Christmas is coming and since all of our student loans have been spent on endless trips to Nando’s, the latest fashion trends and alcohol, our bank balance is running fairly low and buying our friends and families good presents is seeming almost impossible. Although our loved ones won’t expect presents, it’s always nice to surprise someone with a cute, thoughtful gift and I’m going to give you a few ideas where you can do just that with very little money.
1.Infused vodka
Who doesn’t like vodka? Well, most people I know actually, BUT, infuse it with fruit or jelly or hard-boiled sweets and it becomes a unique and very tasty beverage. And the best thing about it is you pretty much have no work to do to make it. Firstly, buy some vodka; cheap vodka works well but the more expensive the vodka is, the nicer the end result. Next choose your flavour, it could be peppermint, raspberries, chilli, gummy bears or even as mad as bacon – for an even more unique flavour, try combining some flavours – a Christmassy idea combine orange peels and cinnamon for a sitting-by-the-fire-vibe. Clean and prepare your ingredients and then place them, along with the vodka, into an airtight container – glass jars work perfectly for this, plus you can use many and try many different flavours. Once the lid has been placed on, leave it. Simple as that. The longer you leave it, the more the flavour will infuse but most things will infuse nicely in a week and once done so, give it a good shake before straining it and placing it back into the glass jar with some ribbon tied around and done. Simple, cheap and tasty!
2.Movie night
This is a really simple thing to put together and is perfect for those cold winters when nobody wants to leave their bedroom. To put this together you’ll need a large popcorn bucket – or even a box will do, however, if you choose to use a box, decorate it with pictures of famous actors for a more movie-like effect. Then fill this box with one or two really good movies, a bag of popcorn, a can of soda or a sachet of hot chocolate, some sweets and maybe some really comfy socks to wear whilst they watch the film (because who likes cold feet?) It’s the most simple gift idea that pretty much everyone would like and is especially great if you’re buying one gift for a whole family and is easy enough to alter to personal taste.
3.Candy sleighs
I think more than anything these just look terribly creative and super sweet (no pun intended) but also they’re so easy to make and so cheap and so Christmassy! Three out of three, ding ding ding! Firstly, buy a wide chocolate bar such as a kit-kat and then 3 or 4 others which all descend in size, as well as two candy canes. Wrap them all together into a sleigh shape and tie with a ribbon and finish with a bow just to add a really Christmassy feel.
4.Cinnamon stick candles
It’s Christmas eve and you’ve just heard your second cousins boyfriends nan is now coming to Christmas and although you’ve only met her once when you were three, you still feel super bad that you’ve not got her a present when you’ve been told she’s got you one. You’ll need a quick fix and this is a perfect idea for just that. You will need a big, round, unscented (or cinnamon scented) candle, about 20 cinnamon sticks and again some pretty ribbon (ribbon looks nice on everything at Christmas!) It’s a little fiddly to put together but once you’ve placed all the cinnamon sticks on the outside and tied it all up (you may opt for glue if it’s too difficult) then you will have a really nice looking and nice scented last minute gift that looks like you’ve put a lot of thought an effect into it. Ho ho ho!
5.Hot chocolate in a jar
With this, you’re pretty much giving someone hot chocolate but in a fancy way. You need to clear out your uni cupboards anyway since you won’t be there for a month and you don’t want to get weevils so why not just give it as a present. Get some cute mason glass jars, pour in as much hot chocolate as you want (preferably half way up the jar), then fill it a quarter up with marshmallows and finally add chocolate drops or dustings or sprinkles. You could ever go as far as attaching a mini bottle of baileys or brandy to the jar for that extra kick. Add some ribbon around the top (of course) and bam, you’ve killed two birds with one stone.
As you can see, presents can be made from anything and for super cheap. If you gave every single person a D.I.Y present which costs £5 or less, you’d save yourself big bucks and may even be able to get an extra Christmas present for yourself, because you deserve a treat too right? There are so many other ideas out there and if you just type into google or pin interest “DIY Christmas gifts” you’ll have too many ideas your brain won’t be able to handle it. But have fun, be cheap and have a merry Christmas!