used to be a little disappointed by the fact that my husband did not see it as necessary to wrap up my birthday gifts (and sometimes even Christmas ones).  I can see that it could be seen as a great waste to wrap up a present in expensive gift-wrap which is only going to be ripped off days later and then thrown in the bin!  But the element of surprise by the recipient, and the pleasure in the effort put in by the giver, is down to the presentation.  Over the years, we seem to have met somewhere in the middle on this issue by finding creative ways of wrapping: using materials or blankets to hide presents, or baskets or bags that will be re-used, or discarded boxes screaming to be used again.  I suppose that the difference may be a gender thing. I am always reluctant to stereotype in this way, but many women seem to have this appreciation for gifts and pretty things, in a way that many men just cannot see the purpose of.  So when he gives me a non-wrapped present, Chris reminds me that we should consider the environment, and I remind him of the joys of receiving a genuine surprise!