coiled paper matt

Newspapers:You can do a lot with old newspapers. You could use parts of it as wrapping paper. My gramma used to wrap our gifts with the Sunday funnies because she thought it was funny. You could keep certain sales flyers to wrap gifts too. Perhaps using irony to wrap a gift with a flyer featuring the same type of item that you are gifting? See if the receiver gets the message.

However, this particular use from from old newspapers caught my eye. Daily News Hot Mat. It looks to me like they fold flat or iron out strips of paper, then coil them up and join them together somehow to create a mat of sorts. This looks like it could be really great as a laptop mat.

Junk Mail: Who woulda thought all that junk mail, the sales envelopes, the letters asking you to renew your magazine subscription, would be used for something fun and creative? You can make picture art out of that junk. Turn it into something you can sell, or into a great gift for the special people in your life. I’m thinking Teacher Gifts! Here is a tutorial

What could you make out of newspaper and junk mail?

So lets think of some of the things we can change… as shown in the pic above, the plastic drink mix containers (Crystal Lite, etc) can make fabulous gift giving packaging or storage containers for those small items laying around. Leave the lids off to make it a nice pencil holder or a great holder for drinking straws.

I found so many great ideas for ways to turn unwanted items into useful items for your home, office or to give as gifts. Check out some crafty recycling ideas here . We’d love to hear your thoughts or ideas.

So, while I don’t have anything to add to the give away, I’d love to win and I’d love it if one of my own readers won!

Alex

TodaysMama and GameStop ( are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? That my kids can go see their grandparents with their dad. His parents have had a rough couple of years in regard to their health. His dad lost both legs to diabetes though his scooter is just as good as his legs were. (or so I hear)

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? Well, it’s hard to have a tradition in a split family home. Some years my girls are with their dad and some they are with me. Our one tradition is one that carries over from childhood. We go out looking at lights Christmas eve. There are some fabulous neighborhood displays in our area.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? A new car. I’ve needed a new car for 2 or 3 years but couldn’t find one in my price range last year, so I put the money I did have into a new transmission for my car. While that helped, there are so many other reasons I need a different car, it’s not even funny.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? Well, we cook some. last year we got a delivery from Santa’s helpers at the Fire Dept. They brought the truck to our house with the lights and all! My girls were so surprised and tickled.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Rook, Dungeons and Dragons (yep – total geeks before it was cool), rummy, and quite a few others.

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? My kids life is so different than mine. I grew up in the country and we now live in the city. They have cell phones and TV’s in their rooms and computers and wii’s. I’m not sure there’s much tradition daily, but hugs at bed time and the viewing of Christmas lights once a year.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? I’ve never thought of going anywhere. This is one holiday I’ve always spent with family at home (in Kansas). My 9 year old would love to visit Disney though, so that would be an awesome trip to take.

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

1. Just Dance 2 for WII

2. wii classic controller

3. Wii Fit Starter Kit

To enter, link to your Mama’s Holiday Wish List post using the Mister Linky box below.

BUT WAIT. Did you think we were done? Oh, you must not know us at all.

We have another stockpile of gifts from GameStop that you can enter to win with our extra entry options.

• Runner Up #1 will receive a XBox 360 250 GB with Kinect and a $250 GameStop gift card.
• Runner Up #2 will receive a Nintendo Red DSi XL Bundle and a $250 GameStop gift card.
• Runner Up #3 will receive a Nintendo Red Wii Bundle and a $250 GameStop gift card.

Extra Entry Options include:

• “Like” Gamestop on Facebook
• Follow @gamestop on Twitter
• Head back to the tippy-top of this post and hit that “Retweet” button.

The deadline to post your meme and comment is Friday, December 10th (same deadline applies for extra entry methods).