Today many of you will be tearing into gifts to see what great things you got from those who love you. But what about all that wrapping paper that everyone used, what will happen with it. Well, I am going to share some great tips on what you can do to recycle that used wrapping paper.

• Make paper bows from recycled wrapping paper to use as decorations for future gifts. All Free Crafts will show you how.

• At LoveToKnow Origami, there are several ideas for how to recycle wrapping paper into fun crafts. Use wrapping paper to fold an origami envelope to use when sending a handmade greeting card. You can also fold a small gift box to use for storing spare change, candy, or small trinkets.

• Cut small scraps of wrapping paper into narrow strips, then roll them around a pencil to create your own paper beads. The LoveToKnow Crafts slide show tutorial How to Make Paper Beads explains this process in greater detail.

• Fill a clear glass ornament with rolled bits of wrapping paper as described in the LoveToKnow Crafts Christmas Craft Ornaments tutorial.

• Cover a piece of cardboard with wrapping paper, then use it to mat a favorite photo. This is a simple way to make festive wall art for your home.

• Instead of paying top dollar for decorative storage containers from a department store, decoupage pretty wrapping paper onto an old shoe box to make a place for storing photos, letters, and other keepsakes.

• If you’re not worried about archival safety, one of the most fun wrapping paper crafts is to glue wrapping paper to a card stock background to use as the basis for your next scrapbook layout.