As the oppressive summer heat makes way for the crisp temperatures of Fall, children across the country are returning to school, and businesses are jumping into Q4 with gusto, determined to finish off 2020 on a high note! Particularly for companies within the goods or retail industry, this new season’s key priority includes planning for the single most busy time on the retail calendar: Christmas. And while we may still be a few months away from December’s signature snow and merry cheer, now is the time to think about a Christmas-inspired packaging-refresh. Your packaging can help attract your customers and heighten your brand awareness.

In this spirit, we’re here to help with some of our top Christmas packaging trends for 2020, for businesses of all sizes! So, pour yourself a glass of eggnog, and dive right in:

Eco-Friendly Packaging

When it comes to everyone’s favorite festive season, December tends to score low on the sustainability scale. Over the holidays, we tend to over-consume, and sometimes lose sight of the amount of waste this generates. This being said, consumers are becoming more eco-conscious than ever before, and many shoppers will favor brands that opt for sustainable, “green” packaging options.

To be as eco-friendly as possible, think about minimalized designs (avoid over-packaging) and recycled or biodegradable packaging elements. For example, corrugated boxes and kraft packaging’s simplicity and rustic look lend itself well as a canvas for Christmas-inspired design elements. Both options are made predominantly from recycled material and are sturdy enough to be reused again and again, and at the end of their life, can easily be recycled once again!

Bespoke Custom Printing

Spice up your existing packaging for the holidays by designing a custom Christmas design to package your goods. Whether you’re adorning your carrier bags, mailers, or tissue paper, adding an understated design that incorporates your brand can add a special touch to your Christmas packaging. Try adding a festive touch to your logo and printing it onto your packaging, ribbon, or onto customized stickers to seal boxes and pouches. When it comes to custom printing options, the opportunities are endless!

Sprinkle in Some Color Play

While your brand may be loyal to a defined color palette for the rest of the year, the Christmas holiday season is an opportune time for businesses to break away from the usual and play with seasonal colors to dress up their product packaging.

Stick with tradition and inject some red or green into your current packaging design scheme or add some flare with gold or silver accents. Some cost-conscious brands may keep with their existing packaging as a base, but choose to add seasonally colored branded ribbons, stickers, or tissue paper to add a festive touch.

Add a Personal Touch

There is no better time than Christmas to layer on the “warm and fuzzies.” Consider adding a special touch to your shipped products over the holiday season with a personalized greeting card.

Branded enclosure cards can be customized with the customer name or handwritten note (an excellent idea for small businesses to engage with the customer on a personal level), or even left blank, allowing the buyer to personalize it for the gift recipient (a more feasible option for larger businesses). This is an inexpensive but practical way to add a festive touch to your Christmas packaging.

Reusable Packaging

We’re all familiar with the sustainability mantra of Reduce-Reuse-Recycle. Of the three-Rs, the promotion of reusable packaging materials is the most effective way to reduce consumption and keep more out of our waste systems. The use of reusable packaging is both aesthetically pleasing and bodes well with eco-conscious consumers.

The options for reusable packaging or easily repurposed packaging are vast, including leather, wooden, or rigid cardboard boxes, custom printed tote bags, or festive burlap pouches. Customers will be inspired to reuse beautifully designed packaging for Christmases to come, and thus, the spirit of giving continues!

Famous skin-care brand, Lush, is well-known for using reusable metal or hard plastic tins to packaging their products year-round. During the holidays, Lush gift wraps products in colorful patterned knot wraps made from recycled plastic bottles, reused as décor or a fashion accessory.

Engage your Christmas Customers

Don’t forget that your packaging always serves as an opportunity to draw in and engage with your consumer market. Tie in a social media campaign with your seasonal packaging as a way of amplifying your brand awareness during a time of heavy retail competition! Word of mouth is also statistically proven to be highly effective during this time of influencer marketing, so increasing your activity on social media channels will help your business get traction during the holidays.

A great example of this is Starbuck’s #holidaycups campaign, which is has become a highly anticipated tradition among loyal Starbucks sippers who await the release of their annual seasonal cup design.

For more inspired ideas on how to make your Christmas business packaging pop this holiday season, Get in touch with PakFactory’s team of packaging design experts.