Cookie Box Uses

Here are some ideas on how you can reuse your cookie boxes. The first few are great promotional ideas, especially for use at cookie booths. The others are crafts. Enjoy!

  1. Cookie Booth Pyramid Display
    At your cookie booth, set up empty cookie boxes into a pyramid for a display for people to look at. I found the people thinking that they were to pull the boxes out that they wanted. They can be hot glued together into the pyramid. Boy, will the customers get a shock when they try to pick up a box from the display!

  2. Cookie Booth Table Cover
    Create a place mat to set the cookies on for your cookie booth. (This would be really interesting if you add to it every year, as the boxes change!)

  3. Cookie Booth Poster
    Make a poster using the cut up boxes as display material. You can use the eye-catching line of "What does $4.00 buy you today?" Let the girls go with it! Ideas: It buys a safe place for girls to grow... It buys leadership training for the next generation... It buys us a chance to be self-sufficent when we go camping... It buys us the supplies to help others and benefit the community. Do you have pictures? Use them.

  4. Cookie Booth Poster #2
    How about a description of the cookie with the box as a header? You know, a half poster board. Glue the empty cookie box on it. Put a description of the cookie: the nutritional info, the calories, etc.

  5. Cookie Sale Thermometer
    How about using the boxes as a thermometer for how well the sale is going and how far you have to go to meet your goal? You can use a roll of paper, draw out a thermometer (that the box fits in), assign a number each box represents (like 5 boxes equal one box) and every time you sell five boxes you use some doubled up duct tape and put a box up. Make sure you put the goal on top and state what the goal is! You know - help us go white water rafting/camping/whatever! We need to sell 200 boxes to meet our goal! This is an easy visual and many times a person will see you have only two more boxes to go and they might push their sale up to help you meet a goal.

  6. Cookie Songbooks
    Use the old cookie boxes to make covers for songbooks. The songs can be cookie songs or camp songs. Older troops could even make these--include your favorite songs--and give them to younger troops.

  7. Mobile
    Make a mobile by cutting out pictures of cookies from the box and pasting pictures of Girl Scouts to the backs of each one.

  8. Constellation Viewer
    Make a neat constellation viewer: Use a piece of black construction paper cut to size of box (you can also make these from cereal boxes) then draw the star constellation on the construction paper and poke holes in the box where the stars are. You then shine a flashlight into the box (turn out the lights) and the constellation shines through.

  9. Puzzles
    Cut the boxes into puzzle pieces for various games.

  10. Bookmarks
    The thinner sides of the boxes make good bookmarks. Add some ribbon or yarn if you wish.

  11. Postcards
    The front pictures make good postcards!! Use them to write other troops, send meeting notices.... or so on.

  12. Imagination Kits
    Cut the box so it would open from the top, while laying on its face. Then decorate it with paper bits, glue sprinkles, colors & markers, and whatever you think of. Cut slots in the side, so it "locks" closed. Fill some boxes with leftover crayons, worn down but not broken. Fill some boxes with games and instructions. Fill some with small stuffed animals, legos, old Barbies or whatever for puppet shows and imagination games. Give these to a Daisy/Spark troop/group.

  13. Totem Pole
    Have each girl make part of a totem pole and then tape them together.

  14. Cookie Box Photo Album
    • Supplies:
      • 1 cookie box per girl
      • Brown grocery sacks
      • Paper punch
      • Yarn
      • Optional: Wrapping paper.
    • Directions:
      • Picture the cookie box to be a photo album that opens on the right side like a book. Now open the top of the cookie box and cut down the right side to the bottom. Cut across the bottom and back up the right side to the top. Cut off the top and bottom. You should now have what looks like an album.
      • Cut the brown paper bag into page size pieces.
      • Use the paper punch and punch the "spine" of the box with 2 holes at the top and 2 holes on the bottom.
      • Position the paper over the holes in the box and punch matching holes through the grocery bag sheets.
      • Attach the "sheets" to the album using the yarn.
    • Tips:
      • You can cover the whole album with wrapping paper to hide the cookie box if you would like it that way.

  15. Cookie Box Scrapbook
    • Items needed, per girl:
      • two identical Girl Scout cookie boxes
      • one large cereal box
      • three rings that open and close (like those in a three-ring binder)
      • three strands of yarn (rings make it easier to add/move pages)
    • Other items needed:
      • scissors -- regular and fancy-edged
      • glue sticks, rubber cement, photo corners, etc.
      • paper (we used copier paper)
      • construction paper
      • loose leaf reinforcements
      • crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc.
      • stickers, rubber stamps and other decorations
      • photos of your troop's activities
      • other mementos from the troop year.
      • hole punch (three-hole punch is helpful)
    • Directions:
      • Cut the top, bottom and nutrition info panel off the two cookie boxes, leaving the other three sides intact. Flatten.
      • Trace the cookie boxes onto your cereal box cardboard and cut out. glue a piece of cereal box to the back side of each cookie box (this makes them stronger. They will be your scrapbook covers). Cut construction paper to fit and glue it to the cereal box. Your cereal box cardboard is now "sandwiched" between the cookie box and the construction paper.
      • Trace your cookie box onto several sheets of white paper and cut out.
      • Punch three holes in the same place on the top of each cookie box and each sheet of white paper. Make these into a book using the rings or the yarn.
      • Add troop photos, mementos and decorations to the pages.
      Tips:
      • I took photos at every meeting and event my troop had. The girls would grumble when they saw the camera, but when we made the scrapbooks, they were all thrilled and glad I had the camera. The girls also asked each other to sign the inside back cover (and they wrote me some cool notes in mine :)
      • I got double prints each time I developed film and took the few photos from each roll that I wanted first. Then, I made an envelope for each girl and divided the photos, putting photos where she was the "star" into her envelope. Each girl got about eight photos and I had a stack left. I told them before they started that everyone does not have a copy of each photo and everyone's envelope was different. Feel free to trade. I spread the extras out on a table and invited them to come help themselves to photos of their friends -- just remember to share. They did REALLY well! Everyone got some of the extras. I also spread out post cards, etc. that we accumulated during the year.
      • Remind the girls to think before they cut. If they cut a photo wrong, they can't put it back together.
      • Clean-up is easier if you spread out newspaper on the table.

  16. Cookie Photo Postcard
    Cut the photo on the box to postcard size (maximum of 6" across by 4.25" tall) and use as a postcard.
  17. Tissue Boxes
    Cut an opening in the middle of the box, insert a pile or packet of clean tissues into the open end of the box, then tape the box closed. I still enjoy getting my tissue from a Tagalong box when my nose is running!

[Source: Items 1, 7-13 from Karen Walsh of Chicago; Items 2-5 from Critter; Item 6 from Ann 202 in LA; Item 14 from Lynn, Girl Scout Council of Buffalo & Erie County; Item 15 from Ladi Scout; Item 16 from AMoss]