'Tis The Season To Get Crafty

Is there anything more stressful than getting the gift budget all planned out for your spouse, your parents, your children, your siblings, your nieces and nephews, your in-laws and your best friends...only to realize there are still 25 more people you need or just want to acknowledge for the holidays? Treats for my co-workers, my neighbors, my daughter's cheer squad, my husbands assistant, my son's teachers, the bus driver, the unexpected guest at our Christmas Eve Party, and even the mail lady that is considerate enough to knock on my door when I have a package in the rain. Now we all love Pinterest! I pin and pin away at so many cute DIY gift ideas leading up to December, and then I run out of money, time, energy and most of all creativity when the time is finally here! So, I set out this year to actually execute some of these ever so cleaver notions, but on a better budget! I was bound and determined to find a way to purchase and create materials for 25 gifts for less than $50. More importantly, I had to be able to dedicate just one precious pre-holiday weekend to this ambitious project.
With only my ideas, lists, hopes and dreams, I set off to the Dollar Tree and Walmart with $50 bill and a Venti double shot espresso in my hand! I had no idea if I would be capable of making this happen for $1-$3 per gift, but that's exactly what I did! It worked! And I am so excited to share my experience and photo journal of how I made a success of the Great Gift Exchange of 2016. Not only am I really proud of the results, I also know that I have made 25 people that bring joy to my life in some small way, a bit of joy this holiday season.

Hot Chocolate Mix Ornament

I adore simple homemade Christmas gifts. I think they're such a cute way to gift someone during the holidays with a little love. I came across these hot cocoa ornaments online and fell in love. So I jumped in my car, and headed to the Dollar Store down the street from my apartment. I ended up finding everything I needed to make them there! I made at least 10 ornaments for basically $2 a piece! At that price you can make them for everyone on your list! Maybe earn some brownie points with your boss or co workers you wouldn't normally buy gifts for. The best part is that it's two gifts in one! When the hot chocolate is used up, they're left with reusable and adorable little ornament.

Here's what you need if you're interested in making your own:

• Instant hot chocolate mix
• Chocolate chips and/or sprinkles
• Ribbon & Gift tag
• Bag of mini marshmallows
• 1 clear plastic fillable ornament
• Decorative box of your choosing

Start with your ornament and take the top off. To make filling the ingredients easier you may want to go grab a funnel. (I didn't have one so I made my own with a rolled up piece of paper) Start with the hot cocoa mix, chocolate chips & sprinkles, and lastly the marshmallows. Put the top back on and decorate with ribbon or bows!

Candy Cane Sugar Scrub

This recipe DOES involve sugar, but it’s used in a way that will pamper you with out a single calorie! This gift is a fan favorite for obvious reasons. But the best of all is that everything you need is probably already in your kitchen cabinets!

Here's what you need if you're interested in making your own:

• 2 cups white granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup coconut oil or almond oil
• 3 or 4 drops of therapeutic grade peppermint essential oil
• 1 or 2 drops red food coloring

tip: Slightly heating your oil will help make your scrub easier to mix

Slowly start mixing your oil of choice and sugar together until you reach your desired texture (I use coconut oil for the additional moisturizing benefit). Immediately add 3 or 4 drops of peppermint oil. Once completely mixed, separate into two bowls so you can create your candy cane colors. Add 1 drop of red food coloring into one bowl & mix to make a nice mint pink color. (If you use less than 2 drops of food coloring, you wont have to worry about it staining your skin.)

You can use whatever container you would like, but my favorite are old fashion mason jars. Now that you're ready to go you can start layering your scrub. I made my layers about an inch apart & used the back of a spoon to "attempt" to create straight lines.

Once you've finished you can add ribbons, bows, & labels to personalize your jar! Feel free to use the label I found here. Voila! You have your candy cane sugar scrub!

Additional Sugar Scrubs

After making the candy cane sugar scrub I wanted to try out different flavors like lavender, eucalyptus spearmint, & honey grapefruit (My favorite Bath & Body Works flavors). I even made customized labels myself! If you are interested in any of these, you can make them by following the directions from the candy cane scrub. But remember to switch out the essential oil flavor and food coloring. I only used one drop of food coloring in these sugar scrubs, and reached the pastel colors I was hoping for.
Give the gift of beauty to the lovely ladies in your life!

Hot Chocolate Snowman

This hot cocoa snowman was all the hype this month on Pinterest, so I had to try it for myself. This actually turned out to be my favorite DIY gift I made this year. It took me a little longer than the others but was well worth it!

Here's what you need if you're interested in making your own:

• Black and orange puff paint
• 3 small mason jars
• Holiday colored ribbon & thick black ribbon
• Mini ornaments and buttons
• Instant hot chocolate
• Peppermint candies
• Mini marshmallows
• A hot glue gun

Refer to photos above on separating ingredients into their own mason jar. Using the hot glue gun, glue them together starting with the mints on the bottom, hot cocoa in the middle, and the marshmallows on top. While the jars are drying, make a hat out of the black ribbon and then glue on top of the marshmallow jar. You can use any color ribbon you want to make the scarf then glue the buttons on. After using the puff paint to make your snowman's face, use your own creativity to personalize him! Don't be afraid to use extra ribbon or glitter, that's what makes him special.

S'more Pops

While regular s'mores are popular, they're messy as all get out! I was at a baby shower last year and they had these wonderful creations called s'more pops. I probably ate at least 3 or 4 of them! The following week I was hosting my moms surprise birthday so I decided to try and make them myself. The recipe is super easy and they were a huge hit! So now I give them as gifts almost every holiday. You can put them in a pot or coffee mug with styrofoam to make a cute little bouquet.

Here's what you need if you're interested in making your own:

• Bag of LARGE marshmallows
• Semi sweet chocolate chips
• Graham cracker crumbs (or make your own)
• Straws or lollipop sticks

First set all of your marshmallows on a piece of wax paper or a paper plate. Insert your straws into the marshmallows, but make sure not to go all the way through or the marshmallow will fall into the chocolate when dipping. Next take your chocolate chips and melt them either on the stove or in the microwave with your graham cracker crumbs near by. Then take your marshmallows and dip them carefully into the chocolate and then into your crumbs immediately after. Give them a few minutes to cool & dry, then decorate and serve! You can print off the labels I used here.

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Reindeer Noses

Okay admit it, these are the cutest gifts ever! Perfect for your kids teachers, coaches, or their school bus drivers. You may need to help them with the hot glue gun, but other than that your kiddos can do this project all by themselves!

Here's what you need if you're interested in making your own:

• Box of Whoppers
• Red nosed gummies (or red puff for nose)
• Googly eyes
• Ribbon & brown paper
• Hot glue gun
• 1 mason jar

First I hot glued my brown paper and ribbon to the middle of my jar where I wanted my reindeer's face to begin. After gluing the eyes and nose, I cut out antlers from a deer decoration I got at the dollar store and glued them on the lid. (You can also use pipe cleaners for the antlers) Finally, just add a little glitter ribbon to the lid, then fill up your jar with Whoopers with red gummies and you're done!
Add a tag if you like!

I'm just obsessed with these little guys, and I promise I didn’t eat any Whoppers as I was making these... Alright, that isn’t true but I deserved a little reward after hot gluing my fingers together a few times. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Santa-tizer

Last but certainly not least, the Santa-tizer! You can make this gift with a bottle of hand sanitizer or soap, and something that resembles Santa's outfit that has a belt! You can use construction paper or fabric. In my case I happened to find a sock (also at the dollar store) that worked perfectly! Add a tag saying Santa-tizer or a cute bow and you're good to go!