DIY birthday gift ideas: How to make a birthday box 

Everyone says, ‘It’s the thought that counts’ when giving gifts, and DIY birthday presents are a great way to show how much you care for someone. But finding time for homemade birthday gifts can feel impossible when you’ve already volunteered your skillset for cake-baking and party-planning. But don’t worry, we have the perfect solution: crafty birthday gifts that are quick and easy to make. Learn how to make a handmade birthday gift box – a present that’s sure to get that teary-eyed reaction from your loved one! 

Birthday craft making: a step-by-step tutorial 

When it comes to easy handmade gifts for birthdays, crafts to make are endless! And a birthday gift box fits the bill perfectly. Fill your box with little things your loved one will appreciate, or gift your beautifully decorated box on its own for the recipient to fill. You don’t need woodworking skills or papercraft talent to create a box from scratch. Embrace that DIY spirit with these fun design ideas, using an empty tissue box as your base. 

Takes about 1 hour

1. First, place an empty facial tissue box on your work surface. Carefully cut open the top, leaving one side intact.
2. Next, take a sheet of wrapping paper and place the box on top. Starting at the front, wrap and stick the paper around the box with glue, including the inside of the lid, and neatly trim off any excess with scissors.
3. Make neat folds at the sides of the box and glue in place.
4. Use some sheets of tissue to make a soft base for your gifts. Then make some confetti with card from a second tissue box punched into shapes (or cut freehand) and coloured with pens.
5. Make a string of tissue bunting to decorate – colour some strips of tissue with food dye, and when dry, cut the strips further to thin 0.5cm. Fold a bundle of strips in half and tie a spare strip of tissue around the top creating a loop to thread onto string.
6. Another decoration idea is to turn the box into an animal – our cute bear was created with ears, eyes, nose and feet simply cut out from paper and stuck on to the box with glue.
7. Or, use a brighter wrap to cover your birthday box, and simply decorate with a stylish ribbon bow and colourful confetti.

Personal touches to make your DIY birthday presents extra special: 

Once you’ve covered the entirety of the birthday gift box in colourful paper and decorations, you can set to work making it more personal. After all, the beauty of DIY is the level of personalisation you can achieve. Personalised, DIY birthday gift ideas for your present boxes include:

• Initials. Monograms add a classy touch, so place their initials discreetly in the corner.
• Name. You could go the extra mile and add their entire name in stickers.
• Photos. Stick on special photos of your favourite times together. Polaroids work particularly well.
• Message. Handwrite a message on a gift label and attach it to your box.
• Favourite colour. Personalisation can be as simple using the recipient’s favourite colours in the decoration.

What to put in your DIY birthday present

So you’ve been creative by making a handmade birthday gifts box, but what about the presents to put inside it? Here are a few creative birthday present ideas to get you started:

• Jewellery. Line the inside of your craft birthday present box with some soft material, like velvet, and it could become the inside of a jewellery box. This is particularly good for large pieces of costume jewellery.
• Mementos. Have you been saving all those ticket stubs from movies and concerts that you’ve been to with your sweetheart? Put them inside your DIY birthday present box to make it a memory box. This would be an ideal Valentine’s Day gift, too.
• Trinkets. Add an assortment of little trinkets and toys for a fun gift for a child. They’ll enjoy the “lucky dip” vibe! You can even use these as alternative party bags at a child’s birthday party.
• Cash. If you usually put cash in an envelope this birthday present DIY box is the perfect alternative – making monetary gifts for birthday wishes all the more special.

Now that you have an easy-to-make homemade birthday gift in your roster, you’ll never have to stress about finding the perfect gift for your loved one again! From crafting an attractive way to gift a cheeky tenner, to treating your sweetheart to a box full of memories, your special someone will enjoy receiving these birthday gift boxes just as much as you’ll enjoy making them! 

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