This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Clark chapter.
Now that Halloween is over, it is officially time to start thinking about the holidays! Most stores have already debuted their holiday lines and lots of malls even have decorations up. Before you know it, you’ll be picking names for gift swaps, Secret Snowflake exchanges and more. To make sure you don’t overspend but still spread lots of holiday cheer, we’ve put together the top 5 affordable DIY holiday gifts that anyone will be happy to receive this season!
- Reindeer EOS – This is easily one of the cutest and most inexpensive gifts you can give! All you need is EOS lip balm, a printer, glue, scissors, and foam core or cardstock paper. Simply print out the image, cut out the nose and stick the paper onto foam or cardstock using glue. Stick a red EOS lip balm through it, wrap the whole thing in cellophane and finish off with a bow! The whole thing costs less than $5 and is too stinking cute not to love.
- Paper Straw Wreath – This gift is super simple, customizable and will look great on anyone’s door this holiday season! All you need is paper straws, ribbon, hot glue, cardboard and scissors. To begin, cut a wreath shape out of the cardboard as a base and glue the paper straws onto it. To add dimension, try cutting the straws to different lengths. Once you’ve glued them all down, take the ribbon and make a loop around the back to hang it with. Depending on the design of the straws, this wreath can be for Christmas, Hanukkah or any other holiday you’re celebrating! All in all this should cost you less than $5.
- Cinnamon Stick Candle – The holiday season is the perfect time to curl up on the couch and watch movies while a yummy scented candle is burning. An affordable way to upgrade a simple candle and turn it into a thoughtful gift is by adding cinnamon sticks to it. You can buy a plain vanilla candle for around $6 and cinnamon sticks for about $5. Line the outside of the candle with cinnamon sticks and secure with a rubber band. Cover the rubber band using twine and then finish it off with a bow!
- Holly Jolly EOS – This is another clever way to use an EOS lip balm and a printable to create the perfect gift! For this one you’ll need a pink or red EOS lip balm, a printer, cardstock paper and scissors. Print out the image, cut a hole through the holly berry and stick the EOS package on from the back. You can even fold over the bottom of the printable to create a little gift card holder and add in a $5 coffee card to take this gift to the next level!
- Holiday Music CD – Everyone loves listening to holiday music during this season, but sometimes radio commercials can get super annoying. Try creating a playlist of your favorite holiday tunes to gift to your friends this year. For this gift you’ll need blank CDs, a printer, cardstock and glue or tape. Once you’ve made a playlist and burned the CDs, use a template like this one to print out a festive CD cover on thick paper. Cut out the template, secure it with glue or tape and write down the track names on the back. If you’ve already got blank CDs lying around, this gift could cost you next to nothing to create! What are your favorite DIY holiday gifts, collegiettes?