Christmas Packaging UK: What to Book Now and What to Put Inside
If you want Christmas packaging in the UK ready for December orders, late October is the time to book it. Seasonal stickers, tissue paper and printed inserts are the quickest wins, and custom gift boxes need the longest run-up.
Think about the best parcel you opened last Christmas. Maybe it was wrapped in coloured tissue, sealed with a branded sticker, with a little thank you card sitting on top. It felt like a present before you’d even seen what was inside, and that’s exactly what good Christmas packaging does for your customers.
Here’s what to book first, what’s worth putting in the box, and how to get it all out of the door before the big day.
When should you order Christmas packaging?
Order Christmas packaging by late October or early November, because print queues get longer every week from September onwards.
Everyone else is booking too. Retailers are ordering point of sale, brands are sending gifts to clients, and online shops are stocking up for their busiest weeks of the year. The earlier your job is in the queue, the more choice you have over materials and finishes.
Our guide to Q4 print lead times and what to book early covers the wider picture, and our Christmas retail print timeline sets out what to book week by week.
What’s the quickest way to give your packaging a Christmas look?
The quickest way to make your packaging festive is to add seasonal touches to the boxes you already use, rather than starting from scratch.
- A Christmas sticker that seals the box and adds a finishing touch. Our stickers and labels range is the lowest cost way to do it.
- Coloured or printed tissue paper, which protects the product and gives your customer a little moment of unwrapping.
- Branded packaging tape, so the parcel looks festive from the doorstep.
- Seasonal point of sale for your shop or window, if you sell in person too.
None of these need a new box design, so they’re the right choice if time or budget is short.
Is custom Christmas gift packaging worth it?
Custom Christmas gift packaging is worth it when you’re selling a gift set, a premium product or anything where the unboxing is part of the purchase.
Finishes make the difference here. Foiling, embossing and textured card all feel special in the hand, and ribbons, brand seals and promotional inserts add to the moment. Our luxury packaging page shows the kind of finishes that work well for gifting.
Custom packaging takes longer than stickers and tissue, so if you want it for this Christmas, talk to us now. If not, it’s well worth starting next year’s in January, when this year’s lessons are still fresh.
At Birch, we can create 3D visuals of your product packaging so you can see how it’ll look before anything goes into production. That’s a big help when you’re signing off a design with a deadline you can’t move.
What should you put inside a Christmas parcel?
Put something inside that thanks the customer and gives them a reason to come back in the new year.
- A thank you note, which costs very little and gets remembered.
- A leaflet teasing your January sale or next season’s range.
- Care or usage instructions, so the gift gets used properly.
- A QR code on the insert that links to your extended Christmas returns policy, which answers the question every gift buyer has.
If you’d like each note to carry the customer’s name or a personal message, our guide to variable data printing explains how that works.
Should you send Christmas mailings to customers and clients?
A Christmas mailing is one of the simplest ways to stay front of mind in December, whether it’s a card for your clients or a promotion for your customers.
A printed card lands on someone’s desk and stays there, often until January. For customers, a mailer with a festive offer or a last order date gives them a clear reason to buy from you before the holidays. A personalised greeting, with their name and a message that fits what they’ve bought from you before, makes it feel like it came from a person rather than a list.
Mailings work best when they’re booked alongside your packaging, so the look matches and everything goes out on one schedule. Our direct mail page has more on how that works.
How do you avoid proofing problems at Christmas?
The best way to avoid proofing problems is to sign off one proof, properly, rather than going back and forth as the deadline gets closer.
You don’t need to worry about paying for every round, either. At Birch, we don’t charge for standard PDF proofs. Press proofs are chargeable, so it’s worth asking about them when you brief the job. Our guide on how to brief a print supplier and only pay for one proof shows you what to include so the first proof is the right one.
How much Christmas packaging should you order?
Order a margin above your forecast, because a reprint in the middle of December is usually impossible, not just expensive.
Press time that was easy to find in September has gone by late November. A few hundred spare sleeves or stickers cost far less than running out of packaging in your busiest week.
If storage is the worry, we can help with that too. At Birch, we store stock in our 27,000 ft² secure warehouse in Ilkeston and send it out on call-off, so you don’t need to find room for every box at once.
Can someone pack and send your Christmas orders for you?
Yes. Print fulfilment means your packaging, inserts and products are stored, packed and despatched for you, so your team can get on with everything else.
At Birch, we handle sourcing, printing, kitting, pick and pack, storage and despatch, with tracked courier delivery and a dedicated account manager keeping it all on track. You can read more about our print fulfilment and delivery service, or see how we pull multi-item campaigns together.
Got a festive project in mind? Drop us a line through our contact page and we’ll happily talk it through.
