Frugal wrapping for the holidays

You don't have to settle for store-wrapped gifts to give a pretty present.

And buying packaging and pizzazz doesn't have to cost a lot. I'm Janet Stauble with the Bankrate.com Personal Finance Minute.

Hunt for gift wrap in your home and use what you already have. Magazine and catalog pages with a holiday theme make great gift wrap. And tried-and-true newspaper wrapping looks classy when wrapped with a big, wide red ribbon.

Colorful shopping bags can be repurposed as wrapping paper. And you can even rinse potato chip bags and use their silver lining for a festive look .

Out of bows? Turn colorful paper cupcake liners into a pouf or flower. Nature if also full of pretty and free trimmings. Pine cones make great toppers.

Skip spending $5 on three yards of ribbon. Wrap gifts instead with yarn or bakers' twine four or five times for emphasis. And plastic wrap from your pantry can be made into a big bow.

Shop dollar stores for non-holiday items that can be made into package toppers.

The key to frugal wrapping is picking a theme to look creative, not cheap.