Paper is the cheapest Christmas material there is, and it looks far better than its price when it is cut and folded cleanly. Everything below is a free template you can resize to the gift or the space you have. Type the size, print at 100%, score the dashed lines and fold.
Gift boxes
Christmas tree box. A tall box shaped like a tree. Good for a pair of socks, a small bottle or a stack of chocolates. Green card for the classic look, or white with a printed pattern. Make three in different heights and they stand together as a little forest on the table.
Star box and Star lid box. The star box is a box in the shape of a star; the star lid box is a normal box whose top closes in a star of folded petals. The second one needs no tape and is lovely to open.
Box with lid. The plain one that always works. A lid that lifts off makes even a small present feel wrapped. Print your own pattern on it in the maker, or use red card with a ribbon round it.
Gift card holder. A gift card on its own looks like an afterthought. In a holder with a pattern on the front, it looks chosen.
Bottle carrier and Round box. For wine, oil or home-made liqueur. Measure the widest part of the bottle and add a few millimetres, the measuring guide explains how much.
The advent calendar
The Advent calendar template is a December project in itself, so start in November. Three things make it go smoothly:
- Decide what goes inside before you choose the size. A chocolate coin, a folded note and a small toy need different boxes. Size for the biggest thing you will put in.
- Number the boxes as you print them, not after. Add the numbers in your design before printing, or write them on with a paint pen once folded.
- Make one test box from paper. If one door sticks or one flap is too short, you will find out on box one, not box twenty-four.
Stars and hanging decorations
3D star. A solid paper star for the top of a shelf, a window or the tree. Gold or silver card makes it look metallic in photos; white card looks like snow.
Star lantern, Paper lantern and Polyhedron lantern. Light inside card. Use battery or LED lights only, never a candle or an old incandescent bulb, because both get hot enough to scorch card. A string of LED fairy lights threaded into a lantern is the easiest way to light it.
Sphere. Small spheres in red and gold card are baubles that will not break when the cat finds them.
Kusudama flower ball. A ball of folded paper flowers. It takes an evening, but it is the kind of decoration people ask about.
Paper rosette and Bunting. Quick wall and mantelpiece decorations. Bunting with one letter per flag can spell out "NOEL", a family name or "MERRY CHRISTMAS" across a doorway.
Finishing touches
- Gift tag. Matching tags tie the wrapping together. Print a sheet of them in the same pattern as your boxes.
- Lucky star strips. Tiny folded stars, a good job for children while you wrap. A jar of them is a gift on its own.
- Pop-up card. A card that stands up when opened, cut to the size of your envelope.
Card for Christmas
- Metallic card (gold, silver, foil) looks wonderful but most home inkjet printers smear on it. Print the template on the back and cut from there, or trace it.
- Glitter card sheds glitter into your printer. Do not put it through; trace the outline from a paper print instead.
- Red and green card at 250–300 gsm suits all the gift boxes above. Lanterns and stars are happiest a little lighter, around 200–250 gsm, so the many folds stay crisp.
Set the thickness in the maker under Advanced settings so lids and flaps fit. The card guide has more on weights.
A December plan
- Late November: advent calendar, so it is ready for 1 December.
- First week of December: lanterns, stars and bunting, so you enjoy them all month.
- Second week: gift boxes, sized to the presents you have bought.
- The last few days: tags and gift card holders, filled and written as you wrap.
Questions
Can I print my own photo on a Christmas box?
Yes. Add a picture in the maker and drag it into place; it is trimmed to the cut outline and stays on your computer. The artwork guide explains which panels end up upside down once folded.
My metallic card will not go through the printer. What now?
Print the template on plain paper, lay it over the card, and press along every line with an empty ballpoint pen to transfer a faint dent. Cut along the dents and score the fold lines from the same marks.
How do I hang stars and lanterns?
Push a needle with thread through a top corner before you glue the last seam, and knot it on the inside. It holds better than tape on the outside.
Can I sell the Christmas boxes I make?
The free licence covers personal use: your own gifts and decorations. Selling them needs a commercial licence; the licence page explains it.