Giving presents over the holidays is a practice that has been passed on for centuries. But these days, you have to admit that it can be a costly gesture, especially when you belong to a large family and a large group of friends. You can still show you care without having to spend so much money. There are a lot of DIY holiday gifts that won’t even cost you much, and these are gift ideas that your loved ones will appreciate! The fact that you made them yourself makes it a very thoughtful present!
Mini Calendar
If you have a printer at home, you can easily print mini calendars and send them out as holiday gifts. You can print a general design or take the time to personalize each one. And you do not have to worry about using too much ink—there are a lot of minimalist calendar templates online that you can copy or print! You can choose between making a mini desktop calendar, a mini booklet calendar, or even a photo card calendar that the recipient can place in their wallet.
Hot Choco Vials
The holiday season is the perfect time for hot chocolate. Give everyone individual hot cocoa vials—when they need a good chocolate drink, they can just toss the contents of the vials in a mug and add milk and hot water! Plastic test tubes are actually cheap, and you can buy them in bulk. Simply pour 3 tablespoons of hot cocoa into the tube, then top them up with mini marshmallows, sprinkles, or peppermint. Most vials come with a cap, but if not, you can use plastic wrap or aluminum foil to seal the tube.
Signs and Posters
Whether you have good handwriting or are talented in calligraphy, you can use this skill for your holiday gifts by creating signs. It can be as simple as writing the recipient’s name or giving them an inspirational quote. Not that good at writing but you’re a pro at drawing? Make illustrations instead! If you’re doing this for a lot of people, go for minimalist art so you don’t tire out. You don’t even have to frame the sign or poster—just make sure you’re using a thicker form of paper. Roll it like a scroll and tie it up with twine or a ribbon.
Painted Rocks
Do you live in an area where there are a lot of large pebbles? Or maybe you have a river or woods nearby where you can gather some? All you have to do is clean them and paint on them. Painted rocks are great as paperweights. They can also be used for display.
Scented Candles
All you need is some wax, essential oil, and wicks, and you can create your own scented candle. Now you have a warm and cozy gift that you can give to everyone. You can find a lot of recipes for scented candles online to get different scents. And you can form your candle into almost anything, such as mason jars, metal tins, succulent pots, ceramic bowls, and teacups! Just remember that thin glass containers, plastic containers, and metal containers with a painted or coated interior should not be used as candle vessels.
Flavored Salt
Give your loved ones a treat for the kitchen with flavored salts. There are a lot of different recipes for this. Buy the ingredients you need in bulk and simply transfer the mix to individual containers. It’s a quick holiday gift solution that you can set aside in case you need some last-minute gifts. Aside from flavored salt, you can also make barbecue seasoning mixes too!
Holiday Jams
Jams are yummy and comforting. If you’re good at making homemade jams, use this skill and give them out over the holidays. Depending on your budget, you can whip up different flavors and give them as a set or simply give one jar to each recipient. Decorate the jars with holiday-themed ribbons.
Bath Bombs
Give your loved ones a luxurious spa treatment by creating your own bath bombs. You can find a lot of DIY bath bomb recipes online for different fragrances. You may have to purchase bath bomb molds for this one to achieve the classic round shape that bath bombs come in, or you can simply form them as cubes. This gift will come in handy after a long night of holiday partying!
Fabric Scrunchies and Headbands
For your girls, here’s a gift that you can give to kids, teens, and adults—DIY hair accessories. You can easily make scrunchies and headbands with elastics and fabric, and you can create one in less than 5 minutes. You can also use old clothing for this idea instead of buying new fabric—just make sure you wash them well before transforming them into scrunchies and headbands.
Holiday Potpourri
Help everyone keep their homes fragrant with holiday potpourri! Your loved ones can enjoy the holiday scent long after the holidays are over, or they can set it aside and bring it out again the following year! There are a lot of potpourri tutorials online that capture the holiday fragrance you want to achieve.
Sugar Scrub
Your loved ones can enjoy having soft skin with a homemade body scrub. You can find a lot of DIY recipes online, each one with different scents. The trick is to make sure that you achieve a texture that has enough grain to remove dead skin and that the scrub has enough essential oil to help hydrate your skin. You’ll be surprised by how fragrant these all-natural sugar scrubs are!
Fabric Pouches
If you love sewing, you’re going to love this DIY holiday gift idea. Make fabric pouches to give away as gifts. Pouches are awesome for organizing because you can place anything in them from makeup, pens, toiletries, cables, cash, and many more. Create them with a zipper closure or a drawstring closure! You can even use scrap fabrics from your previous sewing projects.
Tote Bags
Give your loved ones shopping convenience by giving out tote bags over the holidays. You can sew these bags yourself by hand or machine! Just get some sturdy fabric as material. You can also take this as a chance to recycle old clothes by using them as your fabric. Denim tote bags are known to be the sturdiest DIY tote bags.
Lotion Bars
Give the gift of relaxation and hydration with homemade lotion bars. Lotion bars are the latest when it comes to spa products. All you have to do is warm up the bar between your hands for a few seconds and apply the released moisture on your skin. Lotion bars are also very easy to apply after a hot shower when your skin is still warm and damp. You can find numerous recipes online for lotion bars to get different scents.
Infinity Scarf
Scarves are a popular holiday gift, and you can arm-knit one. Arm-knitted scarves are a craft where you use your arms to create big, loopy stitches instead of needles. You’ll end up with a very chunky scarf that actually looks better than most store-bought scarves! It may sound complicated at first, but watch a tutorial online, and you’ll realize how easy it is!
Show your loved ones that you’re willing to go the extra mile with these DIY holiday gifts! As you can see, all you need is some creativity, time, and craftiness to create a gift that doesn’t drain your bank account! A DIY holiday gift not only saves you money but also feels more personal and thoughtful.
