Creative Shadow Box Gifts

Shadow boxes are one of the most useful products that can be found at any specialty frame store. Their unique shape and dimension make them ideal for displaying three-dimensional objects of any type in your home.

There are several different shapes of shadow boxes, and therefore there are many different ways they can be used to make a unique gift. See below for the best ideas to create a shadow box gift of your own for any member of your family or friends.

Use old game letters to spell a special message. The popular game Scrabble can often be found at thrift stores or yard sales any given weekend of the year. Often, these games are rendered useless because of missing pieces, but the remaining letters can be used in a great way. Spell out a special message for the game player in your circle using the small wooden letters in your shadow box. Get creative with the spellings or wording so that it can interlock like the pieces on the board. Add a photo of the two of you in one corner to personalize your gift.

Use a shadow box in the shape of a dollhouse to display a treasured doll collection. You can even add segmentation by painting wooden pieces to separate the box to match, and then place dolls in interesting positions within the shelving. This is the perfect gift for a little girl or someone who treasured these dolls as a child long ago.

Make a beautiful memory box for a new addition. If a family or friend has welcomed a new baby into the home, the perfect gift to help remember this special time is a shadow box filled with items for the baby. It can be their first shoes, a christening gown, hospital bracelets or even their first hat. All of these items are special to new parents and hold special places in their hearts unique to every child. Displaying these in a nursery in a shabby chic distressed shadow box is the perfect addition to their decor.

For the music lover, frame a record or concert tickets. If your gift receiver is a superfan of a particular music group, use a shadow box to make a visual representation of their fandom. Album covers make for a great background, with concert tickets, photographs or autographed pieces of paper in the forefront.

Represent the entire family with lookalike figurines. Shadow boxes don’t just have to be for one person. They can be enjoyed by the entire family. If you can find figurine representatives of each member of the family, use them to make a shadow box display that you can add to each year with each new member joining by marriage or birth. This will serve as an ever going project for the family, and a beloved tradition each holiday season.