With the beginning of December around the corner and Christmas fast approaching, it’s time to get in the holiday spirit. What better way to do so than by planning out some fun, thoughtful, DIY gifts to create for your family, friends, and significant others.
- JEWELRY JAR
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Jewelry jars are cute, thoughtful, and a great way to personalize a gift for one of your loved ones. The jewelry can be thrifted, made, or bought from the store, but it’s great because each piece you pick is a customizable choice.
Helpful tips:
- All your materials can be thrifted with time. Some nice places to check out include Goodwill, Buffalo Exchange, pop-up markets, and other various places.
- Choose the jar best for you, keep in mind the space in the jar, and how many pieces you plan to acquire. Also, make sure that it’s wide enough to fit the jewelry if you add pieces like bangles and bracelets.
- If you can, get some inspiration pictures from your loved ones about the type of jewelry that they like. Think type: bracelets, earrings, rings, etc, gold or silver, and sizes.
- CUSTOMIZED CLOTHES
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Who doesn’t love a handmade article of clothing? There are so many options: hats, scarves, sweaters, skirts, etc. They’re also customizable in various ways, including embroidery. It doesn’t involve a lot of materials, so it’s a pretty cost effective gift. You can also tailor what you embroider to the person’s interests, a cute saying, flowers, hearts, or even just their name. It’s a cute and classy way to elevate any article of clothing for them to wear.
Helpful tips:
- Choose materials that are non-stretchy like cotton, they are a bit easier to handle and stick with the embroidery.
- You can find embroidery patterns online through websites like Etsy, Love Crafts, or in stores at craft stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or Walmart and Target. For learning the embroidery stitches, YouTube has a lot of great tutorials for beginners.
- FAVORITES BASKET
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A favorites basket is exactly like it sounds, it is a collection of the persons favorite snacks, candies, and other items. You can customize the basket as you like to be big or small, and contain various items based around any theme. They are a thoughtful way to show your loved ones that you care by compiling items based on their specific interests.
Helpful Tips:
- Items you could include in the basket besides snacks could be skincare, socks, coffee mugs, perfumes, candles, gift cards, and more.
- Possible themes could be based around their favorite color, the types of items that they need, hobbies that they enjoy, or other general interests.
- PRESSED FLOWER CANDLES
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People love receiving candles as part of their Christmas gifts. Why not step it up a notch by creating a DIY pressed flower candle. To create one, you just need a plain candle, pressed flowers or leaves, a heat source, and some tools to press touch the wax like a brush or knife. The flowers could be attached to the candle by melting the wax below where you place it, and press it down with a brush. Then go over it with some more wax to hold it down, then let the candle sit for 30 minutes.
Helpful Tips:
- Learning Herbs has a website that details how you can create a pressed flower candle with pictures.
- You can also buy the flower candles in cups, jars, or other molds to create various candles which can create an added layer of personalization.
- CROCHET STUFFED ANIMALS
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Another cute gift to consider making for Christmas is a crocheted stuffed animal. Similar to embroidered gifts, the material needed to created a stuffed animal is limited. The materials you need include yarn, a crochet hook, a stitch maker, and stuffing. You can find patterns for the stuffed animals on Etsy, Pinterest, LoveCrafts, or in craft stores like Micheals or Hobby Lobby.
Helpful tips:
- There are a lot of videos on youtube that provide helpful tips and tricks to crocheting. They can also teach you how to crochet various things, from animals to plants, and more.
- When picking the materials make sure you keep in mind what pattern you are going to follow, what size crochet hook you need, what type of yarn you are using, and ensure that you read the pattern fully before you begin.
- BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK
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If your friends, family, or significant others love reading books, a blind date with one might be one of the best gifts to get them. Who doesn’t love a cutely wrapped surprise containing one of their favorite items? You can be as creative with them as you like, you can wrap the book in plain brown wrapping paper or colorful ones. You also have the opportunity to write details of the book on the front, include messages or small items like bookmarks and sticky notes.
Helpful tips:
- Choose a book based on what your friends and family like, their favorite genres, authors, and if they prefer fiction or non-fiction.
- When choosing a book to use for your blind date you can either choose a new one from retail stores like Barnes & Noble, or second hand from stores like Half-Price Books, Goodwill, or other small bookstores.
- Try to avoid books that they already own. A way to avoid this is looking at any book wishlists they might have, a peek at their bookshelves, or some subtle inquiries.
- DIY BODY SCRUBS & SOAPS
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Another fun gift to create for a DIY Christmas is a nice body scrub or soap. They offer a nice way to exfoliate the skin, provide relaxation, and add some customizable touches with the opportunity to add various herbs and oils.
Helpful Recipes:
- 1 cup of white, brown, or coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup of carrier oil/coconut oil
- 15-20 drops of essential oils (optional)
- 1 tsp dry herbs (optional)
- 1 tsp vitamin E oil
- 1/2 pound of shea butter soap base
- 2 teaspoons of orange zest
- 2 teaspoons of honey
- 5 drops of cinnamon essential oil
- 5 drops of wild orange essential oil
- 4 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
- Silicone molds
- ALTOID TIN
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Another cute gift idea for Christmas is to create an Altoids tin wallet. They’re stylish, aesthetic, personalized, and can hold a variety of small items. Some of which could include makeup, cash, upcycled items, emergency kit items and more. They can also be decorated with washi tape, rhinestones, pictures; the possibilities are really endless.
Helpful Tips:
- Pinterest, along with youtube has lots of inspiration for what these Altoid tins can look like. They can be themed by color, aesthetic, or their specific hobbies/needs.