The greenest gift wrap choice would be to skip the wrapping paper all together. Instead, try packaging your gifts in a pretty wicker basket (bonus points if you're reusing one purchased from a thrift store), wrapped in a tea towel or piece of fabric which the receiver can reuse, arranged inside a clay pot, inside a decorative (and reusable) box, or wrapped in colorful Sunday comics.

If you're set on using paper, try unbleached brown craft paper with some pretty stamps, or papers made from 100% recycled paper. Glossy and metallic papers are usually the worst eco-offenders, requiring the most chemicals and energy to produce.

For even more ideas, Planet Green at the Discovery Channel has a list of 12 easy green wrapping alternatives.

Along with some of the great suggestions Keyvah suggested, I always suggest giving gifts in bags. They still seem like the "normal" idea of gift wrapping a non-eco person would consider, but they can be reused over and over. Every year my family and I exchange the same christmas gift bags, and any new ones we get from friends or neighbors go into a box to be used next year.

I have also heard of people using aluminum foil as gift wrap as a shiny alternative to metallic wrapping paper. After opening, the foil could be reused for cooking or recycled.

For smaller gifts, I agree that newspaper works, but I've also used phone books and shopping bags. cut up and decorated if needed.

Made with at least 50% recycled content from fibers derived from the Himalayan lokta bush (not from trees), Of The Earth wrapping papers come in both solid colors and festive patterns. The fiber keeps paper strong enough to be reused, making this a doubly sustainable choice. Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/christmas-holidays-gift-wrap#ixzz0arXwUyPC