Where to Buy Gift Boxes For Christmas?

When to Order Gift Boxes for Christmas

Holiday packaging is tight because everyone orders at once: suppliers get busy, carriers fill up and deadlines cannot move. The safest plan is to work backward from the date you need to start packing gifts.

Add those up and you get around 10 to 12 weeks. That is a planning guide, not a promise. If you read this late in the season, switch to stock boxes for this year and plan custom boxes for the next. Our guide to turn around time explains how production and delivery are counted, and our rush orders page covers faster options.

Stock or Custom Gift Boxes: Which One Fits

Both are good choices. They just solve different problems.

When Stock Gift Boxes Win

• You need the boxes within days or a couple of weeks.
• You are packing fewer than about 50 gifts.
• Your gift fits a standard size, such as a mug, a scarf or a candle.
• You want to try a gift set before you commit to printing.

You can make a stock box feel like yours with a printed sticker, a ribbon and tissue. See our stickers and labels, which start at 500 units, and our tissue paper.

When Custom Gift Boxes Win

• You sell gift sets every holiday and want a consistent brand look.
• Your product has an unusual size that stock boxes do not fit.
• You need a quantity of 50 to a few thousand, which is when the price per box falls.
• You can plan the timeline above.

Minimums depend on the product. Our rigid boxes have a low minimum, most other boxes at 100, and paper bags, hang tags and stickers at 500. Each product page states its own minimum, and we reply to quotes within 1 business day with free design support.

Gift Box Types and What They Suit

Tuck Boxes for Small Gifts

A tuck box is a folding carton with a flap that tucks in. It is made from paperboard, ships flat and prints sharply. It suits earrings, candies, lip balm sets and sample gifts.

Rigid Boxes for Premium Gifts

A rigid box is built from thick board wrapped in printed paper and feels solid when you hold it. Choose it for watches, perfume sets, keepsakes and corporate gifts. Our luxury packaging page compares the premium options.

Tray and Sleeve Boxes for Gift Sets

A tray and sleeve box slides open like a drawer, which gives a gift set a slow, tidy reveal. It suits sets of candles, treats, soaps, scarves and tea.

Two Piece Foldable Boxes for Apparel and Larger Gifts

A two piece foldable box has a separate lid and base that arrive flat and fold up. It works for sweaters, scarves and larger gifts you want to store flat before the season.

Mailer Boxes for Gifts That Ship

A mailer box is a corrugated box with an attached lid, built to travel. Use it when the gift goes straight from you to the recipient, such as a subscription box or a corporate gift.

The Finishing Pieces

Gift packaging is more than the box. Box dividers and box inserts keep a set tidy. Hang tags and cards carry a message. Paper bags finish a gift sold in a shop.

Choosing Gift Box Sizes

Measure the gift as it will be packed: with its wrap, tissue, card and any insert. Write the size as length x width x height and give us the inside dimensions. Our guide to measuring a box correctly explains inside and outside sizes and board thickness.

These sizes are examples to show how much room to add, not recommendations for your product. Soft items compress, hard items do not, and gifts wrapped in tissue take more space than you expect. When in doubt, order a sample or open a free dieline template and try the size.

Design and Theme: Plan for More Than One Season

A red and green box looks right in December and wrong in March. Before you print a seasonal design, decide how long you want the box to last.

• Holiday-only design. Strong color and festive artwork. Good for a limited edition, but unused boxes are stranded after the season.
• Neutral base with a seasonal layer. A plain or brand-colored box with a sleeve, sticker or tag that changes each season.
• Evergreen gifting design. A pattern or color that works for any gift, such as a metallic accent or a simple monogram.

Finishes add to the look but also add cost. Matte, glossy, satin or soft touch coatings are available through varnish or lamination, and foil stamping, embossing and spot UV can add detail. Read our guide to varnish and lamination before you choose. Pick colors with our guide to how to choose colors for your custom packaging.

Reusable Seasonal Packaging

Printing one neutral box in quantity and changing the look each season costs less than reprinting a new design every year. The idea is simple: keep the box constant and change the add-ons.

• Printed sleeve. A packaging sleeve slides over the box and can be reprinted each season.
• Sticker seal. A round sticker closes the lid and carries the seasonal message.
• Tag and ribbon. A hang tag with a ribbon in the season's color adds a gift feeling.

Our guide to seasonal packaging without reprinting boxes goes through the full method.

Shipping Gifts: Keep Them Safe and on Time

Gifts that travel need protection and a deadline. Corrugated boxes protect better than paperboard, so use a mailer box or place a paperboard box inside a shipping box. Add paper or dividers so nothing rattles. Carriers publish their last recommended shipping dates for the holidays and these change from year to year, so check them early and ship before the cutoff, not on it.

Our quotes include shipping to the US and Canada, but taxes and duties are not included. Delivery time is added on top of production time.

Sustainability Choices for Gift Boxes

Gift packaging is often thrown away within minutes, so a few choices are worth making.

• Use paper-based boxes. Paperboard and corrugated without plastic film are generally the easiest to recycle where local facilities accept them.
• Keep finishes simple. Foils, plastic windows and laminations can make recycling harder.
• Make the box worth keeping. A sturdy box that is reused for storage is not thrown out.
• Ask about recycled stock. Recycled stock options are available on request.

Recycling rules differ by town, so check what your program takes.

Common Mistakes When Buying Holiday Gift Boxes

• Ordering custom boxes too late to meet the date.
• Sizing the box to the gift but forgetting tissue, a card or an insert.
• Choosing a design so seasonal that leftovers cannot be used.
• Skipping a sample and finding a fit problem in the final run.
• Using paperboard boxes for gifts that ship without a shipping box.
• Not checking carrier cutoffs for holiday deliveries.

A Checklist for Ordering Custom Holiday Boxes

• Date worked out: when you must start packing, and when the boxes must arrive.
• Gift measured with wrap and extras, written length x width x height.
• Style chosen for the gift: tuck, rigid, tray and sleeve, two piece or mailer.
• Quantity set, with a plan for leftovers.
• Design chosen: holiday-only, neutral base or evergreen.
• Sample ordered and fit tested.
• Artwork ready and approved on time.
• Shipping cutoffs noted.

Next Step

If you are packing a few gifts, buy stock boxes now and add a sticker or ribbon. If you want your own design, tell us what you are gifting, its size and how many you need, and we will recommend a style. A Standard Sample Kit costs $50 with shipping included and lets you hold box types before ordering (it may not include rigid boxes or boxes that ship assembled, so ask us about rigid samples). Get a free quote to start.