Make a Christmas Eve box you can use every year

A Christmas Eve box is a little bundle opened on the night before Christmas. This project turns a plain wooden crate into a box with their name on it. Because the name is on the crate rather than on the wrapping, it’s ready to fill again next Christmas.

It suits anyone who already has a crate, or likes the idea of making the box themselves. If you’d rather it arrived ready, there’s a finished version further down.

What you’ll need

1. Measure your crate

The crate decals are sized for the crate in Fliss’s photos: 40cm wide, with a 7cm-deep top bar and an 8cm-deep bottom bar. Her listings say they fit lots of other crates too.

Measure the width of your crate and the depth of both bars. If yours is different, message Fliss through Etsy before you order. She can resize the design to fit. You can also put a maximum width or height in the personalisation box.

2. Choose a design and the wording

There are ten designs in the Christmas Eve crate listing. Here are some of them, with the wording customers chose:

A few wording ideas from the listing photos:

• [Name]‘s Christmas Eve Treats
• Special delivery for [Name]
• [Name]‘s Christmas Eve Box
• Special Christmas Eve delivery for [Name]
• [Name] & [Name]‘s Christmas Story Countdown, for siblings sharing a box of books

Christmas Eve boxes aren’t only for children. One of the designs reads “Mum’s Christmas Eve Box”, shown here on a crate painted pink.

Design 5 isn’t personalised. It’s meant for the back of the crate, so you can order it alongside a front design.

For the North Pole look, there’s a separate listing: “North Pole Shipping Co” with Santa’s sleigh, and a “Special delivery for…” line with your name.

When you order:

• Check the spelling of every name. The decal is made exactly as you type it.
• If you’d like a different colour, message Fliss first. Her listings include a colour chart.
• If you order several labels, Fliss makes the longest word at the width you asked for, then matches the others to the same height, so they look consistent.

3. Apply the decals

Measure along each bar and find the middle before you peel anything. Because the decal can’t be repositioned, it’s worth taking your time over this part.

4. Fill it

What goes inside is up to you. Ideas include new pyjamas, a festive film, a book, hot chocolate or something for Santa’s visit. These finished extras from the shop fit the theme:

5. Bring it out again next year

After Christmas, empty the crate and put it away with the decorations. The lettering stays on the crate, so next December you only need to fill it. The listings say the decals are fine on washable items but not dishwasher safe, so treat the lettered crate gently.

Prefer it ready-made?

If you don’t have a crate, or you’d rather not apply the vinyl yourself, the finished crates arrive already lettered.

There are more finished crates in the Christmas Eve box ideas guide, and help deciding in finished crate or DIY decal.

Something different: a Christmas message decal

This decal lets you choose your own wording and a festive border, such as a leaping reindeer or a Santa hat. It’s a decal only, so you supply the box, sign or window it goes on.

Order in good time

Everything is made to order, and delivery times change through December. Each Etsy listing shows the current dispatch and delivery estimate, so check it before you rely on a particular date.