December is here, and it’s time to get into the holiday spirit! This means wrapping presents, decorating the tree, hanging stockings and building gingerbread houses. But with everything you have to get done before the 25th, we can bet that one thing you definitely don’t have time for is cleaning up a sugary, sticky mess! Thankfully, we have the perfect, mess-free, simple solution. This year, why not make a sans-confectionary gingerbread house with leftover cardboard product boxes! Not only will your children enjoy them for much longer than the usual graham cracker and icing versions that crack after a week, you’ll love having one less thing to cross off your cleaning list!
Larger Than Life
One benefit to using up all those recycled custom boxes for your gingerbread house? When you use boxes, you have more sizing options than you do with the stick-the graham-on-the-milk-carton version! Why not really get festive this year and make your gingerbread house life size? Your children can pretend to be elves, or Santa himself, dropping gifts down their own cardboard chimney. Though making a cardboard home is fairly intuitive, if you’re stuck on construction, you can always check out Pinterest for some great instructions (hint: duct tape — a lot of it).
Sugar Free Substitutions
If you don’t want to make your gingerbread home a hotel for flies and ants, there are plenty of craft supplies you can use that have the look of candy, with none of the filling! Instead of colored wafers, glue mountains of pom-poms on your roof. Looking for some wallpaper options? How about reusing all those extra piece of wrapping paper that just weren’t quite right for wrapping a present? Your local craft store is sure to have plenty of plastic candy canes and other holiday-themed adornments (be sure to check the scrapbooking section for some other adorable add-ons). And for a fun twist on a peppermint candy? Why not use a red and white pinwheel?
Light It Up
To make sure your cardboard house is visible to Santa and his reindeer, why not string up some of those extra Christmas tree lights inside or out? All you have to do is set up your box-house somewhere close to an outlet, tape the strand to the roof, plug in and, poof, your old product boxes are a dream residence for the holiday season. Just make sure you always unplug the lights before your children head to bed on the night before Christmas.
No matter what you have sitting around the house, there are plenty of options that can transform old product boxes into the perfect gingerbread house for your children! Avoid the mess and create something you can enjoy year after year. Why not add on each year, expanding your house into a neighborhood and small town? The possibilities are endless and the memories are priceless.
To start your own holiday packaging project click here or contact us and we’ll help you with all your questions.
