Envuelvo el paquete con papel en vez de plástico.

Envuelvo is the first-person singular present indicative form of envolver.

So it means I wrap or I am wrapping, depending on context.

A useful pattern:

• yo envuelvo
• tú envuelves
• él/ella envuelve
• nosotros envolvemos
• ustedes/ellos envuelven

It is a stem-changing verb, so the o in envolver changes to ue in stressed forms.

Because envolver is a verb with a stem change: o → ue in the present tense whenever the stem is stressed.

That gives you:

• envuelvo
• envuelves
• envuelve
• envuelven

But not in nosotros:

• envolvemos

This is a very common Spanish pattern, like puedo from poder.

Spanish often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.

Since envuelvo already clearly shows I, adding yo is usually unnecessary. You would include yo only for emphasis, contrast, or clarification.

For example:

• Envuelvo el paquete... = neutral
• Yo envuelvo el paquete... = more emphasis, maybe contrasting with someone else

El paquete refers to a specific package, one that is already known from context or understood by the speaker and listener.

• el paquete = the package
• un paquete = a package

So this sentence sounds like it is talking about a particular package, not just any package.

Con means with, and here it introduces the material being used to wrap the package.

So con papel means using paper or with paper.

This is very natural in Spanish when talking about the material or tool used for an action.

Because papel is being used as a material in general, not as a specific piece of paper.

In Spanish, when you talk about a material generically, you often omit the article:

• con papel
• con madera
• con plástico

You would use el if you meant a specific paper:

• con el papel que compré ayer

For the same reason: plástico here means the material in general, not a specific plastic item.

So:

• en vez de plástico = instead of plastic
• en vez del plástico que teníamos = instead of the plastic we had

Generic material nouns often appear without an article in Spanish.

En vez de is a fixed expression meaning instead of.

It is followed by:

• a noun: en vez de plástico
• or an infinitive: en vez de usar plástico

The de is part of the expression, so you normally do not leave it out.

Yes. En lugar de is another very common way to say instead of.

So these are both natural:

• en vez de plástico
• en lugar de plástico

They are very close in meaning. In everyday Spanish, both are common.

Yes, you often can.

With envolver, both con and en may appear, but they can feel slightly different:

• con papel emphasizes the material used
• en papel emphasizes what the package is wrapped in

In many real situations, both are acceptable. The sentence you have uses con, which is very straightforward and natural.

Not necessarily. Papel by itself just means paper.

In context, it may naturally be understood as wrapping paper, but if you want to be specific, Spanish can say:

• papel de regalo = gift wrap / wrapping paper
• papel para envolver = paper for wrapping

So papel is general, and context does a lot of the work.

Because here papel is being treated as an uncountable material noun, like paper in English.

So:

• con papel = with paper, as a material

If you were talking about separate sheets or documents, then you might use papeles.

It can mean either one.

The Spanish simple present often covers both:

• a habitual action: I wrap
• a current action: I am wrapping

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

If you want to strongly emphasize that the action is happening right now, Spanish can also use:

• Estoy envolviendo el paquete...

Yes, Spanish word order is somewhat flexible.

The original order is very natural:

• Envuelvo el paquete con papel en vez de plástico.

But you could move parts for emphasis, for example:

• En vez de plástico, envuelvo el paquete con papel.

That puts more focus on the contrast with plástico. The original version, though, is neutral and natural.

Yes. Paquete is a normal, standard word for package, parcel, or pack, depending on context.

In this sentence, it works perfectly for a wrapped item or package. It is widely understood across Latin America.