Looking to save a little money this year on gifts? Or just want to give something with more personal effort after everything that’s happened the past couple of years? If you’ve got some extra time and inclination on your hands, plus a touch of crafting or culinary skill, these gift ideas will likely make both you and your recipient smile. Some ideas cost a bit for supplies; others you might be able to pull off with things you already have around the house. All will ultimately save you money. We’ve included a tutorial and/or recipe with each to help guide you through the steps. Happy DIY gifting!
Prices and availability are subject to change. Related: 38 Cheap or Free Family Traditions for the Holidays
Canned Jam
Tutorial: Mom Makes Joy
If you’ve got some garden produce in your freezer you haven’t put to use yet — say, something like rhubarb or peaches — canning a few jars for friends and family should only take a couple of hours. And the expense is reasonable: Chances are you’ll have almost everything you need on hand save for some pectin and canning jars.
Related: Best Friend Gifts Perfect For Your Sister From Another Mister
Propagated Succulent
Tutorial: Succulents and Sunshine
Do you have some healthy succulents hanging around your house? It’s super easy to propagate those to gift someone one of their own. All you need is a little patience, some appropriate potting soil, and something to put the little guy in once he’s grown big enough to pot.
Related: The Best Gifts for Plant Lovers and Green Thumbs
Filled Ornament
Tutorial: The Happy Housie
This would be a fun one to pull the kids into for a DIY project. Grab a set of ornaments, and fill them with whatever you want. Go classy with some fake snow and holiday greenery, or embracy the glitzy with some glue, glitter, etc. The tutorial has more fantastic inspiration.
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Bath Soak
Tutorial: The Spruce Crafts
You’ll need a big bag of Epsom and sea salts, some sweet-smelling essential oils, and maybe some dried flowers to pull this one off, but it makes for a very pretty and very personal gift that anyone can appreciate.
Related: 33 Inexpensive Products to Ease Stress at Home
Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix
Recipe: Love Grows Wild
Who wouldn’t love a delicious cup of hot chocolate over the holidays? The layered version in this recipe includes everything for a steaming cuppa cocoa, including peppermint, marshmallows, and more.
Related: Gifts for People Who Say, ‘Don’t Get Me Anything’
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Holiday Chocolate Bark
Recipe: That Spicy Chick
Do you lean more culinary than crafty? How about a big batch of chocolate bark you can break into pieces and divide among your friends and family? We love this recipe because it’s so pretty they almost won’t want to eat it.
Hemp-Wrapped Planter
Speaking of something to toss a succulent in before you gift it, we love the earthy charm of this idea. All you’ll need is a jar of some sort (which you probably already have lying around the house) and some hemp cord. You can get 200 feet of the latter on Amazon for around $14.
Stained Glass Candles
Tutorial: Upstate Ramblings
Grab the kids for some fun DIY candle holders. You can use tall glass candles or smaller votives, and the only other things you’ll need are some Mod Podge (you can also use a mixture of water and glue) and tissue paper. In the end, they’ll have a truly unique candle holder that will be warm and colorful.
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Homemade Kahlua
Recipe: Copy Me That
Did you know you could make this coffee liqueur at home? Sure, you’ll have to pick up a few supplies — including some adorable bottles like these — but overall you’ll save some dough and your loved ones will think fondly of you the next time they channel their inner Lebowski.
Herbed Sachets
Tutorial: Crafts By Amanda
Grab a pack of sachets like these from Amazon and fill them with lovely-smelling dried flowers and herbs. Prime candidates include lavender, rosemary, mint, cloves, and more. The tutorial recommends some choices to use for specific purposes like warding off pests or aromatherapy.
A Happy Jar
Tutorial: Rendezvous
The inspiration for this one came from our Best Friends Gift Guide. Sure, you could buy it on Amazon, but it’ll mean a whole lot more — not to mention cost less money — when it’s handmade. All you need is a jar, some colored paper, and some heartfelt sentiments, inspirational quotes, or favorite memories.
Dried Flower Bouquet
Tutorial: Bloom This
If you don’t mind spending some money on a few bouquets of flowers to dry out and some fancy ribbon (or even some simple twine), this can be a heartfelt and gorgeous gift.
A You-and-Me Photo Scrapbook
Tutorial: WikiHow
This is a great idea for close friends and family that goes a bit beyond a simple photo album. You can use pictures, sure, but think of other creative ways to give it more depth, like concert tickets or song lyrics.
Paint Swatch Bookmarks
Tutorial: Mama Miss
Few DIY gifts cost as little as this one. Head to your local home improvement store and pick up some paint swatches, then have fun with a hole puncher and some low-cost tassels or ribbon to create colorful, functional placeholders for your favorite bookworms.
Mix Tape
Mix tapes used to be the ultimate DIY gift, and you only made them for people you truly cared about (or who you truly wanted to impress with your rad musical tastes). They still make a great gift, but if you’re insistent that recording a bunch of songs to something as ancient as cassette tape is beyond your skills, Amazon offers a perfectly 21st-century way to get around that. If you want to get even more creative, use the tutorial above to create some stellar cover art.
Related: Cool and Creative Gifts for Music Lovers
Homemade Bread
Recipe: Taste of Home
If you’re comfortable with baking, put those skills to good use for a truly DIY gift that’ll have their mouths watering. You can choose any recipe you want, of course, but we think this one — Banana Eggnog Bread — sounds pretty darn amazing.
Mulled Cider Sachets
Tutorial: Noble Pig
Why not give them a cup of something that tastes just like the holidays? Grab some cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and allspice, and throw all of it into a bouquet garni bag with instructions to steep in some apple cider.
Felt Monster
Video tutorial: Ventuno Art
Do you have a little one in your life that you need a DIY gift for? If you don’t have the supplies for this gift on hand, getting them won’t cost much. And the nice thing about making monsters? They can look like anything you want (or didn’t intend to create), and kids will love them regardless.
Related: Great Gifts for Your Grandkids
Homemade Candles
Video tutorial: Pro Candle Supply
If you’ve always thought making your own candles would be fun, why not make this the year to try it? This relatively inexpensive kit will provide you with everything you need to get started, and the video tutorial can help walk you through each step.
Related: Thoughtful Gifts for Sisters
Handmade Body Butter
Video tutorial: Better Shea Butter
Grab a base for your cream from the Better Shea Butter Amazon store, and go to town adding whatever scents, oils, and other ingredients you want. The tutorial is for a whipped mango body butter, but your results are limited only by your own creativity.
’52 Things …’ Card Deck
Tutorial: Visual Heart Creative Studio
All you’ll need for this project is a deck of cards, a printer, hole punch, some binder rings, Mod Podge, scissors, and a friend or loved one you can come up with a few dozen kind words to say about.
Related: Fun Gifts for the Entire Family
Homemade Dog Treats
Recipe: Mom on Timeout
Give your favorite pup (and its owner) some yummy five-ingredient treats that are easy to whip up in about 30 minutes. If you really want to get creative, grab a set of dog-themed cookie cutters to make it even more fun and thoughtful.
Related: Gifts for Dog-Obsessed Humans
Colorful Hexagon Cork Bulletin Board
Tutorial: Minted
Grab some hexagonal cork tiles off Amazon, plus some tape and acrylic paints, and you can whip up a customized, vibrant, and fun bulletin board in no time.
Homemade Fortune Cookies
Recipe: Just a Taste
Got some skill in the kitchen? Use this recipe to whip up a batch of homemade fortune cookies and fill them with colorful handwritten fortunes.
Related: Unusual Gifts They’ll Never See Coming
Custom Tea Towels
Tutorial: Setting for Four
This is an easy DIY project that costs incredibly little but makes a heartfelt gift, especially if you have kids and family members who love them. You’ll just need a set of flour sack tea towels, a black permanent marker, and your kids’ (or your own) artwork.
Related: Christmas Gifts for Grandma and Grandpa
A Colorful Wall Hanging
Tutorial: A Beautiful Mess
The supplies for this project are cheap and the result will look anything but. This is an especially good gift if you’ve got a friend who’s into the boho-chic look.
Related: Gifts for Teenage Girls (That They’ll Actually Like)
Polaroid Photo Coasters
Tutorial: Dark Room & Dearly
Just like you can pick up paint swatches for nothing at the hardware store, you can also usually pick up some tile samples for free too. And then, using this tutorial, you can make a set of coasters using photos of your nearest and dearest that look just like old-school Polaroids.
