Guardians of the Galaxy Mix Tape Gift Box Helps You #OwntheGalaxy

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #OwnTheGalaxy #CollectiveBias

We went to see Guardians of the Galaxy at the movie theater, and I’ll admit I had no real idea what it was about. I ended up really liking it — even with a talking racoon! — and I think it would make a great at-home movie night neighbor gift or a present for a kid (or adult!) who loves space movies, classic rock and silliness. You can #OwntheGalaxy for the holidays with the release of the new Blu-Ray/DVD/HD edition of the film December 9, which includes:

• Exclusive character O-sleeve
• Exclusive music zinepack
• 64-page magazine with cast and crew interviews, exclusive behind-the-scenes photos and trivia
• Custom “cassette” laptop decal

It’s easy to gift a movie night complete with toys and extra fun on your next run to Walmart. They have a great display full of Guardians toys and action figures.

Look around the store and you’ll find other great stuff like Guardians Legos, the fabulous Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack (alas, not on cassette tape) and Guardians of the Galaxy figures for Disney Infinity 2.0. Even better, if you buy a Groot, Drax or Rocket Raccoon figure for Disney Infinity 2.0, you’ll automatically get a $5 Walmart gift card when you check out.

In anticipation of the release, I picked up some Guardians of the Galaxy toys, the soundtrack, popcorn and other goodies to help me gift a movie night.

To make the gift even more fun, I decided to make a mix tape gift box to hold it all. It’s a pretty easy project (though there are a lot of details involved) that makes a big statement under the tree or left for a neighbor for a special holiday surprise.

What You’ll Need

• a large white gift box
• cherry red duct tape
• cutting mat, ruler and craft knife
• black and white craft foam
• white cardboard or card stock
• jar lids (I used a mason jar for the black and a bottled coffee lid for the white)
• glue
• scissors
• Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack (optional, but super helpful for getting in the mood and to use as a model)

What You’ll Do

Pop that CD in the player. Measure a length of tape the same length as your box (mine was 17 inches). Stick to your mat.

The stripes on the mix tape get progressively narrower as you go up the tape. I started with a 1-inch wide stripe, then a half inch, a quarter inch, two of an eighth of an inch and one even narrower than that. (You’ll need two lengths of tape to cut out all these pieces.) Use your ruler to make a straight edge and cut the tape.

Place it on the box.

Keep going through 8 stripes total. I eyeballed the distance between them, but you can be more precise if you like.

For the center tape part of the cassette, I started with a piece of white cardboard measuring 7 inches wide and 4 inches tall. The exact size isn’t that essential, but it needs to be rectangular. (For accuracy it will cover the top stripe and go down to just above the second stripe from the bottom.)

Use a jar lid and the black foam to make the tape part.

Use the coffee lid to make the disc that holds the tape. I freehand drew the spokes and cut them out with a craft knife.

Use glue to put all these pieces together and attach them to the box.

Write Awesome Mix Vol. 1 across the top.

Fill the box with goodies.

Get ready to #OwntheGalaxy.

Do you give neighbor gifts or gifts that are an experience as much as a thing? I’d love to hear your ideas!