Seasonal Subscription Box Packaging Ideas To Impress Beyond the Holidays

noissue Recycled Custom Shipping Box by @thedesigneye_

It’s about to become the most wonderful time of the year again – when the holidays arrive, of course!

For brands, the holidays are an opportunity to gain customers and repeat purchases. Retail sales increased by 14.1% last November and December. This year, we can bet that shoppers are aiming to find the perfect gift even sooner.

What better way to give the pleasant surprise of the season than through a holiday subscription box?

🎄 Why subscription boxes are going to soar during the holiday season

Subscription boxes surprise loved ones by containing curated and creative assortments of goodies, making them effortless to shop for and thoughtful presents to give.

Recurly states that 63% of consumers consider giving subscriptions and subscription boxes as gifts, while 70% are interested in receiving subscriptions as gifts.

So, the potential to attract new and returning customers is prime for budding brands wanting to level up their subscription boxes for the holidays!

However, subscription boxes also have another aspect that’s not so jolly. And that’s how they have the potential to leave a negative impact on the planet with wasteful packaging.

🎊 Making the season more sustainable (without sacrificing style)

The holiday season notoriously produces massive waste from all the frills and fancy bows – more accurately, twenty-five million tons per year! So what can subscription box brands do to reduce their environmental impact while making their customer’s Christmas wishes come true?

The answer lies in creating gift packaging that consumers can appreciate and repurpose beyond a single time of year.

Spruce up your unboxing experience with designs that last beyond the season!

Make a lasting impression – from under the tree and beyond! A beautifully branded package sporting a special design will go a long way in winning the hearts of shoppers, building a loyal customer community, and encouraging renewals throughout the year.

Seasonally versatile subscription box packaging captures customers' attention while adding even more value to their experience with your brand. But no need for your Christmas designs to go full-on with giant gingerbread or glittery gossamer.

Packaging that can apply to multiple holidays opens up customers’ doors to more easily repurpose packaging and prevent waste. One-of-a-kind designs will excite customers and recipients and signal how your brand cares significantly about every detail that goes into the unboxing experience.

Through seasonal subscription box designs, you get the best of both worlds without having to sacrifice the festive fun or your brand’s style.

✨ Seasonal subscription box designs and Christmas packaging ideas to try in 2022

Ready to ring in the wow with a one-of-a-kind, specially-designed subscription box? Here are some ideas for your brand to amp up the festivities with sustainable, seasonal packaging!

Give traditional color schemes and themes a contemporary refresh

Christmas cheers to our winner for October’s #noissuePrompt!

This month, our Creative Community responded to the task of creating a branding and packaging suite for a beauty box subscription brand. Instead of creating a design that would blend its subscription box into a sea of Santa hats and holly, The Design Eye gave us Christmas with a twist!

Amy, the creative behind the branding and design studio, takes a modern approach to what’s typically seen as traditional holiday colors and imagery. By employing muted tones while incorporating bold typography and illustrations onto a noissue Recycled and Recyclable Custom Box, the design is excellently seasonal while remaining contemporary and chic.

Inside, 100% recycled and compostable noissue Custom Tissue Paper pleasantly prolongs the surprise and protects products in an eco-friendly layer. The quirky references to popular season’s greetings and festive features cover the tissue paper to create a delightful design!

A recycled and recyclable noissue Custom Card greets recipients with a warm welcome – without resulting in excessive packaging waste. Talk about a cause for celebration, just like how the cheeky holiday card sets the tone for an unforgettable unboxing!

Once all is sealed with a recycled and compostable noissue Custom Sticker starring a familiar seasonal motif, we’ve got a stunning subscription box that’s sure to see broad smiles during and well after the holidays.

Use nature-inspired seasonal designs for evergreen premium packaging

A sure bet to keep packaging materials like tissue paper and gift boxes evergreen is to let nature lead the way! An allover pattern inspired by natural elements can serve seasonal purposes without being tied to one holiday or another.

Using nature-inspired colors and motifs to decorate your design helps your brand stay on trend and ahead of all the seasons.

The Luxe Co and We Are Wylde teamed up to design noissue Custom Tissue Paper, Custom Boxes, and Custom Cards that complement each other as a cohesive packaging suite. From the earthy colors to the flora that flourishes on the tissue paper, this is a gift box that elegantly elevates the unboxing experience.

The recycled tissue wrapping paper teems with a luxurious leafy pattern, a perfectly minimal match to the forest green gift box. While the colors are fitting for the holidays, they’re also applicable throughout the rest of the year and can suit all sorts of beauty and skincare brands, artisan food and confectionery, and more.

Similarly, there’s no harm in going big with your natural motifs! Maximize the colorful custom printing in eco-friendly inks to gift customers a work of art on their packaging. See how Sophie Williamson Design displays an amazingly detailed, multicolored rendition of cool-toned florals on a noissue Recycled Custom Gift Box.

Recipients are left in awe when interacting with an immersive design like this, especially since every component is made from recycled materials and can be easily reused beyond the holidays!

Go for gold (or silver, or copper!) with metallic finishes

A clever way to nod to the seasonal theme is by including an extra layer of visual interest and textural touch. Adding a metallic tone to your subscription box’s components, like recycled tissue paper and sustainable satin ribbon, will transform any old Christmas design into an exquisitely gilded and gorgeously branded one.

This show-stopping design by Robertson Creative celebrates the holiday spirit without sticking too strictly to a holiday, so it’s perfectly repurposable for other events and seasons.

Best of all, all the colors and metallic finishes on noissue Tissue are printed with eco-friendly inks that won’t affect its reusability or compostability. Customers will enjoy the holidays knowing they’re receiving and gifting as sustainably as possible, thanks to your brand!

This gleaming, illustrative tissue paper by Box and Bow is a well-done rendition of seasonal-inspired sustainable packaging. If you want to keep your subscription box designs consistent but add a subtle holiday touch, you can do so with metallic accents.

Turn your logo into unique artwork!

If you’re just starting to personalize your brand’s subscription boxes, why not show it all the love for this holiday season?

Don’t leave your branding on the back burner; instead, make it the season’s star by creating repeating patterns to print on your boxes, tissue, and tape! Effortlessly turn your logo into a pattern and customize your brand’s colors to make it all pop on noissue’s easy-to-use design platform,

We love how Eleanor Isobelle Art takes it a step further for the season by implementing their logo into a checkered design on recycled custom tissue paper, complete with a festive color palette that’s not too traditionally holiday.

Wanting to pay homage to winter? Printing your logo in crisp white to contrast with a cool blue background is one way to subtly say, “happy holidays!”

Bon and Bear expertly craft a wonderfully wintery unboxing topped with a warm pop of terra cotta in a custom logo sticker. It’s a conveniently neutral yet creative combination that’s leagues above plain packaging!

Encouraging customers to reuse your packaging materials helps increase brand awareness beyond the season, bringing in new customers throughout the year.

🎁 Wrapping it up

Seasonally inspired but not completely tied to a singular holiday, subscription box designs like these add immeasurable value to your customer’s brand experience and keep the good times going through versatility.

Seize the season and ensure your customers' happiest holidays while staying true to your brand’s personality and sustainability goals!

Ready to ramp up the holiday hustle with seasonal subscription box packaging? Shop sustainable shipping and packaging supplies that show off your branding to stand out from Santa’s sleigh! Design custom, recyclable subscription mailer boxes here.

Curious about our monthly #noissuePrompts and creative community? Check out more branding inspiration and participate in creative design challenges on Instagram!