Easy DIY Gift Card Holders

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Originally published November 8, 2017 and updated November 14, 2022.

Looking for creative ways to make giving a gift card extra special? This Christmas gift card holders DIY tutorial is easy enough for a beginning crafter. You can choose the design and colors you want, so they’re easy to personalize.

While I enjoy making gifts for my family and friends, there are times that a gift card is simply the perfect gift choice. Umm, teenage boy. Uhhh, teenage girl. When I give a gift card, I want to dress it up a bit and add a handmade touch. Making your own DIY gift card holders from recycled Christmas cards is the perfect way to make this easy gift card holder a unique gift. Oh, and they’re frugal and earth-friendly, too.

How do you make a cute gift card holder?

Use decorative paper or recycled cards to make the gift card sleeves. You can create your own pattern using the tutorial below for a holder that is the perfect size for your gift card. You can also find svg files to use in Cricut design space. Make creative gift card holders by matching the card sleeve to:

• The holiday season or different occasions
  • Christmas
  • Hannukah
  • Wedding
  • Birthday
  • Graduation
• Their favorite gift cards
• The gift recipient’s interests

DIY Gift Card Holders

DIY gift card holder ideas:

While you can use decorative paper, for me it all begins with recycled Christmas cards. I save all those beautiful Christmas cards that I receive every year.  I even have my friends and family bring me their Christmas card fronts. The images are so engaging and I just have to find creative ways to repurpose those cards. Often I make gift tags from repurposed Christmas cards.  This year I also figured out how to upcycle Christmas cards to make my own DIY Christmas gift card holders. Not only are they adorable, they’re really easy to make. Really.

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Organizing Storage Tip – save just the front of the cards to cut the storage space in half.

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DIY Gift Card Supplies

• Christmas Card Fronts – Look for cards with images that are the size of a gift card. You can use a portion of the complete image if it fits the size of a gift card.
  • You can also use decorative scrapbooking paper
  • Holiday wrapping paper – heavier paper works better
  • Card stock paper decorated with Christmas stickers
• Double Stick Tape
  • Extreme double-sided tape is recommended so it holds the seam allowance portion together well
  • You can also use
    • A glue stick
    • Glue dots
    • Decorative washi tape
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Paper Trimmer or Cutter or Scissors
• Oval Paper Punch – This is not required, but makes it easy to create the perfect opening. 
• Scor-Pal – This is also not required, but makes folding the cards with perfect creases a snap.

Easy Gift Card Holder Tutorial

Christmas gift card holder pattern

I eyeball the measurements when I make these DIY gift card holders, but I took measurements to help you with your first card.

• Place the gift card over the image to determine the front of the gift card holder.
• Mark measurements lightly with a pencil to determine your cuts.
• Add 1/16 inch on either side of the card (the top and bottom) to give enough space for the card to slide in and out.
• Add half of the card’s height on one side and half plus 1/4 inch to allow the flaps to overlap and be taped closed on the back of the card sleeve.
• For the width of the card, measure the width and add 1/4 inch for the space to tape the left side closed.
• Measurements for a Standard Gift Card – Mark your card to 3 3/4 inches by 4 7/9 inches with your card image centered, with an extra 1/4 inch on one side of the width and one side of the length.

Cut The Paper

Cut the paper or Christmas card to the size you marked out with your paper cutter or scissors.

assemble

I used my Scor-Pal to crease the card along the score lines for perfect folds. You can also use a ruler to fold the card and create sharp folds in a straight line. For the best results, make sure the folds are crisp. It helps hold the shape of the gift card holder when it’s completed.

Tape Holder Shut – Tape the DIY gift card holder closed. I use standard double stick tape and cut the pieces half to create thinner pieces of double stick tape. 

Punch Finger Grip – I used an oval punch to create the finger grip area where you grasp the gift card. You could also use scissors to free-hand cut out this area. 

After you create your first gift card sleeve and get the hang of it, you can make one in about 4 minutes. I don’t know what makes me more happy, how adorable these DIY gift card holders are, that they’re frugal, that they’re earth-friendly or that I made them myself.

These cute gift card holders are a great way to dress up a gift card to favorite stores.

More Creative Gift Giving Ideas

Do you give gift cards as gifts? Give these DIY gift card holders a try and dress up those gift cards while repurposing old Christmas cards. If you want some additional gift ideas, check out this How to Add an Image to a Candle – Easy Tutorial or this Upcycled Book Page Wreath.

See all my most festive Christmas ideas, printables and recipes in the table below. You can scroll though the table and look for ideas or search for specific ideas with the magnifying glass in the upper right-hand corner (on desktop). Click on the topic and then click through the specific article.