Christmas Gift Boxes

These gift boxes were made for friends and family for Christmas 2023.

The idea came from the book 52 Boxes in 52 Weeks — not as a strict challenge, but as a general nudge toward small, repeatable projects that focus on proportion, joinery, and finish.

Each box is sized to hold a bag of coffee from Bearded Man Coffee in Castle Rock along with a piece of YETI drinkware. Simple contents, but presented in a way that feels intentional and personal.

The box sides were resawn using a four-corner grain match technique so the grain wraps continuously around the outside of each box. The method is from The Wood Whisperer and creates the appearance of a single board folded into a loop.

Construction is straightforward: mitered corners, glued and clamped, with thin stock throughout to keep the boxes feeling light and minimal. The lids are slip-fit with a small finger notch for opening, and they’re intentionally set slightly proud of the box walls.

Milk paint was applied to the edge of the lid so a thin band of blue remains visible when the box is closed. That same color carries through to the exterior bottom, tying the piece together without overpowering the wood.

Inside, fabric squares are adhered to the bottom panels using Mod Podge. The patterned interiors give each box its own personality and add a small moment of surprise when opened.

Most of the time on these went into repetition — cutting, sanding, gluing, and finishing the same form over and over. It was a good exercise in consistency and process.

Lesson learned: thin-walled boxes benefit from splines. One of the boxes shipped to my dad didn’t survive transit when a miter joint failed, and he had to repair it afterward. Future versions will definitely include splines or another form of mechanical reinforcement.

Simple forms, small scale, and made with the intent to be used — exactly the kind of project I keep coming back to.