By Ashley Roe, Contributing Writer

Christmas is a fun time to give gifts to loved ones. However, it can be easy to get caught up in the hustle of the season and forget that it’s not all about who can buy the most lavish gifts. Just go into a store during the holidays and you will likely see people rushing around buying tons of expensive gifts. Now, I love shopping just a much as the next girl and I don’t think it’s wrong to buy nice gifts but I also like the idea of giving something a little more personal. To help you in creating your own DIY gifts, I came up with some simple DIY Christmas gift ideas. No matter your skill level, you should be able to find something you could do.

Also keep in mind that many of these could just be extra things you add to other gifts you purchase. For example, if you are giving a coffee related gift, add a cute coffee cozy along with a nice mug, some coffee and maybe a gift card to their favorite coffee shop. You can also make a variety of similar gifts like homemade beauty care products and add some other things to make a fun at home spa gift basket. Be creative and have fun with it!

Food Gifts

Food gifts are fun because most anyone can find something to make and give. I remember making batches of cookies and other fun treats with my mom when I was younger and this was well before I would say I really knew how to cook.

Try to be creative with your packaging. Pick some fun containers or bags and add ribbon or bows to make the package look even more festive. Make up a variety of baked good or other food items then mix and match them into packages to give!

Food gifts are also great if you don’t have much money to spend but want to bless lots of people with gifts for Christmas. Besides, who doesn’t love some homemade goodness around the holidays?!

• Bake a batch of your favorite cookies. My favorites are classic chocolate chip or sugar cookies found in my trusty Betty Crocker Cookbook.
• Make a pan of cinnamon rolls.
• Bake some homemade quick bread or muffins. I recently tried these pumpkin spice doughnut muffins and they barely lasted a couple of days with just two of us in the house.
• Make simple candy like peppermint bark.
• Create a mix in a jar instead of something already cooked. Cookies, hot chocolate, brownies, pancakes and soups can all make good jar mixes.
• Make a batch of this delicious chocolate covered popcorn.
• If you do canning, give whatever you love to can; jams, salsa, fruit etc.
• Make a batch of these simple no bake cookies.
• Bake a batch of homemade granola.
• Make some apple butter and put it in a nice decorated jar.
• Make batches of homemade seasonings; taco seasoning, pumpkin pie spice,
• Give chocolate lovers some of these decadent homemade peanut butter cups.

Easy Crafts and DIY projects

If you want to tap into your creative side but don’t feel like you have a handle on a specific skill like knitting you can still make some nice gifts! Here’s some ideas that are simple and only require some basic skills.

• Make some homemade sugar scrub like this honey vanilla body polish.
• Make some homemade bath salts. These sleepy time bath salts would be perfect for someone needing some time to relax after a long day.
• Make a simple rice heat therapy bag.
• Create your own set of recipe cards using your favorite recipes. Here’s a neat idea for a recipe binder using recipe cards and includes free printable cards to use.
• Give the gift of help by creating some coupons that can be redeemed for things like free baby sitting, doing chores like dishes or laundry etc. Here’s a cute idea for how to make scratch off tickets.
• Create an embellished journal similar to the tutorial from this post. You can make it a prayer journal or leave out the tabs so it’s just a regular journal.
• Make some homemade lip balm. One batch will make multiple tubes so you could have plenty to give as gifts! Plus you can customize the flavors using different essential oils. Peppermint is often a favorite for lip balms.

Gifts that Take A Little More Skill

Got a bit more skill? Here’s some more projects that might take a little more time and effort to put together but are not so time consuming that you won’t be able to get it done. If you want to learn more about a particular skill like sewing, knitting or even cooking, Craftsy is a great place to go for professional online courses!

• Knit or crochet a cute coffee mug cozy. Check out this cute set of knitted coffee cozy patterns from my sisters Etsy shop.
• Knit or crochet a pair of boot cuffs. For those that would rather crochet than knit, here’s 10 free crochet boot cuff patterns.
• Sew a set of place mats and napkins.
• Create some fabric flowers for hair bows or even just package embellishments.
• Build one of these awesome looking phone speaker amplifiers.
• Sew, knit or crochet a scarf. Here’s a simple tutorial for a five minute infinity scarf.
• Sew a simple tote bag.
• Sew one of these easy fleece blankets.
• Create a fun wreath. Check out my wreath Pinterest board for inspiration.
• Sew a cute little chapstick holder for your homemade lip balm.

What do you like to make to give as gifts at Christmas?