Making a charming entry Christmas Package display on a budget is easy and can be stunning! You’ve seen these displays on Pinterest. Some just use a store-bought cardboard box but I wanted these to be sturdier. While we do have a bit of a cover over the front door, the wind has really been a force this year. Not sure they wouldn’t blow away!
My plan is to place these decorative gift boxes on the large pots sitting on the front stoop. Obviously, they will be more visible from the street and that will give them a little more prominence. They will kind of look like a ‘Christmas package tree’ in the pots.
Supplies Needed For Each Christmas Package
- Cardboard boxes
- Scissors (Electric Scissors Suggested)
- White glue
- Books to weight the glued cardboard
- Brown gummed tape or Brown wrapping paper
How To Make The Sturdy Cardboard Bases
First, you will need a lot of cardboard. Lots of stores are happy to give cardboard boxes away for free. Just ask an employee or manager when it would be possible for you to pick up the cardboard. If you are lucky enough to have some boxes from a project, like the wood floor we installed this summer, you already have a good start. If you have boxes from your son’s and daughter-in-law’s wedding presents, you are in even better shape!
Next, you need to decide what dimensions you need for the largest box. I measured one of the pots on the stoop and decided I wanted the large boxes to rest on the edges of the pots. That way, the entire large boxes will be visible. Taking that measurement, I decided to cut the cardboard pieces about 15 – inches wide. These boxes from Target were so close to the right size if I cut them in half, there would be two pieces 14-1/2″ wide, doubling the amount of cardboard that is usable for this project. Close enough.
Although my plan is to make these square, that is not critical. If it needs to be a little wider to fit nicely on the pots, it isn’t a big deal. Another layer or two of cardboard can be added and it may end up being a rectangle.
You can see, that the flaps are going to be used, too. It won’t be an issue until you get to the outside piece of cardboard. You want the outside piece to be in relatively good shape. The gift wrap is attached with glue and any huge flaws will show.
You will also notice the Black and Decker electric scissor
! If you are cutting a lot of cardboard, I highly recommend buying these. (We are an Amazon affiliate and may receive a small percentage of any sales at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting this website!)
So, I told you about the strong winds that we seem to have sometimes. My thought was these stacks of boxes need weight and a stake to ensure they stay in the pots!
The largest boxes start from the inside, leaving a 2″ opening. Mark 4 lines at 2″ intervals and fold each along the long lines of corrugation. The 2-inch opening will accommodate a stake.
When you have the inner box opening folded, using white glue, apply glue to the entire end flap to secure it to the cardboard piece.
I used Elmer's white glue. You will need a lot of glue to secure a stack or two as big as this one. I bought a 32 - ounce bottle of Elmer's glue-all
and refilled a smaller, easier to handle, 4 fluid ounce glue bottle as needed. This glue works better than the school glue. It seems to dry faster. (We are an Amazon affiliate and may receive a small percentage of any sales at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting this website.)
and refilled a smaller, easier to handle, 4 fluid ounce glue bottle as needed. This glue works better than the school glue. It seems to dry faster. Continue wrapping, marking the cardboard, folding, creasing all along the fold, and gluing the cardboard, trying to create sharper corners. When the entire piece of cardboard is folded and glued, start gluing another cardboard piece, butting it up to the end edge of the first piece. Continue this process until the cardboard structure is the size you want.
It’s not critical that all the corners are perfectly sharp. As you continue to add cardboard, you can adjust the cardboard and make sure you have sharper corners. It seems to become easier the farther along you get. You want the outside and final cardboard corners to be relatively sharp.
Another point is that you don't need to worry about the cardboard being torn a little or the openings where the flaps are. These won't be a problem. Just glue and continue. I did remove the packaging tapes and loose stickers on the boxes before using the cardboard.
I wanted the bottom boxes to be sturdy, heavy, and secure. Maybe making the boxes this dense was a little overkill. Better safe than sorry, right? No, seriously, it was not necessary to make them this dense! My thought was that the 2″ space in the center would help hold the stake securely. However, I thought the top two box sizes did not need to be quite as heavy.
Making The Medium Boxes
For these, I made a size decision and cut the cardboard pieces that size. Actually, the boxes from the wood flooring were perfect for this and I had already cut them lengthwise before stashing them in my storage room. (I had to do this! Dave kept threatening to put them in the trash! Lol!)
Instead of starting in the center like the large bases, the outside is created first. This cardboard block is square. Each side is the same width as the height, 9-3/4″. You can make these whatever size you like and make them rectangular if you like.
These two boxes start from the outside. Mark 4 lines at 9-3/4″ intervals and fold each along the length between the ridges of corrugation. Mark another line about 9-1/2″. Cut the cardboard through the last folded line.
Now, you should have 5 sections. Glue the last slightly shorter flap, inside the first flap, creating a square opening like in the box pictured. (Didn’t get a picture of that. Sorry!) You can see a few pieces have been glued inside.
Since these boxes are created from the outside to the middle, it would be too awkward to use long pieces of cardboard as we did on the larger boxes. It is much easier to manage if you measure one side, make a fold, and then measure another side next to the first one. Make another fold there, crease well, and cut.
Apply glue over the backside of the two-sided piece you just cut. Place inside of the box. Using heavy books, place them on top of the glued cardboard to hold in place and weight down with books or flat heavy objects.
When it becomes a little more difficult, glue one side of the cardboard at a time. Remember to stagger the folded edges so you have folded edges over the corners with two connecting cut edges. It will be stronger if you do.
You may be surprised at how heavy these become after several layers of cardboard. I decided to make the cardboard sides only about 1-1/2-inches thick. You can make them as thick as you like. You want them sturdy enough to hold up to the weather though.
The Smallest Boxes
The smallest box ended up being 6-1/2″ x 7″ x 6-1/2″. Make these boxes in the same way the medium-sized boxes are made.
Making The Lids
Once the boxes are made, the lids are next. You will need a flat piece of cardboard for the lid. Choose a piece that will be larger than the top of the box. Lay the top edge of the box along two sides of the cardboard square or rectangle. Draw a line around the remaining two edges of the box.
Then, measure enough along the edge for the lid to move freely, off and on the box. Then, mark and draw a line for cutting. Make this twice the width of the cardboard edge + a little more to give room on all edges, maybe about 1/4″. That gives you 1/8″ around all edges. (Remember one side is up against the edge of the cardboard, so you have to double the width of the cardboard to accommodate both edges!) You don’t want so much extra that it doesn’t fit well. You also have to remember that you will be gluing paper and brushing on a few layers of Mod Podge. Make sure it is not too snug or too loose.
It wouldn’t help for me to give a measurement for this because it will depend upon the cardboard you use. Some cardboards are thicker than others. You can butt two small pieces of cardboard together, place next to the flat lid piece, and draw a line. Add about and eights of an inch. Then, measure and using that measurement, draw a line around the two edges. 
You can see the original lines better in the picture of the box top here.
Confession here, my boxes were not perfectly square. When I measured and drew the two lines, I fudged and corrected it to make it square.
You will need to determine how thick you want the sides of your box lid. For the small boxes, the edge measurement is 2-inches, the middle-sized is 2-1/2-inches, and the largest, 3-inches.
Then just cut a piece of cardboard long enough to fit around all four sides + 1-inch. Remove the inside piece of paper and corrugation on that 1-inch piece. The outside piece then will overlap flat against the outside of the abutting edge.
Glue one edge of the flat lid piece to one edge of the side piece. Hold this firmly and allow it to dry. It will be easier to glue the other edges one by one. The last edge glued should be the one with the 1-inch flap. You can use Aleene’s Tacky Glue
for this or the glue or the Elmer’s Glue-All. The school glue would take much longer to dry. (We are an Amazon affiliate and may receive a small percentage of any sales through this link at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting this website.)
Finishing the Edges
I have seen cardboard edges like on the lids being covered with gummed brown tape to make a more finished edge. Where in the world do you find this? Well, I didn’t but I did have some brown wrapping paper. I cut 2-inch strips, brushed on Mod Podge and adhered to all the glued edges, one by one. It worked perfectly!
Finish each lid in this same manner. Use the tape on the unfinished edge of the boxes, too.
Would you like to make round gift boxes? You can find out how I made these, too! Click here ►Lifts and Levels.
How To Make A Charming Entry Christmas Package Display – Part 2 will follow. Part 2 is how to wrap, attach the bows, preparing the boxes for the stake, and finishing the Christmas Display.
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