It is officially October, which means Christmas is now just two months away! There is still a lot to be done, but making your own gift boxes is a great way to finish some of your wrapping needs. Gift boxes are a wonderful solution for those who have difficulty wrapping presents perfectly and to stop peeking. However, gift boxes can be pricey and depending on quality, as well as use, are prone to tearing. Plus it isn't always easy to find gift boxes that match your theme. Yet, I bet that you probably have a lot of cardboard boxes lying around your house or leftover after grocery shopping. These cardboard boxes are usually sturdier than traditional gift boxes, which is why I prefer them to gift boxes. The cardboard boxes don't look like much at first, but with a little wrapping paper and tape they can turn into cute gift boxes for Christmas. I just started making these gift boxes so I have only made two, but these boxes are already proving functional.
I have used both a tea box and a candy box. The tea box is currently storing Christmas cards, labels, and stickers until I am ready to start my Christmas cards. This allows me to store the box, but still maximize the storage available in my Christmas box. The candy box will be used to store homemade goodies and will allow me to ship them more easily. When I first wrapped these boxes they still had their contents, but I stored the contents elsewhere because I liked the boxes and thought they would make wonderful Christmas gift boxes. You can use any boxes you want as long as they have either a lid or are able to close. Another option is to seal up the ends of a box and cut your own lid out of a side on the box. Keep in mind that these boxes need to be functional as gift boxes. 
Choose wrapping paper in a color or theme that you want and use clear or decorative tape to wrap the cardboard boxes, turning them into gift boxes. I used the edge of a ruler to score the wrapping paper on the edges of the boxes. Depending on the box you might need to cut triangles out of the corners to make the edges lie flat. I didn't use wrapping paper on the inside of the box, but this is definitely an option and something to consider if you don't plan on using tissue paper. I have a lot of cardboard boxes left so I will be making more gift boxes in the next few weeks as I purchase more gifts.
I love how these boxes look and that they are recycled! Each box is perfectly matched to my theme and allows me to recycle the cardboard boxes that are already coming into my home. The only caution I have is to make sure you match your boxes to your gifting needs so that you don't waste materials on a box that you are not going to actually use. If you have boxes to recycle, but that don't meet your Christmas needs, make sure to check out Pinterest for great ideas to reuse boxes in your home. I have seen many wonderful posts where people turned diaper boxes into storage boxes that looked store bought so the options are endless.
Gift boxes are not the only option for gift wrapping and are not necessarily useful for certain items. For those odd shaped items gift bags are a wonderful solution. Next week I will show you how to make a gift bag from wrapping paper and other gift wrapping ideas using recycled materials. Do you have a favorite gift wrapping method? Or ideas to use recycled materials in gift wrap? I can't wait to hear your ideas for having a recycled Christmas!
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