Gift Box Ideas: tips for filling!
I’m sharing gift box ideas for the holidays, with tips on filling it and making it special.
Gift Box Ideas
The other night on Twitter the question came up, “what are some things you do to stay stress-free during the holiday season?” As you know it’s nearly impossible to stay stress-free this time of year, but one of the things we do is keep gift-giving to a minimum – immediate family only.
It may not be the popular choice according to my observation, but it works for us and it actually gets other relatives “off the hook.”
HOSTESS TIP: Make sure you know how to write thank you notes for any unexpected gifts you receive.
What I do like, however, is giving unexpected gifts to someone that’s NOT on my typical list. And that’s also the challenge.
Shopping for gifts to give someone who’s not on your gift list can be daunting. You don’t know what they like, what their interests are, etc.
My solution is to give items that are a little generic and can be consumed. The ideas here can be applied to holiday gifts and welcome gifts. And it’s easy to find things for filling a gift box in the housewares aisle!
How to put together a Gift Box
First things first. You’ll need to start with the container.
- Here I used a neutral tone photo box that can be kept for storage. This way the box doubles as a gift itself.
- Inside, shredded paper is the foundation for several smaller items. Find bags of paper filler in almost any color at craft stores.
- See how we used a wooden slide box as the container in these wrapping party & gift ideas.
- And here’s a rustic sweet homemade Christmas gift box you can make for teachers or a party hostess.
What to fill a gift box with
As I said above, I like using items that can be used or consumed. That usually means food or self care items, or something they can use every day.
- The first item I found were these on-the-go disposable coffee or hot cocoa cups. I love the chevron design and the red & white was perfect for Christmas. These are great to use if you’re heading out the door and you still need to drink your last cup of coffee you already made.
- A box of chocolate spoons, and hot cocoa mix coordinate with the cups and round out the perfect wintry gift.
- Next, add something savory like the white chili mix. It can be stored in the pantry and be prepared whenever they want.
- A wine foil cutter is a handy tool that I can’t live without, and something I find most people don’t have. No more cutting wine foils with a knife!
HOSTESS TIP: Give small items that people don’t normally think of buying for themselves, but that make life easier.
- Finally, I found canisters of gourmet popcorn in a variety of flavors that sound amazing! Add that to the box for a sweet snack.
HOSTESS TIP: Put the popcorn inside a clear container from the craft store.
- Printable tags add a lovely touch to the finished box. Adding gift tags for whatever the occasion will instantly dress up your gift.
Tips & tricks for filling a gift box
Now that you have a good idea of what to put inside your gift box, here are the best tips and tricks for making it look perfectly “present”-able!
- Add bunched up paper to the bottom of the box and cover it with the colorful shredded filler. This will help lift up the items so they don’t get “lost” in the box.
- Take edible items out of their commercial packages and wrap them up in more decorative containers. Pour the hot cocoa mix into a glass jar, and put the chocolate spoons into a paper sack backed by card stock for support.
- Use small berry baskets to hold even smaller items that might get lost otherwise.
- Divide large or multi-pack items into smaller portions so you can fill 2 or 3 gift baskets. See more on smart gifting here. For example, the chocolate spoons came in a set of 6, the cups are a set of 10, and the popcorn was a large size. By dividing them up into individual portion sizes and re-packaging them into pretty containers, you get more bang for your buck.
These gift box ideas will work for any occasion any time of the year. See how to fill Easter baskets for adults and kids using this method.
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You put together a lovely gift box. I really like the idea of taking items out of the containers they came in and putting them in creative pretty containers like you did! As always, you are so creative! Thanks for sharing, I will be putting some of your ideas to use as I put together some of my gifts this year!
Thanks Chloe. The cute “homemade” packaging is so much cuter, and I love that I could get 2 or 3 smaller gifts too, if needed.