10+ Easy to Make Budget Friendly Holiday Gifts: Perfect for Anyone

Simple and quick last minute DIY presents you can make yourself or with your kids

As the countdown to the holidays grows shorter, it's easy to feel the rush of last-minute preparations closing in. Amidst the chaos, the thought of creating your own presents might seem like an unattainable feat. Yet, fear not – there's still time to infuse a personal touch into your gift-giving this year. Explore a range of simple and swift DIY projects that not only carry a unique charm but also prove to be cost-effective. Engage in these creative endeavors that not only result in meaningful presents but also offer a delightful crafting activity for you and your kids to share in the festive spirit. Discover the joy of giving with handmade gifts that truly stand out. These are perfect for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or can be adapted for an anytime homemade budget friendly gift.

Macaroni Tip: Discount and dollar type stores are a great place to pick up budget-friendly gift bags, ribbons, stickers and cards

Below are a few ideas to choose from:

^{Julie Young}

Personalized Shopping Bag

Get creative, choose the reindeer style above, handprint snowmen, let your kids paint / draw or just do simple hand or footprints. No matter what you choose it will make a memorable personalize gift.

Supplies Needed:

Canvas Shopping bags
Fabric paint
Fabric pen

To make the reindeer bag pictured above you'll need: Fabric paint in brown, white, black and red + a black fabric pen or instead of black and white paint for the eyes you can use fabric glue to attach googly eyes.

How to:

Paint your children's feet / foot, I used brown, then stamp their footprints onto the bag.
Draw antlers - I used black
Paint eyes - I used black and white, then the nose - I used red.
Add their names and even the year if desired

Cookie Kit

Share your favorite cookie recipe and they can have fresh baked cookies with the addition of just a few fresh ingredients.

Supplies need:

Your favorite recipe
The dry ingredients to make the recipe
Mason jar
Ribbon
Note card or index card

How to:

Layer the dry ingredients for your favorite cookie recipe in a mason jar and seal the lid.
Handwrite or print the recipe on a decorative note card or index card
Use a pretty ribbon to tie on the recipe printed on a decorative note card.

Trivet

Create a trivet for hot dishes using a ceramic tile, you can buy one at a local craft, hardware or home-improvement store.

Supplies needed:

Hot glue gun and glue sticks
6" square tile or larger

How to:

Hot glue felt to the back of the tile

^{SeventyFour from Getty Images via Canva}

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

Let the kids decorate the ornaments with paint, markers or stickers. For older kids they can pour the paint into the bulb and carefully swirl it inside. They could also stuff them with various materials for a unique look.

Supplies needed:

Clear Christmas bulb ornaments
Paint / paint markers / stickers
Optional: Confetti, curly ribbon, shreds of paper

How to:

Decorate the inside or outside of the bulbs

Here are a few more crafty ideas:

Memory Jar

Fill a jar / container with a collection of photos and memories written out on decorative business card sized pieces of card stock. Ask as many family members and friends to contribute their memories of this person to the jar; the recipient then draws a memory out of the jar daily for months to come to see what others treasure about them.

Supplies needed:

Mason jar or container
Photos
Paper, card stock etc.
Memories

How to:

Cut paper and photos
Add photos
Write out memories and fold in half before dropping in the jar.
Optional: Decorate the outside of the container

Personal Gift Certificates

Get creative! Create personalized gift certificates. Give the gift of your time or expertise. Ideas for your kids, offer a fun outing at the movies, bowling, museum visit, etc. Ideas for friends or family offer your babysitting services. How about a date night with significant other or bestie? If you have a skill or hobby, print certificates redeemable for free lessons or a free service you can provide.

Supplies needed:

Paper

How to:

Create by hand or use the computer to create a personalize certificate.

Macaroni Tip: Canva is a great site to use for this, they have a free version as well as upgraded pro.

A unique photo gift calendar, book or DVD

Customized photo calendar, photo book or DVD make a great gift. Last year, my parents gave me a DVD with a slide show of my childhood photos with a musical background. Consider making one for a family member, or perhaps a personalized calendar or book with pictures from years past, a trip taken together, etc.

Macaroni tip: Keep your eye out for coupons and deals - your wallet will thank you!

Themed Gift Basket

Get creative and choose something personal to the receiver or use one of the ideas below. You don't have to use a basket, get creative and match the container to the theme, you can also get a clear gift bag or a gift-wrapped / painted cardboard box works as does a laundry basket, metal or plastic tub, storage container, reusable shopping bag, ice chest etc.

Some fun ideas:

Movies: Assortment of popcorn and candy, DVD or movie gift cards - if it's small put it in one of those plastic popcorn containers or if you are getting theater gift cards ask if they will give you an empty popcorn bucket.
Gardening: Gardening tools, knee pad, gloves, hat and seeds - use a pot for the container
Cooking: Utensils, spices, recipe book etc. You could even use a large pot or mixing bowl as the container
Cookies: Cookie sheet, cookie cutters and decorations - tie everything to the cookie sheet or use a mixing bowl instead of a basket
Crafts: Assortment of craft supplies, get creative this works for kids or adults
Games: You can go all out with big board games or keep it simple with a variety or card and party games
Play day: Sand toy assortment, ball and maybe a sun hat
Beach: Use a beach tote or ice chest and add beach towels / blanket, beach ball, sand toys, frisbee, etc.

Supplies needed:

Basket or other container
Items for the basket
Cellophane or clear gift bag, ribbons and other decorations to hold everything together

Macaroni tip: Look at discount and dollar type stores for budget friendly container and add-ons.

How to:

Grab your container and gather your items
Arrange items in your container, You might need
you might want to wrap in cellophane or use a clear gift bag, depending on the items you might also be able to just tie them with a ribbon.

Macaroni tip: Depending on the items and the container you might need to secure the items so they look nice, maybe some stuffing in the bottom like crumpled paper or cellophane you might also consider taping items together

Framed Photos

Put a photo or a collection of photos in a nice frame to give as a gift. Or have the kids decorate a simple wooden frame to place a special photo into - look at your local craft, discount or dollar type store for an assortment of unfinished wood frames.

DIY craft frame ideas:

Homemade Goodies

Spend an afternoon baking or creating treats with the kids, then present in a nice tin container or platter - many to choose from at your favorite dollar store, consider including the recipe! Either way it will make for a delicious gift.

Need some ideas:

Home-Crafted Gifts

Your kids will enjoy crafting homemade gifts, perfect for someone special.

Need some ideas:

Custom Cookbook

Gather up all your favorite recipes and give the collection to someone that enjoys cooking. You can handwrite the recipes, print them using your computer on paper or index cards.

Tie-dye

Kids love making tie-dye as much as the recipient will enjoy wearing it! You can tie-dye t-shirts or other items like cloth napkins, flour sack kitchen towels, skies the limit - get creative.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Happy Holidays

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