A Round-Up of the Best Gift and Holiday Packaging Ideas for the Season

Come up with a unique gift and holiday packaging this coming season for your customers. The perfect partner to Black Friday sales or the December holiday rush, each packaging component builds anticipation for that coveted wish list item. You also save gift-givers from the burden of wrapping presents; a Virgin Trains survey reports that 67% have negative feelings about this endeavor. They can simply order your item and have it delivered to their homes or straight to the recipients, saving them all that time, money, and effort. 

But with every other competitor catching up on the festivities, your gifts will need to stand out at every opportunity. Creative and colorful gift packaging ideas will keep your brand top of mind throughout the season. Here’s a round-up of the best ideas, tips, and design hacks that will make your present a sure presence on someone’s doorstep, under a Christmas tree, or behind a brilliant window display. 

Putting Together Essential Packaging Components  

Make every step of your item’s unboxing memorable and worth sharing. Complete your gift packaging ideas with one, some, or all of the components below. The right combination can tell the story of your brand and show your customer that you value their business.  

1. Personalized Mailer Box – Think out of the box to keep customers inside yours. Scrap the generic brand name and use a witty declaration or a standout aesthetic to introduce your brand. Glossier greets customers with “You Look Good” on the mailer box. Birchbox uses colorful patterns to distinguish each delivery.  
2. Product Box – Match the design on your mailer or shipping box with the branded look of your product box. Make sure the box includes all the FDA-required details for ingredients, nutrition facts, and other details. You can also include directions for use and any certifications relevant to your company, such as recyclable or organic materials. 
3. Stand-up or flat pouches – Provide customers resealable and ready-to-use storage for your food, beauty, or skincare items. The stand-up pouches come with a bottom gusset that expands when filled. You can also include free samples to reward a set of special purchases, sealing them in flat pouches.  
4. Custom Stickers – A freebie everyone welcomes with any kind of product, from a beauty haul to a gadget set. Customers welcome fun stickers they can use to decorate their laptops or notebooks. Your brand gets free advertising whenever and wherever they decide to apply your stickers.  
5. A handy postcard guide or greeting card – This shows customers you are thinking of them and encourage the correct use of your product. Address each card with their name so they read the detailed list of the shipped items or include a step-by-step instructional guide for the products.

If you need to quickly brand packaging products like pouches or shipping boxes, we recommend the following to save you time and money. 

Packaging tape seals every shipping box with your logo and protects your shipments from theft and tampering. Your logo repeats every 2”, 3”, 4”, 6”, and 12”. Just dab water on the tape if you’re applying it manually, or use an automatic label dispenser.

Product labels are easy to apply on blank packagings like pouches or boxes. No need to worry about designing a new set of containers if you’ve run out of a specific item. Simply order a bulk of product labels and apply the permanent adhesive on the clean surface. These labels come in waterproof vinyl and BOPP, perfect for food and beverage items.

You can update the product and brand name of your label or order a set of updated nutrition facts for your special line. Check out our guide on FDA requirements for labels to know the essentials for food and beverage items.

Custom inserts and dividers help organize a set of items for shipment in a large box. The form and shape of each product are maintained and looks good as new upon arrival. Our online design tool lets you create a special design for the interior of a shipping or mailer box. Add holiday icons like snow, pine trees, and holly to extend the themed wrapping inside the box. Download holiday graphics on the box page itself to start on the design. A complimentary exterior and interior design is also the perfect opportunity to play with the color combinations of your brand. 

How to Spruce Up Your Holiday Packaging Ideas

Looking for other unique ways for your cookie packaging ideas? Need to add style to your jewelry packaging ideas? Here are a few creative options to consider: 

Play with the latest pantones to appear on-trend yet also stand out. The year 2020 welcomed the classic blue and its ability to instill calm, confidence, and connection. It’s the perfect background for snow or other similar holiday-related elements. With your customer winding down and resetting from the year that was, the blue lets them reflect and rest as they welcome the coming year.  

Use other colors to evoke the purpose of your message. Color has been studied to improve our ability to remember. A bright, full-color package will surely stick as soon as your customer sees the box, pouch, or label. Combine colors that are not only on brand but will help them associate these hues with your company. Red encourages detail-oriented thinking, while blue encourages creativity. Depending on the image your business is projecting, the right color psychology will increase the exposure and retention of your company. 

Luxurious printing finishes are also available to add elegance to your corporate gift packaging and other giveaways. Design special product boxes for exclusive items and print the company name in spot UV or foil. You can also apply texture with a soft-touch or an embossed area. These details will draw attention to the product name and your company, keeping your brand top of mind in the next purchase. 

Customize and bring your holiday packaging ideas to life today. Upload a print-ready design or download a template for labels and pouches. Boxes can be designed and previewed in 3D using the online tool.