As much as I try to avoid it, I usually conclude my gift buying with the purchase of gift cards for a few people. This year, I decided to try to make my own gift card holders using leftover food boxes. I would normally discard these boxes, but I found that they are flexible enough to fold well, while being sturdy enough to hold up to paint and glue. Some stores offer small tins or other novelty items to hold gift cards, but they can cost anywhere from $1 to $5. As an alternative, use household items to make your own holders using this tutorial.

Items you will need:

• A template (Click Here to open PDF)
• Small food box (cake mix, granola bars, fruit snacks, etc)
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Ribbon
• Tape
• Pen or Marker
• Wrapping paper or cardstock

STEP 1

Disassemble the box carefully. Cut out the template and line up with the folds already on the box. (see below left)

Step 2

Outline the template with your pen and cut out along the lines you made. Line up the template once more and make a mark to indicate your fold line. (see below right)

Step 3

Fold at the line you just marked (as indicated in the left picture below). Unfold that section and fold the bottom tab over (see right picture below). Add glue and fold up. I found that you may need to trim some of the edges to make them straighter as you go along.

Step 4

Add glue to the other small tab and fold it over. At this point your holder should look like the picture on the left below.

You can use a clip to hold the tabs down that you just glued, or you can sit a jar or book on top of it until the glue dries.

Turn the holder over to the cardboard colored side. Add ribbon with glue or tape. The ribbon should be at least 10 inches long. (I used glue first, then the tape to hold it in place).

Step 5

Add glue liberally to the entire cardboard colored side. Add wrapping paper and smooth out. Cut around the edges of the holder, being careful not to cut your ribbon. You can leave a flap to fold up and glue inside the holder, or trim to the edge.

Cut out and glue the “Have a Holly Jolly Day” image that was included with your template to the front of the holder. Glue the “To and From” label inside or on the back of the holder.

Step 6

Tie the ribbon tightly in a bow. Hang on the tree or attach to a present.

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