Nearby Bear’s parents house there was a family that we used to affectionately call “the Griswold’s.” They had so many lights wrapped around their house you could probably have seen it from space, and yet they managed to do it in a way that wasn’t an eyesore. My favorite of their decorations was a grouping of ENORMOUS gift wrapped packages that were lit with floodlights. Every time we drove by that house I’d admire the decor and then wonder, “How do they store those things?”
I can’t think of any other way than renting a storage unit. Which I am not willing to do. So that means that along with my usual requirement of being cheap, I had to come up with a way to make a gift box that was weatherproof, and easy to store. I was up for the challenge.
At my hardware store I found this silver bubble wrapping looking stuff. It’s insulation intended for small jobs like sheds or RV’s, and I found it in the contractor section with the roofing supplies and big pink insulation. It’s whole job is to stand up to the elements, so I knew this would do the trick.
You can make your boxes as big or small as you want. I bought a roll that was 48 inches wide, so I went with that as my measurement and cut a square 48″ all around. Your finished box shape will have to look like a big plus sign, so whatever your measurements are, you’ll need to divide in 3, and then cut that size square out of the corner. 48 divided by 3 is 16, so I cut a 16 inch square out out of each corner.
To help the sides fold up cleanly, use a box cutter to score through the top layer where the side meets the middle. Be careful not to cut through both layers or you’ll have to start all over.
Every box needs a lid, so for this you need to take the measurement you got for each side – 16 in my case, and 4 inches on each side to make the lip. When the whole thing is put together it will lie a lot neater if you give yourself a little extra room in the lid. So I’d add another inch or so. Then cut the corners out just like you did for the box bottom, but this time the corner squares you’re cutting out are the size of the lip. 4 inches in my case. Score on the fold line as you did before.
Spray paint everything.
To assemble, just bring the sides up to meet at the corners and secure with some duct tape.
I found the bows at the dollar store. Glitter coated plastic might look a little cheap on some projects, but it is the perfect solution here. I used my box cutter to stab a hole through the middle of the lid, threaded the wire from the bow through that hole, and secured it with more duct tape.
The presents are so lightweight that in the first few hours I put them out I had one blow away down the street. So I put a big rock inside each box and now these babies aren’t going anywhere.
Once the holidays are over, I’ll just take off all the duct tape and these things will lie flat. I can store them stacked up against a wall or even slid in between plastic tubs of all my other Christmas decorations. When you go as big as I do, storage is almost as much of a concern as how shiny and pretty it makes things look.
Wow!!!
This is so amazing. Gift boxes are looking so lovely. Superb creativity.
Thanks for the share.
I really like these little gift boxes, the little home and dish. Thank you so much for discussing this with us.
You really have talent. Nice walk-through on making these lovely Christmas outdoor gift boxes.
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