Gift Box Template Sized to Your Gift

The gift. The box is built from the inside: its inner length, width and height equal what you enter, and the walls, flaps and lid are added on the outside. For a gift with parts that stick out — a mug with a handle, a toy — measure at the widest points and add 3–5 mm of clearance, or the box will not close.

Best of all is heavy paper or thin cardstock, 200–300 g/m² (roughly 75–110 lb cover), if your printer takes it: the box holds its shape and does not crumple. Regular office paper works for a light gift like jewelry or a card. If you print on cardstock, turn on “Printing on cardstock” — the material thickness is added to the measurements.

A solid dark line means cut, a gray dashed line means fold, and hatched areas are flaps where the glue goes. The hatching stays white with no pattern: under glue, ink only weakens the seam. For a clean fold, first score the dashed line with the back of a knife or an empty pen against a ruler.

Nothing: the PDF tiles it across several sheets with a 10 mm overlap. Neighboring sheets print the same light blue strip — line up the design on it, glue the sheets together, then cut out the whole template. Every sheet carries its number, row and column and a small map of the grid. Don't scale the box down to fit: the gift would no longer go in.

A tuck-end box is one piece that closes with flaps at the top and bottom; glue is needed only on the side seam. A box with a lid is two pieces: a bottom and a lid slightly larger than the bottom so it slides on; handy for a mug or treats. A pillow box is a flat little box with curved ends, for jewelry, a card or cash. A pyramid ties shut with a ribbon through holes near the tips — for candy and small things.

Download “SVG for cutting machines”. The cut line in it is red, fold lines are blue dashes, and the dimensions are in millimeters, so Design Space and Silhouette Studio open the box at actual size. Set the red layer to cut and the blue one to score or perforate, and the machine does both.

Yes: choose “Coloring page” — the walls, pattern and label print as outlines, and a child colors the box in. It makes a good activity before a party: color it first, then fold it up and put the gift inside.