Melanie Brown of Platinum Blonde Life uses newspaper to wrap her holiday packages, a favorite idea of ours. But, instead of completing the task with fat red ribbon or a thick handful of raffia (our usual standby), she creates festive pinwheels.

The pinwheels are crafted from newspaper and decorative paper and trim packages. (Here's a perfect use for those wallpaper samples and scraps of wrapping paper!) Combined with ribbon, they can pirouette with the air on your tree or around your home. Attach them to a wooden chopstick with a pin or small nail (use glue to keep the pinwheel anchored) and you have a classic toy for a child.

(Iimages: Melanie Brown of Platinum Blonde Life, from her Flickr page, used with her permission. Thanks Melanie!)