Homemade but Useful Christmas Gifts

As Aussies are fond of giving Christmas gifts, why not make DIY/homemade gifts that your loved ones will surely appreciate?

Do you now feel the ‘Chrissy Time in The Land of Oz’ vibes? Chrissy carols playing everywhere, Santa’s faces are posted in the malls, and Chrissy trees are now standing with fancy decorations. Finally, we can now announce and proclaim that it’s totally summertime!

Kidding aside, many Aussies are fond of giving gifts during the Christmas season. As we all know, Christmas is a time for too much spending due to gift shopping. But for this year’s Christmas let’s make it a little bit different. What if instead of buying expensive Christmas gifts for your loved ones, let’s make DIY gifts that they will surely appreciate?

Do it your own ideas are now rising due to the boredom of many Aussies during the midst of COVID-19. Many discovered that they have these hidden art talents, baking skills, and even making DIY stuff with just limited resources. Yes, the pandemic changed us a lot to the point that we can do a lot of homemade ideas.

Going back, to be prepared for this coming Chrissy season we gathered ten useful homemade Christmas gifts that people will truly cherish.

Home Welcome Signs

Using a flat piece of wood, painted with the colour of your choice then add the word “welcome” and a rope at both ends of the wood, it is done. You can add any message or design to paint in the wood if you want. Just make sure that it will look presentable.

Soup Mixes in a Jar

Using a mason jar, you can now make your ready-to-consume favourite soup which is also a perfect gift this Christmas. Just add a Christmas card and it is ready to be a gift.  Here is the list of different soup mix varieties that you can make according to your choice:

• Coconut curry
• Italian barley
• Split pea
• Five bean 
• Chicken noodle
• Spicy black bean.

Tea Bag Trees

This is the best gift for people who drink tea for relaxation. Paste assorted tea bags and form them triangular in a styrofoam cone or an empty tissue roll until it looks like a mini Christmas tree. After adding a star on the top, it is now ready to be a gift. Don’t forget to insert a small dedication to make it more appreciative.

Personalised Scented Candles

Many Aussies are indulged in candles with the smell of their choice. As easy as mixing candle wax with the receiver’s favourite scent such as vanilla or coffee in a mini glass jar and waiting for a couple of hours until it is perfectly formed, surprisingly you have made a perfect Christmas gift. Just add a sticker paper with a message on it to make it more personalised.

Sugar Scrub Cubes

This one is a variation of homemade bath salts and has a sweet smell such as cranberry, but you can use any fragrance that you want. The receiver of this gift will totally love it since it will leave their skin with a feeling of softness. Essential-wise, this gift is very seasonal since the virus is everywhere. So always remember to properly wash your hands with sugar scrub cubes.

Photo Coasters

Since coffee stains are a big problem when you straightly put your coffee on a table, a coaster is a big solution. This one is a perfect gift due to the high population of coffee lovers in Australia. By simply adding a photo to a coaster, applying a thin coat of mod podge twice on it, and when the last coating is dry you can flip it and paste a felt cushion to protect the surface of it. After all the simple procedures, your personalised Christmas gift coaster was made and your receiver is now ready to say goodbye to coffee stains.

Natural Lip Balms

Among all cosmetics, this one is the easiest to make. The most common homemade lip balm is made of coconut. Just prepare 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, beeswax or carnauba wax, and olive oil, and then the procedure goes this way. First, in a double boiler, heat all the ingredients over low heat and when melted wax and oils are mixed together with a proper texture put it into a small circular container and let it cool. When the mixtures are formed like lip balm, just add a Christmas dedication on the container and it is now ready as a gift.

Bottle Vases

Using a milk bottle, acrylic enamel paint, and your artistic self you can make a creative gift for your loved ones. Design the milk bottle with the favourite pet, colour, or any sentimental thing of the receiver. Make sure to wrap the bottle vase with bubble wrap when you are about to gift it to make it secure.

Travel Toothbrush Holder

Australians love to travel and one of the travel essentials that they need is a toothbrush holder that you can actually make for them. To make a homemade toothbrush holder, all you need is a washcloth, ribbon, thread, a sewing machine and your basic sewing skill. Fold the washcloth and make a partition using a pin, add the ribbon to the middle that you can tie when you roll the cloth to secure the toothbrush and toothpaste inside, and lastly sew it using the sewing machine. Wrap it with a special message to make it sentimental.

Hand Warmers

This is a perfect gift for your single friends who don’t have someone to hold their hands to when it is cold outside. All you need is a fabric cut into squares, scissors, pinking shears, a sewing machine, thread, long pins and rice.

Put two square fabrics together and sew them like a pillow. Fill three-quarters of the way up with rice. Using a long pin to block the rice from falling out of the opening and sew closed. Using pinking shears, trim the edges of the fabric to keep them from fraying.

To use the hand warmers, tell the receiver to microwave them for 20 seconds and use them when the weather is cold.

Christmas is almost here and gifts don’t need to be expensive. You have to exert a small effort to make homemade but useful gifts. Bear in mind that when you give something this Christmas, it is always the thought that counts.

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