"der Karton" - always made of cardboard, somewhat big, usually something that you either receive goods in, or that you might use for storage or moving house. Beware: what you'd call "a carton of milk/juice" we'd call "eine Tüte Milch/Saft" (die Tüte - bag) "die Schachtel" - may be made of other materials (die Blechschachtel - a tin with a lid, e.g. for cookies), usually on the smaller side, may look pretty: "die Pralinenschachtel" - a box of chocolates. The little gift boxes for jewellery are called "Schmuckschächtelchen". "die Box" - beware! When a German is talking about a "Box" or "Boxen", he's usually referring to the speakers of a stereo.