Christmas is the season for family, friends, giving, receiving, and food. Like most people, I struggle with figuring out what I want to gift to my loved ones. However, if you’re a fan of DIYing and making handmade gifts, look no further. Not only will your loved ones appreciate the personal gesture, but they will actually use these gifts (not pretend to like them and stash it away in the back of the cupboard for years).

1. Throw Blanket

If you’re a person who loves to watch TV/Netflix/Hulu/etc., you have a lot of downtime. If you’d like to keep your hands occupied while watching your shows and movies, making a blanket is a great way to do so, AND it makes a perfect gift for the winter season.

Materials:

• Yarn (or wool, but this is VERY expensive)
• Your hands

I would recommend staying away from using wool as it can be very pricey. However, if you don’t mind the price tag, wool is a great material for a soft blanket (keep in mind you will most likely need several skeins for a decent sized throw blanket).

You can find merino wool on Etsy here.

If you’d like to use yarn, there are several cheaper alternatives for wool (make sure you use the 40-50% coupons at Michaels/Joanns!) that are still extremely soft, which can be found here or here.

I highly recommend going to a craft store and hand picking out the yarn yourself so you can feel the texture. Try going with a jumbo-sized yarn (#7). Again, you will most likely need SEVERAL skeins of yarn.

Once you’ve assembled all of these materials, follow this tutorial to make your blanket!

2. Snowglobe Ornament

This is a cute Christmas decoration and/or stocking stuffer!

Basic Materials:

• Clear glass ornament with an open bottom (Michaels/Joanns/etc.) or removable top
• Mini Christmas trees (make sure it can fit through your ornament opening)
• Strong glue (i.e. E6000 glue)
• White glitter
• Mini snowflakes

Instructions:

1. Take your E6000 glue and apply some to the bottom of the mini Christmas tree.
2. Place the tree inside and on the bottom the ornament (the opening of the ornament should remain on top) and make sure to press down firmly.
3. Add glitter and snowflakes to your liking.
4. Apply glue to the lid of the ornament and glue it back on the top.

If you’d like to make a more detailed decorative ornament, follow the instructions here.

3. Hot Cocoa Ornament

If you need to mass-produce some Christmas gifts, this is an amazing option—it’s cheap, simple, and cute.

Materials:

• Clear glass ornaments with a removable top
• Hot cocoa powder
• Marshmallows
• Sprinkles (optional)

Instructions:

1. Pour your hot cocoa powder into your ornament and fill it up a little less than halfway.
2. If you decide to include sprinkles, pour in your sprinkles the remaining 25% of the way.
3. Fill the rest of the ornament with marshmellows.
4. Put the top of the ornament back on and gift it to your loved ones :)

4. Handmade Candle

When I think of the holidays, I think of candles (among many other things but the point is that I think of candles). They make lovely gifts and are very simple to make.

Materials:

• Empty mason jar
• Soy wax
• Candle wick
• Essential oils or fragrances
• Double boiler
• Glue
• Coloring (optional)

Instructions (for the most part, it’s self-explanatory):

1. Melt your soy wax (or candle wax of your choice) in a double broiler.
2. Once the wax is completely melted, add in your desired essential oil or fragrance (if you want to go with a Christmas theme, add peppermint fragrance).
3. As the wax cools, glue the candle wick to the bottom of your mason jar (or container of choice).
4. Carefully pour in the melted wax into your container, making sure that your candle wick is secure.
5. Allow your candles to cool completely and trim off the candle wick to about ¼ inch.

Even if you are not someone who usually handmakes gifts, definitely try it out this year! You might discover your love for DIYs :)