I made these Christmas gift boxes to fit in my bookcase nooks almost 10 years ago. This is the year that I change the wrapping for the very first time. I know. Fascinating and mundane at the same time.
The idea or making fake gifts to put in my bookcases originally came to me when I saw the exact same thing at a friend's house and copied it.
I made it much better than he did because a) I'm telling the story and b) his kids picked out his wrapping paper and kids have absurd taste.
I built these built in bookcases just before Christmas in 2016. You can read a bit about how I built them here and see their full reveal including the secret storage compartments they have here. The first year I built them is the first year I made these black, gold and greenery adorned boxes.
So the bookcase presents were born. (copied, stolen, whatever)
Bookcase Gift Boxes
2 ways to make them
Custom DIY with woodworking
As far as DIYS using tools, this one is a level 1 in terms of difficulty. You just cut some 2x2's so they fit the size of your book nook and screw them together.
Super-Easy DIY with a glass of wine in one hand
Wrap some presents in whatever boxes you have laying around that fit in your bookcases. Stick them in so the bows and ribbon face out. Sip.
Changes For 2024
It was way too easy to punch a hole in the paper when I first made these. I did them really quickly.
When I originally made them I just used 2x2s and made a frame. This year I will add a thin piece of wood or stiff cardboard to the face of the frame.
They'll be easier to wrap with a solid surface and I won't have to worry about punching holes in the paper when I make, hang, or store them.
Materials
- Two 8' long 2x2s
- Stiff cardboard cut to size* (new this year)
- Wrapping paper
- Ribbon
- Fake or real greenery
- 2.5" nails or screws
- Scotch tape
- White glue or staple gun
Instructions
Choose whatever wrapping paper you want! Ribbon too.
NOTE: Matte paper is better than shiny because shiny shows all the wrinkles, marks etc.
The unexpected genius of this
If you have 1.5" of space behind your books on the bookcase you can just push them back and stick the gift box in front of everything. When it's time to get rid of them you slide them out and your bookcases are exactly like they were before Christmas. It's a Christmas miracle, cue the squirming baby Jesus.
In other words, you don't have to find anywhere to store what's normally in your bookcases as long as you can push them back by a little more than an inch.
Put sprigs of real greenery in floral vials with water and tuck those in the bows if you're having the kind of super-fancy night you always imagine you will but never do.
Or just do it for you.
I searched around big, bad Amazon for a while and found what I think are best selection of fake greenery picks for Christmas.
I chose this artificial pine because the stems are wood coloured, not green which makes them natural looking.
A triple mix of various eucalyptus stems.
I chose this pine sprig because it looks like bonsai. It's 14" long from tip to tail but you can cut the stem shorter or individual sprigs from it.
You'll see these boxes done with their new wrapping in my annual Christmas House tour. If you're looking for Christmas decorating inspiration before then, here's a random Christmas House Tour from 2020
Full Instructions for the DIY bookcase presents below.
Fake Bookcase Presents
A fast and easy way to give your bookcases that cozy holiday feeling. These measurements are for a standard Ikea Billy Bookcase but can be revised to fit any bookcase.
Materials
- Two 8' long 2x2s.
- Wrapping paper.
- Ribbon.
- Fake or real greenery.
- 2.5" nails or screws.
- Scotch tape
- White glue or staple gun.
Instructions
- Cut the 2x2s into 14" lengths. (you'll need 8 of them for 4 presents)
- Cut the 2x2s into 8.5" lengths. (you'll need 8 of them for 4 presents)
- Screw or nail wood together to form a rectangle frame. Your long 2x2s will be the top and the shorter ones will be the sides. Your finished frame will be 14" x 11.5"
- Wrap the frame with the wrapping paper of your choice.
- Lay ribbon across the present and staple or glue it to the back.
- Form a bow and staple it to the ribbon (or use a pipe cleaner to attach it)
- Add in greenery to give some holiday feel and add colour contrast.
- Place your "present" into the bookcase.
Notes
Store these carefully and they'll last for years.
Use whatever kind of paper you want. Vintage wrapping paper would be GREAT.
If you're going to screw the frames together remember to pre-drill the wood so it doesn't split.
Matte paper is better than shiny because shiny shows all the wrinkles, marks etc.
Love ❤️
OMG cue the squirming baby Jesus
that's as far as I got. have to go get the coffee out of my nose.
The best!
Bookcase? Decorate? Ha! Bookcases breed books, and knickknacks, and small odds and ends, and... You never have enough bookcases, ergo empty spaces, to catch up, let alone decorate.
I use lots of "picks" to decorate my presents, but I can't afford the lovely ones you featured. I go to the dollar store, Target, Walmart, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, or wherever after Christmas and buy the large pieces of Christmas greenery on sale. Then, next year, I cut them up with my trusty wire cutters and have plenty of decorations for my packages. This year I have been saving brown paper grocery bags and am wrapping all my presents in them. (You can iron the wrinkles out.) Then I'm using traditional red, green, and plaid ribbons (also bought last year on sale), my greenery picks and handmade tags cut out of used manilla file folders. I feel so eco-friendly! (and also frugal :) win, win.
The odd time I can find some good ones at the dollar store too! Some of them are hideous, lol. But sometimes you can get a good batch, or mix bits from different ones. My dollar store carries red berries on branches (actually red painted tiny styrofoam balls, lol) but they look great and I use them everywhere at christmas. ~ karen!
Is Oral Surgery your newest DIY?
Inquiring minds want to know . . . I also wondered.
LOL. That's my question too.
Oh no, I've been doing that for a longggg time.😉My grandfather was a dentist and I have some of his original medical books. :) ~ karen!
😂😂I felt caught by your first few sentences. I admit the initial reason I clicked on your post was to zoom in on the books - the decor was great too of course but yes, you can tell a lot about a person by their books - although mine are in sections and some in different rooms tell more of an accurate story than others. You cracked me up with your insight.
People loveeeeee book snooping, lol!! ~ karen
Beautiful and so elegant! This is a bookcase version on “the little black dress”!
What a genius idea. And I'm worried about Margaret too.
Tres chic!
Great idea. Surprising how black can look so festive.
Great job with the book cases. They look great. And hope you enjoyed YOUR day.
Yes, where is Margaret?
The shelves are beautiful. I love them.
But, where is Margaret? I'm worried.
don't know how anyone has space in a book case. ours are jam packed, tighter than sardines! with some sardines overflowing the can.
Any tips on how to give up books?
Happy Holidays from your bud in Alaska
Flash
Same problem here. I used to think I could "style" bookshelves but they fill up with books before anything else has a chance. There are no tips about how to give up books -- you have an illness and it's incurable. Just live with it, because it will make you terminally unhappy if you get rid of the books. Trust me.
I am recently widowed and have 10 6 ft tall 3 ft wide walmart bookcases with more books in the attic. Need to downsize yesterday-what do I do with them? With ebooks does anybody own a lot of books? Would like to get rid of them in one swell foop? Scared to have strangers show up at the door and you gotta let them in,even if they have one hand behind their back and a small stream of drool slipping down their chin? Ya know,manners- must be polite....... With 60 years of furniture-closets full of clothes,towels,bedding. So far I just sit in a chair with a large question mark floating in the air.
Judy, have the books boxed up and in the garage, have a friend there with you. Choose a reputable recipient of your goods. What you’re feeling isn’t unusual given your recent loss. My condolences. Not meaning to get too much into your business, but I just helped a friend through this. She was paralyzed by everything she thought she needed to do. By taking a step at a time. Everyone’s grief is their own journey. Let your good friends help you.
Judy, I understand your problem. Same situation. Haul the books to the Goodwill. They will take them. Sell odd lots on eBay. They will sell if popular novels or "how to" books. I know the lifetime accumulation of everything else. Just take it one step at a time. I'm almost 8 months out from my husband passing and I run hot and cold so accept it will take some time to figure it all out. It comes in stages. It will get better but you have to work through the hard stuff first. Books might not be the most important things to think about or worry about right now. Just take care of you and be well.
Judy, call your local library. They may be able to help you. If they can't take all of your books, they might take a good portion of them. They will most likely know of a good place for you to contact about such a large quantity -- there are many organizations who can take books for distribution to schools and senior citizen facilities and hospitals, or to use for fundraising. Good luck, and get a friend to help you with this.
I keep some of my books but most of the time, since I was running out of space, when I am done reading them, I pass them on to another book-lover & she shares them with her daughter. Some they keep & some they pass on to others.
And Karen - I love this idea. Your shelves look great.
Love your work Karen and yes you make me snort with every blog-thank you, thank you.
Book sharing idea- I know it's sacriledge to even think about writing in a book... but we share mom, granny and more, so we would sign and date when we read it and pass it on.
wrap the books!
Congratulations, Karen! I knew you'd get the job done in time. It all looks lovely! The touch of greenery makes the black very festive!
I love basketball season but I wish Christmas didn't land in the middle... Oh and the bookcases look great!
Me like.
Looks fabulous!
I absolutely love the book case ! and the black wrapped gifts - they are stunning. Very nice job.
Shelves look wonderful Karen! All your hard swear...I mean, work, really paid off! Well done!
love it.