A home-made gift is something that can't be beaten. You feel good, your recipient feels good; you (probably) had fun while doing it: everybody wins. But you don't have to be a creative whizz to get in on the home-made action – there are plenty of easy gifts you can make at home that will look so flash people will think you bought them from the fanciest boutique. OK, so that might seem like a slight stretch when you've accidentally super glued a glittery gold star to your face, but we promise your efforts will be worth it.
Of course, here at The Indytute we're a bit biased. We love a bit of arts and crafts. You'll routinely find us making our own jewellery, upcycling our old china plates; or even customising our trainers. And, FYI, they look fabulous.
From making your own Christmas cards to painting someone a masterpiece, there's sure to be a home-made gift to suit your skills. Ready, steady, craft: here are 10 ideas for easy gifts you can make at home.
Home-made Christmas presents: 10 easy ideas
Lino prints
Image: Sarah Spenser
Do one lino cutting, make an infinite number of prints. Everyone gets the same gift, no one gets jealous. Easy. Alternatively, turn your lino print into a Christmas card. You can use it every year for the rest of your life. Talk about reusable. Also, did we mention we have a stay-home kit for that?
Cyanotype prints
Simple yet effective, these canvas prints are totally unique and totally gorgeous, using anything from flowers to feathers to create an intricate silhouette. One for keen botanists. And yep, we have a home kit for this one, too.
Knitting
Image: photo by Ursula Castillo on Unsplash
You heard it here first: knitting is the new meditation. Move over, gran. Start with a simple scarf before aiming for the lofty heights of a jumper. An ideal activity for getting away from a screen on all those long nights in…
Candles
Image: Photo by Tessa Wilson on Unsplash
We recently discovered that candles are as relaxing to make as they are to burn. Stick on Barry White, pour yourself a glass of red and off you go.
Painting
Image: Photo by Mike Petrucci on Unsplash
OK, so this is one for the slightly more artistic – and more committed – of you out there. But on the plus side, everyone knows painting is brilliant for mindfulness, so you'll be doing yourself some good while you're at it.
Chilli oil
Image: Photo by Roberta Sorge on Unsplash
Deceptively simple. Choose a nice bottle, pick what level of spice you want to achieve, get a nice bottle of olive oil and mix it all together. Erm, actually you might be best off following a recipe (there are shedloads out there). And if spice isn't you or your recipient's thang, try it with dried herbs, nuts, citrus… The options are endless.
Make a little gift box
Image: Photo by Dmitry Mashkin on Unsplash
This one isn't strictly entirely homemade, so if you're really short on time but want to impress, this could be an option for you. Get a nice box, pick a theme (foodie, pampering, bookworm) and then pack the box with things around said theme. Tea lovers could get a box of unusual teas and a nice mug; those needing to relax could get a candle (homemade of course) and some bath salts.
Fudge
Image: Photo by Sarah Gualtieri on Unsplash
The sweetest treat of all. Fudge is another foodie gift that's actually pretty easy to master – and it's practical because it always goes down a treat, doesn't go off any time soon and is easy to wrap. Disclaimer: once you see how much sugar goes into it you might not want to eat any yourself, but we say YOLO.
Soap
Image: Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
See making your own candles. Very therapeutic. Also, once you've tried fancy soap you'll never go back – and this way you can make it smell exactly the way you want it to.
Marmalade
Image: Photo by Jay Short on Unsplash
If you've got access to a glut of fruit, here's one way to use it all up. It's basically a zero-waste gift, so bonus points for being green. Well done you.
FURTHER READING: We rediscover the joy of old books, ideal for long nights in front of the fire.
Main image: Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
