“Good grief, I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas” — we’ve all said this at one point or another. Christmas has officially snuck up on you, and as a broke college student, you still have to get your friends some kind of present before it’s too late. Personally, I want my gifts to be different, but didn’t know how to change it up this year. I wanted them to be personal and something to show that I truly care. I realized that there are some super cute, DIY, wallet-friendly ideas this season that will spread the perfect amount of holiday cheer! Of course, Pinterest was the go-to webiste for clever stocking stuffers ideas. Not only do they have the best crafts, but there is most likely a step-by-step guide on how to create these gifts yourself.
1. Personalized Coffee Mug
I absolutely love this idea; it allows you to write any kind of quote, picture, or story in sharpie on a white mug. Once you’re done creating your masterpiece, you stick it in the oven at 350 degrees for about thirty minutes. The mug will have your personal design on it for a while, and it’s easy to touch up after a couple of washes too. You could make the gift even better and put some goodies inside the cup. Some great ideas could be Starbucks VIA coffee packets, Chapstick or even some candy bars. This would be a great, thoughtful for your roommate, friend, parent, or even a boyfriend or girlfriend!
2. “Favorites” Basket
Take a basket, use a foam brick that squeezes into the basket, and tape favorite items onto sticks that are stuck into the foam. You can decorate the basket any way you want, and it can easily be made in 15 minutes. This could be the ideal gift for a friend or parent because it shows them that you know and remember what their favorite, random things are! For example, my friend loves the color purple, so I decided to get anything purple that she might like, and tape them to the basket. Places like the Dollar Tree and Walmart are perfect for this kind of craft because they offer a wide variety of low-budget items.
3. Build Your Own Cookie Jar
Though this idea is pretty old, I couldn’t help but get excited over it. All you need to do is simply grab a mason jar and decide what kind of ingredients you want for your cookie jar. It can be a fun made up recipe, or something the gift recipient will love. This gift is neat because you get to be clever; you could make your own name for it and design what your personal jar will look like. Sure, it sounds cheesy, but I assure you your mom, grandma or aunt will not only love the mason jar, but also the effort put into this gift.
This post was contributed by Brittany Graham, a junior journalism major.