Shopping during the holiday season can be stressful, especially after tallying the number of people you would like to buy gifts for. Shopping on a college student’s budget can also provide its own set of limitations. This year, social media trends and inspiration lean towards handmade gift ideas.
Handmade gifts show an elevated level of care that speaks to the soul, and are usually a hit with the crowd. They allow you to showcase your creativity and push the bounds of your imagination.
So, without further ado, here are the top do-it-yourself gift ideas ahead of the holiday season:
- Trinket Tin
Old Altoid tins can serve as the perfect little pocket-sized displays of you and the recipient of this gift. You can customize this gift as much as you like, even incorporating special moments and meaningful tokens between you and your loved one.
Pictures, magazine clippings, beads, fabric: these are only some of the materials you can use in crafting this Pinterest pick. You can even theme this tin after Nevada if you’d like by using the Pack’s classic navy blue, white and silver colors, or by printing some tickets from old football games at the University of Nevada, Reno. Maybe even throw a picture of you and your friends at a game, or another campus event.
The possibilities for this are limitless, and chances are, you already have what you need lying in a drawer at home.
- Personalized Frame
Similar to the trinket tin, here is another personalized collage you can craft for the holidays. A personalized frame collage is a beautiful decorative touch for a dorm or apartment. All you need is a frame and other paper materials for this one. You can print photos of fun memories and accompany them with stickers, tickets and pressed flowers.
This is another way to tell someone, “I see you, and I know you,” that doesn’t explicitly say so. By adding subtle nods to different moments in your relationship with your loved one, you are showing them that you remember what they love and the best memories you share.
- Recipe Cards
For the chef in your life, recipe cards are a simple and thoughtful way to encourage their talent. With this gift, you can decide how much effort you want to put into it. If you like to draw or paint, you could design your own recipe cards for your loved one. If you are more gifted with digital art, you could create a design on a website like Canva and print them instead.
A way to elevate this gift is to thrift a container or box to hold the cards; that way, they are more organized when you gift them. This also allows you to explore how creative you can get when thrifting.
This gift could last generations if executed right.
- Custom Keychains
Do you know someone who always loses their keys or keeps their keys loose in their pocket or backpack? This gift may be perfect for them. Handmade keychains are both fun and practical. You have a lot of room for creativity and customization on this gift.
For the die-hard Wolf Pack fan, you could assemble a keychain with Nevada-colored beads and letters spelling “Go Pack.” For your more minimalistic friend, small beads with their initial or a significant symbol at the end is a good way to go. You could even make matching keychains using magnets that clip the two together, or by creating soda-tab stick figures. These are created by creating arms and legs out of thread or beads and attaching them to the long sides of a tab, creating a stick figure persona.
This gift is small, but powerful, because it holds some of the most important items we need every day.
- Air Dry Clay
This is by far the most versatile craft idea on this list. You can make refrigerator magnets for your friends or create bag charms and keychains, spoon rests for your kitchencoasters, photo holders, matches holders, paperclip bookmarks or even jewelry dishes.
Your imagination can really run wild with this idea. One pack of air dry clay can supply you for all of your holiday gifts, if you really want to maximize your time and resources.
If you have great gift ideas already, you can spend Cyber Monday scouring stores and websites for your loved ones. But if you are stuck on what to do this holiday season, maybe take some inspiration from this list and craft something more meaningful than an impulse buy during the sales.
The holidays can be hectic, but giving gifts shouldn’t have to be.
