We are doing a version of the Nutcracker for the first time this year. We want to wrap oversized boxes to look like presents as we have little money in our budget for scenery. I am talking like huge boxes bigger than anything you would find at a store. Any ideas on either finding the boxes or making something that would look like a large present?

Thanks!

Do they need to be actual 3D cubes? Are the dancers going to be up on them at all or are they purely decoration? I've used that styrofoamesque insulation sheet stuff from a hardware store for a prop once. You could get a couple sheets, cut them into false fronts, wrap or paint them and use a L bracket to keep it up.

3D would be good so it looks like a box, but no actual dancing on them or anything of that sort. that's a good idea though i'm going to look into that.

What about packing boxes, like you use when you move house. Most removals firms sell new or used packing cases.

Big appliance boxes would be good - stove, fridge, washer, etc. If you ask a store to hold some for you the next time they get a shipment in, they usually will. Try Sears or Home Depot or Lowe's.

I know you said you're on a cheap budget. We were too when we were building our Christmas Show scenery and props. But we lucked out. There's a big church in our area that puts on a HUGE Christmas production every year. It's different every year, so they need different props. We totally lucked out. We were able to buy their old props (yes, they held on to them for months after the show) for a very small fee. We just made a $200 donation to the church. The props were AMAZING. And they were made for performers to go in and out of as needed. We got 2 very tall "Toy Soldier" boxes, a "Jack in the Box" box, and another present box that you could come out of the side of. So maybe ask around the churches or community theaters in your area and see if they want to sell you any old ones.

I second the appliance boxes. Bigger than most anything and you can usually fit a human inside. I recently needed some for a different project and the stores suggested calling first thing in the morning as they are loading up the appliances for delivery. They break them down pretty quick in the morning.

we created a large 'box' prop by making a PVC cube and wrapping it with brown packing paper - you could do the same with wrapping paper. In retrospect, I wish we had covered the frame with something else first - if I did it again I would use cardboard or posterboard first and then wrap it for stability.

those are all really great ideas! now our ideas has changed a little and we want santa to come out of the large box so we will have to find a way to do that easily where we can put the box back together for the second show. Maybe if we found a long shorter box he could just pop out of the top...hmmm

I love all these ideas, thanks guys!