It’s nearing that time where Christmas is almost here and you should be wrapping up your Christmas shopping soon. But if you are like me and you would rather make gifts than buy them, then I have some great ideas for you! Most of these ideas are super cheap to make, but some of them may take time, so I would get started as soon as you can. At some time in my life, I have tried to make each of these, and if I can do it, then you definitely can.
- Explosion Box
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Now, this is an idea that takes lots of work, but it is definitely worth it. Basically, an explosion box is a box (duh) that when you open, a whole bunch of things pop out to simulate an explosion. By things, I mean layers of pictures, more boxes, confetti, literally anything you want it to be. If you’re thinking that you really like this idea, but don’t want to spend the time on it, the great news for you is that you can buy them premade! If you would rather make one on your own, this is how I did it. For this project, YouTube was my best friend. I just looked up an explosion box tutorial, and it gave me all the materials I would need, how much of it I would need, and videos that explained how to do everything! You’ll need lots of cardstock, lots of pictures of you and whoever this gift is for, notes for this person, scissors, tape (double-sided is best), and determination. It may be a lot of work but trust me it is worth it.
- Spotify Glass Decoration
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I am not sure how else to describe this, but if you’re on Tik Tok, then I know that you have seen this before. All you need to do is get the glass from a picture frame, a paint marker, a song that reminds you of the person you are giving it to, a picture of you and whoever you’re giving it to, and a printer. Again, if you do not want to make it yourself, I have seen people that make it for you. How I did this, is I took out the glass from the frame and cleaned it (be careful not to cut yourself). Then I went to Spotify and took a screenshot of the song I wanted to use while it was playing. I then put it in a doc, made it the size I wanted, and printed it out. From there, I taped the Spotify picture to the back of the glass and just traced everything with the paint marker! I used white and I love how it turned out. After that, I used double-sided tape to attach the picture to the top of it, and boom you’re done! I ended up hanging them on my wall with command strips, but a stand would work too. I have also given this as a gift before, and am making more for Christmas gifts.
- A Chunky Blanket
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If you have ever looked at the price of a real chunky blanket, you know that they are insanely expensive. Instead of spending a whole bunch of money on that, you can just make one yourself! I had to find another YouTube tutorial to do this one, but it is super easy, and you won’t need the tutorial once you get it started. All you need for this one is yarn and scissors. The yarn I used was from Hobby Lobby, and it was a really thick and fluffy yarn that ended up working very well. This gift may end up being the priciest on this list depending on how much yarn you buy, but it is significantly less than what is charged for an actual chunky blanket. You will need more yarn for a bigger and tightly weaved blanket, and less yarn for a smaller or looser weaved blanket. Try mixing colors as well!
- Hand-Made Notes
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This project took a really long time, but that is because I wrote A LOT of notes. For this, I purchased a black cardboard round box, cardstock, glue, a paint marker, and a mini envelope maker from JOANN Fabrics. Because I wanted a bunch of envelopes, it was more cost-effective to make them myself than to buy them. What I did was, I wrote a cute little saying on the lid of the box and made it look pretty and decorative. Then I got to work and made mini envelopes using the envelope maker and card stock. Once you get into a rhythm, it goes quickly. After the envelopes were done, I cut the cardstock into cards small enough to fit into the envelope and wrote messages on every one of them. The idea is that when the person you give it to opens the box, they are greeted with a ton of handmade letters just from you. I also added some small gifts at the bottom as a surprise.
If you are willing to put time and effort into these gifts, I promise you that whoever receives them will greatly appreciate it, and love how hard you worked on it. I can vouch that each of these has made someone in my life very happy. Happy crafting!