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Tissue Boxes for Gifts

by: Joyce Moseley Pierce

We have all heard of using decorative tissue to make

our gift look more special. Over the years the gift bags

have become so popular because all you have to do is stick

your gift in the bag, stuff in some pretty tissue paper,

and you're ready to go. No more worrying about cutting

wrapping paper to fit or tying bows!

Thinking outside the box (or bag!) for a moment, you'll realize

that there is still another option. I'm talking about tissue

boxes; the square ones that you buy because they don't take

up much space.

Over the years the tissue companies have gotten pretty

creative in packaging their tissues. Now they come in

beautiful decorator colors and designs, and you don't even

need those tissue covers that we used to use to hide the ugly

box.

Here are just a couple of ideas. If you start to let your

mind wander, I'm sure you'll think of more.

For my mother-in-law's 70th birthday a few years ago, we had a big

celebration. We wanted to give her money, but I didn't just

want to put cash or a check in a card. I went to the bank

and got seventy one-dollar bills and then taped them together,

end to end. I folded them one by one and stuffed them into

a square tissue box, and had the top bill just barely sticking

up out of the box. Back then, the boxes weren't so pretty,

and because we wanted her to be surprised, I wrapped the box.

Everyone got excited watching her pull that roll of dollar bills

out of the box. As she pulled, it looked like there was no

end to the roll. It sure was a lot more fun than watching her

open an envelope and lay it aside.

I have a daughter who meets with her friends every month

for coffee. Last year she found tissues packaged in boxes that

had coffee designs on them. She bought a wholesale size package

of about 10 of them and used the tissues throughout the

year. She saved the empty boxes, and at Christmas, she

put a small gift, wrapped in tissue paper, inside. As each

friend left her house that December day, she gave them

their own coffee box. They loved it!

I think the ideas for this are limitless. It works great

for something small, and spices up that "just thinking of

you" gift that you might have just been picked up at the dollar

store. You've spent nothing for the box, and if you're

a super saver, you probably even have tissue paper that

you've pulled out of a gift someone gave you.

Valentine's Day is coming up and I'm sure there will be

tissue boxes decorated in hearts. With wrapping tissue

to stuff in the box, you don't have to have much "quantity,"

but you could use them to package candies, cookies, hand

lotion, lip gloss, jewelry, or anything else that will fit.

Use your imagination!

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