Christmas, a time for sharing, showing you care, and for many of us, a time for giving. Regardless of whether your loved ones are on the naughty or nice list, coming up with a Christmas gift list can be a little bit difficult, especially when deciding on the perfect (and not too expensive) gift! Sometimes, the sentiment “It’s the thought that counts” does bring across the giving nature of the season, so here are a few DIY gift ideas to warm the hearts of your loved ones without burning a hole in your pocket!

The Personal Touch

Shrink plastic necklaces

Make a personalised necklace for your loved ones! All you need is shrink plastic, a hole punch, and string. Just follow the instructions on the shrink plastic packet, which can be purchased at Craft Haven, and watch as your drawing shrinks to less than half its size! It can be used to make charms, earrings, and even a keychain! Watch how to make it here.

Ceramic tile coasters

Put on display some of the beautiful photography taken on your last holiday or some old photos for a serious blast from the past! For this project, you’ll need a tile, Mod Podge, a brush, and clear acrylic spray. All you need to do is select a couple of photos and get it printed out. Using the brush, paint on some Mod Podge behind the photo and place it on the tile. Add a few more layers of Mod Podge and let it dry before spraying it with clear acrylic spray. Click here for the full instructions.

Funky Crafts

Zipper Pouch

Make a pouch entirely out of zippers! It can be any colour and all you need are seven 7-inch long zippers, a needle, and thread. Align the zippers horizontally, pin them in position and start sewing at the seams. Make sure to place each zipper pull on opposite ends so that it alternates in direction. While some tutorials call for the use of a sewing machine, sewing by hand still works the same.

Tea Tin Candles

Repurpose old tea tins by turning them into candles, perfect to add a rustic touch to a new home. All you need is a wick holder, a wick, wax, and wax dye, if you want it to be colourful! Find the tutorial here. You can also use old cups, mugs, bowls, or shot glasses to make this personal gift!

Christmas Tea Tree

A perfect way to present a gift with the festive feel! All you’ll need for this is a hot glue gun, tea bags, and Styrofoam cone to excite a tea-lover. For full instructions, click here.

Beauty

Mint Sugar Scrub

Everyone needs a little pampering so why not make your own body scrubs with personalised notes? Here’s how to make the mint sugar scrub and here’s the peppermint candy cane sugar scrub.

Gingerbread Bath Bombs

It not only looks cute but it’s also filled with skin nourishing ingredients, while keeping to the festive theme! Feel free to get creative with this as you can make different scents for each person. Find the recipe here.

Personalised Towel

Turn an ordinary towel into something special with a little message or quote. It also makes for a nice decorative piece in the bathroom as well. Click here for full instructions on how to make this.

Woozy Boozy

Flavoured Vodka

Make your alcohol-loving friends feel extra special with a small bottle of vodka infused with some of their favourite flavours. Whether its something with spice or citrus, it’s not particularly difficult to make. Here are a few sample recipes to consider.

Reindeer Beers

Continuing with the alcohol theme, if turning up to a party with a six-pack of beer is boring, especially as a gift, try sprucing things up with a few antlers and turn the beer into deer… Santa’s reindeer, that is! All you need is pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and a red pom-pom ball for the nose! Check it out here.