Custom Birthday Gift Boxes With Your Design

What are birthday gift boxes used for?

They hold a present, a party bag or a slice of cake in a box that already says what it is for. No wrapping paper, no tape, no gift tag.

Bakeries order them for cupcakes and cake slices. Party planners and soft play centres fill them as going-home bags. Gift shops, candle makers and sweet shops print a birthday version of their own box for the busy weeks of the year.

Which birthday box shape should you choose?

Shape decides how the box is carried and how much print shows. A handled box reads like a little bag. A gable-top box stands tall on a shelf. A flat box with a lid reads as a proper present.

The handled box is a close cousin of our printed gable gift boxes with handles, which come in more shapes.

How does a handled birthday box close?

The box ships flat. You fold up the four walls, push the base flaps into place and bring the two top panels together. Each top panel has a half handle; they meet in the middle and a small tab locks them.

Opening it is just as quick. A child can unlock the tab and pull the panels apart without tearing anything. That matters at the end of a party, when thirty boxes are handed out in five minutes.

The tall gable-top box closes another way. Its two sloping roof panels fold in and a tuck flap slides under the ridge. Pull the flap and the roof opens like a carton of milk.

What size birthday box fits a cake slice or a party bag?

Size it to the largest thing going in. Our four typical sizes are starting points; we cut every box to your measurements.

• Favour, about 80 × 80 × 80 mm: a cupcake, a few sweets, a small candle or a bath bomb.
• Small, about 150 × 110 × 60 mm: a cake slice laid flat, a pair of socks or a jewellery pouch.
• Medium, about 220 × 160 × 90 mm: a party bag of small toys, a mug or a book.
• Large, about 300 × 220 × 120 mm: a folded jumper, a soft toy or a small birthday hamper.

Need help with height on a gable top? See how to measure gift box sizes before you send your sizes.

Folding card or kraft for a birthday box?

White folding boxboard shows bright colour best. Balloons, confetti and cartoon drawings print clean and sharp on it. Kraft board turns everything a shade warmer, which suits a hand-drawn, homemade look with one or two inks.

For a box meant to be kept, such as a name-printed box for a milestone age, choose rigid greyboard wrapped in printed paper. It takes 8–10 working days after proof approval and is quoted higher than folding card.

How should a birthday box be printed?

Use the whole surface. The side panels, the handle and the inside of the lid can all carry artwork, and a busy all-over pattern hides small scuffs from little hands.

Foil suits names and ages. Gold or rose gold on a black matt box gives the name a bright edge that shows in photos. Gloss lamination makes cartoon colours pop and wipes clean after a sticky fingerprint.

Our designers lay your artwork across every panel. Start a layout on the Design Your Gift Box page.

Can you print a different name on each box?

On a printed box run, the artwork is the same on every box. For a single child's name on a few keepsake boxes, foil on a rigid box is the usual route. For a class set of names, many customers print a blank name panel and add printed stickers.

Ages work the same way. Print a general birthday design and add the number with a sticker or belly band, so leftover stock stays useful.

Extras that make a birthday box easier to use

A party box gets dropped, swung and opened by small hands, so a few small extras pay for themselves. Choose them on the quote request.

Bakers often ask for a small card platform in a cake slice box so the slice stays upright when the box is carried by its handle.

• Card dividers so cupcakes or cookies do not slide into each other
• A clear window in the side so guests see what is inside
• Ribbon tie or pull on rigid keepsake boxes
• Tissue paper folded inside before the gift goes in
• Belly band printed with a name, an age or a thank-you line

Which birthdays and parties are these boxes for?

First birthdays, children's parties and teenage sleepovers make up most orders. Milestone ages such as 18, 21, 30, 40 and 50 suit the name-printed rigid boxes.

The same handled shape also works for baby showers and graduations with a change of artwork. A plain design without the words happy birthday turns into a year-round favour box.

Shops selling to adults use the flat lid box for birthday sets: a candle with matches, a pair of socks with a card, or a small bottle with two glasses held in a cut insert.

What mistakes do people make with party boxes?

1. Ordering after the invitations go out. Allow proof time plus 4–6 working days, then 2–3 days for delivery.
2. Sizing to the cake, not the cake on a card base. Measure with the base included.
3. Using fine pale text on kraft. It fades into the brown; choose white board or bolder type.
4. Folding thirty boxes on the morning of the party. Fold them the night before.
5. Putting a date or age on the main print. A dateless design keeps spare boxes useful.

How do you order birthday gift boxes?

Tell us the shape, the inside size, the quantity and whether you want folding card, kraft or rigid. A quote reaches you within one working day. Folding card starts from £0.25 a box; rigid boxes are quoted higher.

We send a free proof with your artwork on the box layout and edit it until you approve. Boxes arrive flat by free tracked UK mainland delivery. Read our delivery times and tracking details for more.

Packed flat, a carton of a hundred favour boxes fits in a car boot or under a bed until the party. If a carton turns up crushed or the print is wrong, send photos within 10 days and we reprint or refund.