Last Christmas I was a bit of an Eco-Grinch. I got really grumpy at the fact that a time that is meant to be about family and love and all that good stuff had morphed into a cash cow… an exercise in capitalism. But I still didn’t want to let Christmas go. I grew up in England with snowmen and amazing Christmas trees and dad dressing up like Santa – and being pregnant I want my little daughter to grow up with memories as lovely as mine. So I am on a mission to keep my festivities completely eco (and blog about it of course!).
In January – going off the theme that reuse is better than recycle – I asked all the people in my office to give me their unwanted Christmas cards. I took a whole lot down to the local school to use for crafts but was still left with a massive pile of them. I stored them with my Christmas decorations and hoped to think of something to do with them by Christmas time. And I did. Here is an ultra simple gift box that you can make from an old greetings card.
Equipment
- Old greeting cards
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pen/Pencil
- Glue (can just be a stick but Hot Glue Gun is far more resilient)
- *If just using a glue stick you may also want pegs and paperclips
Instructions
1. Cut along the seam to separate the front of the card from the back.
2. Decide how thick/deep you want your box to be (look at the gift/item you are putting inside it to make sure it will fit!). Once decided rule a margin around the sides. I varied between 2 and 3cms (0.5 – 1″) for my boxes.
3. Fold along each line. I did this by placing my ruler along the line and then folding the paper over it… was a lot quicker and more precise.
4. Cut along the lines on 2 opposite ends only. What I mean by that is you don’t want to cut the corner squares out… you just want to create a flap. See next photo if you are unsure of what I mean.
5. Fold the flaps in and apply dobs of glue. Then pincer together to make your box shape. If you are just using a glue stick you may want to hold the flaps together with pegs or paperclips to ensure the box really sets and is sturdy. Hot glue gun is definitely preferable though.
6. And there you have one half of your box! ( Use the pretty front part of the card is the top of the box). Repeat the process to make the other half of your box.
7. When I was drawing the margins in for the bottom half of the boxes I made the margins a couple of mm’s bigger than the top boxes so that it fit comfortably without needing to bend. E.g. my margin for the top was 3cms on each side, my margin for the bottom was 3.2cms on each side.
Other ideas…
Advent Calendar
If I had more time I would totally have made this advent calendar using the boxes and a pin up board…
From 2 Boys 2 Girls Painter Family
Tree Ornaments
You could also thread some ribbon through them and hang them from your tree filled with goodies.
Plastic Free Easter Egg Containers
Easter will be another hurdle in anti-consumerism! I have brill memories of Easter Egg hunts but how will I give these to my daughter without all that nasty foil and needless wrapping? You could bulk buy chocolates and place them in little boxes and hide them around the garden! WIN.
Stationery Holders
These could also be cute little DIY boxes to keeps your paperclips etc in!
More Sustainable Christmas Ideas
If you are looking for more sustainable Christmas ideas you may like some of these posts;
Olive on Blonde 
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This is brilliant! It’s always the simple things that catch us off guard! I love reusing things, so this year I will for sure be saving up all my Christmas cards! Thanks for the tip :)
What a wonderful idea! You inspire me to try it out too!
Keep up the good work!
:)
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From now-on I am not gonna throw away even a single card from my home. Thanks A Lot :)
That’s great… I am so pleased! :)