Easily make this amazing DIY Christmas gift box with your Cricut! The pop-up cubes leaping out will delight whoever opens it!
originally published December 12, 2019
updated November 8, 2021
Your special someone will love this handmade papercraft! 😍
It’s quite simple to assemble; you’ll get the hang of it quickly after making the first pop-up cube. Decorate it with photos from past holidays to make it extra-special. 📸
Materials needed to create this unique DIY Christmas gift box:
- the free Christmas Pop-Up Gift Box SVG pattern downloaded from the Free Files Folder – it’s Design #39
- At least nine pieces of card stock
- A way to cut and score the cardstock – I use a Cricut Maker
- Six rubber bands
- Either
– Glue such as Aleene’s Tacky Glue or Art Glitter Glue or Bearly Art Precision Crafting Glue
OR
– Extra Strong Double-Sided Tape - More paper to decorate the sides of the cubes, or photos if you’d like to personalize it more
* Links to products are for your convenience in finding tools and materials, however, they are affiliate links.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. *
Tips on choosing the right materials:
Instead of using glue, you can also use extra strong, double-sided tape. It’s less messy and very strong.
Sometimes it’s hard to find the correct size of rubber bands. You want it to be about the size of one cube when pressed down.
How to use the SVG file and assemble the papercraft
1) Go to the ✨ Free Files Folder 📂 and enter the password. Scroll down to design #39 – Holiday Snowflake Pop-Up Cubes SVG. Click on the link, and it will download directly to your computer. Unzip the file, and then upload both SVG files to Design Space. Insert them into a new project.
2) Select the cut line over the main piece in gray, and change it to a Score line. Attach the Score line to the gray base piece below. It should look like the screen shot below.
3) The box and drawer are shown below.
Cut the project out.
4) Fold along the score lines and glue the wrapper and drawer as shown. The accent pieces line the bottom of the drawer, and go on both the inside and outside of the drawer ends to make it stronger. Decorate the top if you like.
5) Glue the accent pieces to the cube as shown. I used sticker paper and “Print and Cut” to make the penguins and the gnomes. The snowflakes are cut from vinyl. (The snowflakes are cut images in the SVG.) The gnomes are a file from the Well Crafted Studio.
6) Fold on the score lines. Stretch a rubber band around the tabs and glue the cube closed. Watch the video below to see the technique. Do this for all of your cubes. (The box will fit six or seven, but you can also make fewer cubes.)
7) Fold the cubes into the drawer and slide it into the box.
Your DIY Christmas Gift Box is finished! When you give the gift, encourage the receiver to pull the drawer all the way out quickly and watch their face light up with surprise and delight. 🤩
Ready to download the free SVG or printable? Head over to the 📂 Free Files Folder and enter the ✨ magic word. ✨ (If you don’t have the magic word, just fill in the form below first.)
Do you want to sell handmade pop-up cubes?
Many crafters asked if they could create gift boxes with pop-up cubes to sell, so I’ve created a commercial use license.
Click on the product for more details.
Save this for later by pinning on Pinterest!
Looking for more DIY projects for your cutting machine? Try these!
Staci says
Are the boxes sized for dollar bills to lay flat? If not, how would I resize them without changing shape? Sorry, total noob.
Luciane says
I do not understand how to make the handle of the drawer of the box. Thanks
Emily says
See (in the step 3 image) the part that looks like two ovals? There are 4 score lines there. It’s easiest to make the rest of the drawer first. Then, fold one oval down so it’s at a 90 degree angle from the drawer. Fold the second oval under it. Half of it is glued under to create the tab, and the second half is glued to the outside of the drawer, creating a tiny shelf for the tab.
I hope this helps! I’ll put this post on my list to update; I realize I don’t have clear photos of each step.
Luciane says
thank you for your answer: I’m sorry, I have a little trouble understanding.
Cathy Royal says
Wish I had found this befor I purchased the metal die. Glad I found your site.
Emily says
Oh darn! Oh well; I had no idea they made dies for this too. I’m glad to have you here! Feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions anytime!
Kim says
Love your pop up cubes box! Thank you sooo much for the SVG file…that’s priceless….sure makes it so much neater…and easier too!
Your tutorial is great and very much appreciated…but just wondering, is there any way you can slow it down some.
Thanks sincerely,
Kim
Emily says
Hi Kim! I’ve been thinking about filming longer “craft with me” types of video, but I’m always too impatient to watch a whole video so I wondered if anyone would really watch it. 😁. I will add it to my to-do list!
BRENDA Allen says
What size of card stock do you recommend? Thank you for providing these!!
Emily says
The file is sized to fit a 12-inch piece of cardstock. I think this size makes a perfect cube. However, it’s easy to size it down just bit to use normal A4 or Letter-sized paper. Enjoy! 🙂
Linda Smik says
Do you have a recommendation as to what size rubber band to use on these? I’ve tried various sizes and I just can’t seem to find ones that work properly. They are either too long so they don’t have enough tension to pop out of the box, or they have too much tension and rip off the tabs.
Emily says
Hi Linda! I took some time to finish my rubber band research and added photos and links near the beginning of the post. I believe the correct size is #18, about 3 inches. It doesn’t seem to be a very common size; #19 seems to be more common. That would explain why your cubes don’t pop up as well.
Perhaps you could try to make the cubes smaller and use the tighter bands? I’ve also noticed that very heavy cardstock doesn’t pop as well as lighter cardstock. I’ve found that it should be 210 gsm or 78 lb. cardstock or lighter.
I hope this helps!
Marlene Martin says
When I bring the pop ups into design space they are very tiny. Star are like 1/2 in across. Is this normal or were size it. The box comes in much larger.
Emily says
No, that is definitely not normal! I would try restarting your computer first, and then import again. We all know DS can be finicky.
If that doesn’t work, simply resize the cubes. They should be 11.5 inches wide to fit into the box correctly.