Holiday DIY Gift Guide

Holiday DIY Gift Guide

It’s that time of year again! Pinecones, tinsel and warm cacao. Time to start dreaming up cute gifts for your family and friends. These easy DIY gifts are a fun treat to receive and to give. You can even get your whole family involved for a creative holiday activity at home. What better way to spend the holidays?

From boyfriend to girlfriend or grandparent to nephew, there’s something on my list for everyone. You’ll have so much fun making these easy gifts from my top 5 DIY:

1. Lavender Bath Salts

During the cold season, who doesn’t love to soak in a hot bath? Epsom salts have been shown to relieve achy muscles and contain magnesium which can be absorbed through the skin.

All you need for this easy and thoughtful gift is a large mason jar, Epsom salts and lavender essential oil. Combine the Epsom salt with around 20 drops of lavender oil, mix together and then simply decorate the jar with a custom label or ribbon!

2. Health-ier Cake Mix

The holidays are a great time to indulge in all sorts of candies and treats, but store-bought mixes often contain ingredients that aren’t as healthy as we would like. Give the gift of health with a customized baking mix!

All you need is a pretty jar and a label for the recipe. Once you’ve chosen which treat to make, simply combine the dry ingredients in the jar and write out the baking directions on the label. This is a great choice for your vegan or diabetic loved ones as you can completely customize the ingredients to suit any special dietary needs.

3. Lavender Body Oil

You can use your left-over lavender essential oil again for this easy and fun DIY gift. Treat the women in your life to a decadent after-bath experience by gifting (and perhaps applying) an all-natural fragranced massage oil. Lavender is said to have relaxing effects on the brain and anti-inflammatory effects when applied on the body.

Simply take a large tincture glass bottle, or a small lotion bottle, and combine 10 drops of lavender oil for every ounce of carrier oil (such as almond oil). Again, use your sticky label to identify the oil and to perhaps write a personal message!

4. Stationary Set

I don’t know about you, but I still use pen and paper and there’s nothing sweeter than receiving an actual card or invitation through the mail. Despite this, I always seem to be running out of both envelopes and stamps! This is a particularly great gift for those who are old-fashioned.

All you need is a small box to include some stamps, envelopes, perhaps a special pen and sticky notes too! The sky is the limit with this gift, as stamps and envelopes come in so many varieties, you can completely customize your gift to match your preference. You can even include customized mailing return labels with their address, just by using your printer and some sticky label paper. From classy to cute, this is a great gift for anyone in your life who still uses the post.

5. Snack Basket

For the serious snackers in your life! Know someone who’s always hungry? They’ll love a special basket of all their favorite treats. Sweet or savory, this one’s a winner.

Fill a basket with shredded paper and top with nuts, dried and fresh fruit, some homemade treats and anything savory or sweet you know your giftee won’t be able to resist.  Maybe the way to the heart truly is through the stomach?

I hope you try out some of these fun and simple gifts. Making them yourself is not only fun but produces much less waste than buying packaged gifts from a store. Let me know in the comments section how it goes!