The next time you need a disposable tablecloth for a birthday party, play date or other event, consider today’s hint before you run out to the party supply store: Extra wrapping paper you have around the house can double as a table protector.
This idea came to me recently when I needed a disposable cover for my kitchen table, so the table could serve as a spot where my 3-year-old daughter and some of her friends could color.
I didn’t want to risk getting crayon and marker marks on our furniture, placemats or nice non-disposable tablecloth, but I didn’t have any paper tablecloths handy around the house.
I briefly considered using newspaper to cover the table, but I scratched that option at the thought of newsprint all over everyone’s hands. Meanwhile, I figured taping individual 8X10 pieces of printer paper to the table would be too time consuming. Then, as I brainstormed what I had available that I could easily use as a tablecloth of sorts, I remembered the loads of extra wrapping paper I had picked up on sale during the holiday season.
I grabbed a couple of the rolls, taped the paper to the table, and voilà, the table was transformed – and protected. Don’t have extra wrapping paper around your house like I do? Well, consider snapping some up the next time you spot wrapping paper rolls on sale. Beyond making a great, festive and relatively inexpensive tablecloth, wrapping paper has loads of other uses. To name a few, you can use it as wall art, as an art-project surface and as material for creating a DIY hair accessory holder.
What other uses for wrapping paper have you found? What’s your go-to disposable table cover?
