Paper-Covered Cereal Box

• Cereal boxes are flat and long like gift boxes intended for clothing, such as shirts. Decorate a cereal box by covering it with wrapping paper, colored comics from a newspaper or brown craft paper embellished with ink-stamped designs, painted handprints or stickers. Leave one end of the cereal box open for inserting the gift, but cover the box flaps with the chosen paper, taping or gluing the paper beneath the flap edges so when the box flaps are closed, the entire box is neatly covered and no cardboard will be visible. Use invisible tape, school glue or rubber cement to secure the paper.
  
  

Shopping Bag Gift Box

• Cut a large cereal box in half horizontally. Cover and glue (or tape) solid-colored wrapping paper (such as silver or white) over the box half, folding at least 1 inch of paper over the top edges to cover all exposed cardboard. Locate the center on both sides. Move 2 inches to the left of the center and punch a hole. Move 4 inches to the right and punch another hole. Repeat the holes for the other side of the box. Cut two pieces of 1-inch-wide satin ribbon (in a coordinating color). Feed an end of one ribbon into one of the holes on one side of the shopping bag gift box from the outside into the box. Tie a knot at the ribbon end on the inside of the box so the ribbon won't come out of the hole. Feed the other ribbon end into the hole and tie a knot at the end inside of the box. This is one handle of the shopping bag gift box. Repeat the ribbon insertion on the other side of the box. An optional embellishment is typing the recipient's name in a large, cursive font and printing out the name. Cut out, center and glue the name onto each side of the shopping bag to look like a store name.
  
  

Papier-Mache Gift Box

• Cover a plastic storage container and lid with plastic wrap. Cut and fill a 5-gallon bucket with 1-inch-wide by 12-inch-long strips of newspaper. Pour enough liquid fabric starch into the bucket to completely saturate the strips. Remove one strip, pulling it between your fingers to remove the excess starch, and lay it across the plastic-wrapped container. Completely cover the container and lid with wet strips, overlapping the edges. Continue layering the strips until the paper is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Allow the paper to dry for about 72 hours. Remove the dried gift box and lid from the container and lid. Trim the opening and lid edges with scissors. Paint the gift box and lid with acrylic paint and allow it to dry. Tie the lid onto the box with ribbon.
  
  

Hinged Gift Box

• Recycle a top "hole" tissue box into a hinged gift box with duct tape and wrapping paper. Stand the box vertically so the tissue hole is on the right side of the box (the bottom of the tissue box will be on the left side). Insert scissors into the tissue opening and cut the box in half, horizontally, around the middle. You will have two box halves. Put the halves "back together". The front of the gift box is the former tissue box top and has the tissue opening. The back of the gift box is the former tissue box bottom. Place duct tape horizontally across the cut on the box back to form a hinge. Open the box (it's now partially hinged). Place duct tape horizontally across the inside back of the box. The box is now hinged. Cover (glue or tape) the box with wrapping paper. Punch a hole in the front center top and bottom box halves with a hole punch. Feed ribbon through the holes and tie the box closed.