Remember when you were little and all your parents wanted was something that you made for them? Even if it didn’t look great, or didn’t work, it didn’t matter – it was made with love and would remind them of you forever. Well, if you’re not in the position to buy that big gift you’ve been planning on, or you just want something that means a little more, most of us still love a homemade gift. Only, it’s a lot more fun if it does work, and who doesn’t like a gift that looks nice? Here are a few gifts you can make yourself that are easy to make look good.
Photo Calendar
You can make a photo calendar in one of several ways. First, you can send off your photos to a place that will make the calendar for you (still relatively cheap) or you can print it and bind it at home. Pick photos you know your recipient will love and they can think of you every time they look at the calendar.
Tea Cup Candles
Making candles can be a little on the complicated side, unless of course you’ve got something pretty to hold it, like a tea cup. Using a ready-made wick and pouring your wax into a nice up, you’ve got a quick, pretty, nice-smelling gift in a short amount of time.
Paint Your Own Ornaments
They sell those clear glass ball ornaments for a reason! Paint them with names, cartoons, portraits, symbols, a message, or just some nice colors. Every time they put the ornament on their tree they’ll think of you. Consider adding a year, too.
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
They’re the tea cup candles of the snack world – they’re easy, everyone can enjoy them, and they basically involve melting and pouring. Get some good pretzels (any pretzels) and some chocolate (dark chocolate) and pour the latter over the former. Voila! Instant love!
Jarred Cookie Recipes
Have the ingredients for some baked goods but don’t have the time to bake them? Or have a secret recipe you want to pass along? Give them all the ingredients in a nice Mason jar and rubber-band the recipe to it.
Make Your Own Stocking
They also make plain stockings for a reason! Put a name on the trim with some glitter glue, or get a plain white stocking and add some trim or decorations of your own. Put in some special presents of your own before Santa gets to it, and you’ve got an instant memory.
Infused drinks
For adults who like drinks, there are a million ways you can infuse plain alcohol. You can use teas, fruits, even candies. Just make it something they really like, and have it ready for them when they open it up. You can even add your own custom label.
Make It Your Own
If you’ve got a skill or a passion, integrate that into your custom gifts. Anyone can appreciate hard work, especially if it’s something they’re about to eat or decorate with. Enjoy the results of your hard work instead of panic-buying at the last minute.