As the holidays approach, even the most contentious spender can begin to feel a strain on her wallet. Coffee to help you though finals, plane tickets, and donations to the charity of your choice piles on one after another, and soon your Christmas present budget is less than anticipated. Or, if you’re like me, and have perhaps had one or two (or five) too many meals at Central, your Christmas present budget may be nearly non-existent.
At this point, you have a few choices. 1) Panic and cry and refuse to buy anyone gifts out of sheer humiliation. 2) Go home and sprint hysterically from to store, begging anyone to hire you as Christmas help, and consequently sign away what was about to be a relaxing break. Or 3) Channel your inner Martha Stewart and start making your gifts.
Homemade gifts are great for a variety of reasons. Obviously, they’re cheaper than whatever name-brand sweater you were about to buy your dad at the department store. But more importantly, homemade gifts give you the opportunity to show the recipient that you really care through personalization and hard work. Sure, it’s a little more time consuming then picking up that gift card, but trust me, your family, friends, and wallet will thank you.
The following ideas are suggestion to inspire you. Feel free to take them in your own direction!
Best Friend: Homemade Bath Scrub
Making homemade bath scrub is as easy as going to your local drug store! Combine 1 cup of Epson salts with a teaspoon of olive oil, and then add essential oils to achieve desired scent. I like citrus oils for their revitalizing nature, but lavender is relaxing, and vanilla is soothing. Put the mixture into a recycled jar, add a personalized label and seal!
Boyfriend: Hot Chocolate Mix
Warm your man’s heart with a cup of coco and sweet evening. In a clear jar or even decorative clear bag, combine 2 packets of hot chocolate mix and then layer with fun toppings. Mini marshmallows, crumbled oreos, crushed candy canes, hot tamales, baby chocolate chips or crunched kit-kat bar are all options. Seal with a cute ribbon, and tie on a cute note, promising a stay-at-home date night filled with of movies of his choice, yummy hot coco and snuggling.
Mom: Decorative Serving Spoons
Make your mom the hit of all the potluck holiday parties. At a home store (I like TJ Maxx of Home Goods for their deals), buy a cheap pair of serving spoons. Using jewelry wire affixed at the base with a dab of hot glue, begin to wind the wire around the spoon, adding beads as you do. Silver looks classy, but colorful glass beads can be fun as well. Finish by wrapping the wire around a few times, and then add another dab of hot glue. Wash by hand.
Dad: Personalized Bottle Opener
Beer. And Football. Seriously, do they need anything else? This gift can be made a variety of ways, but the basic premise stays the same. Find a bottle opener and decorate it in his team’s colors. Spray paint and stencils work well, but so does tissue paper decoupage. Newspaper headlines are cool to layer overtop. You can even use embroidery thread, wound tightly, to create a textured look. Be creative, but keep it simple. He can bring it out with pride on game day, and put it away with a smile.
Aunts and Grandmas: Personalized Stationary
Give them an excuse to write you letters at college! Go to Walmart or Target and pick up a large pack of blank notecards. I’ve found that you can get about 50 for $8.00. Once home, select 10 or 12 to decorate. I used stickers, quotations cut out of magazines, newspaper letters, dried flowers, fortune cookie notes…anything cute or inspirational I found around the house.
Uncles and Grandpas: Shadowbox Memory Frame
As tough and manly as many of them want to see, uncles and grandpas are really just big softies on the inside. Buy a shadowbox frame- any craft store will have them – and fill it with a memory. Ticket stubs and a goofy photo? Perfect. A newspaper clipping and a map of the road trip you took five years ago? Spot on. Even sports team memorabilia and a family picture at the game works. You can make it personal without being sappy, and will give him something that will make him smile to hang in the office.
Photo Sources
savvyhomemade.com
realsimple.com
bellazizas.com