Budget-Friendly Gifts You Can Give For Christmas

 

 

Christmas is coming! The season of gift-giving is just around the corner. Do you already have gifts for your family, friends, neighbors, and officemates?

Don’t worry, there’s no need to break the bank just to find something nice. Here’s a list of budget friendly gifts (that you can make at the last minute too!) that will be perfect for your loved ones this Christmas.

So if you want to save while sharing some love this season, please keep on reading below. There’s a gift for everyone on your list.

 

Related: Take a look at our 2019 Gift Guide for more ideas. It has non-physical gift ideas that you can just buy and send digitally, no DIY required!

 

10 Budget-Friendly Gifts You Can Give For Christmas

These 10 DIY Christmas gift ideas will help you come up with something creative and special for your loved ones this holiday season.

 

1. Food Gifts in Jars

Food items in mason jars look so cute and are very easy to create, making them perfect DIY gifts for Christmas. You can make homemade soup mix, oatmeal mix, cookie mix, trail mix or granola for your health-conscious loved ones. All you have to do is buy the ingredients, mix them all together and layer them beautifully into mason jars.

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar Gift
• Vegetarian Five Bean Soup in a Jar Gift
• Instant Oatmeal Jars Gift
• 4 Snack Mixes in a Jar Gift
• Granola in a Jar Gift

This is an especially budget-friendly idea if you use ingredients you already have, or if you will use the leftover ingredients you bought for future cooking! Also, you don’t have to buy new mason jars – wash up the mason jars you already have and shine them until they sparkle (no water spots, please!) and they’ll look like new.

The recipient will not only be able to enjoy these gifts as snacks, but they will also get to keep the jar as food or beverage container. This gift is both practical and cute.

 

2. Make a Necklace

Here’s another budget-friendly gift your friend will surely appreciate. If you have beads and trinkets stored in your art supplies, check if you have something with a hole large enough to thread a chain through to make it into a necklace. If there is a meaningful souvenir from a trip you took with this person, you could also consider turning that into a necklace to commemorate that experience.

Another idea is an embroidery thread necklace, which is very unique and is perfect for any outfit. Check this video out to learn how to make one. This one may take more time to create, so it won’t be well suited to a last-minute gift.

With your creativity and a little bit of effort, you can create a super cute present that will totally impress a loved one.

 

3. Homemade Body Scrub

Body scrubs are perfect for this time of the year when skin dryness is at an all-time high. A remarkable scented scrub will definitely be soothing to parched skin.

You can make sugar body scrubs, they are by far the easiest beauty product to make at home. They involve just a few ingredients, so you can put together a big batch in no time and then give them out to everyone else on your list. So grab some sugar in your pantry and a few cute jars.

Here’s one recipe that I really love, the Peppermint Coffee Sugar Scrub. It contains coffee, so it will give your skin a little boost.

Here’s the ingredients (luckily, you’ll probably have most in your cabinets already!):

• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup fractionated coconut oil or any oil of your choice
• ¼ cup finely ground coffee
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 15 drops peppermint essential oil

Just simply mix all of the ingredients together and then spoon them into pint-sized jars.

 

4. Do-it-Yourself Bath Bombs

This gift is perfect for the people on your list who are stressing out from work or going crazy because of the holidays. Bath bombs are a great gift to help them relax.

Bath bombs are incredibly easy to make, and are very customizable. That way, you can make something slightly different for everyone on your list, with minor additional effort.

Here’s an easy step-by-step DIY video tutorial on how to make bath bombs at home. It’s very simple and you can customize each one by adding their favorite essential oils or colors to make it even more personalized.

 

5. Homemade Desserts

Of course, you could just give away chocolates as a Christmas gift. That’s easy and convenient, but it’s also a bit of a cop-out. Taking a little extra time to bake desserts will show you put thought and effort into your gift giving this year. Desserts are a great way to convey thoughtfulness without spending a ton of money or time!

If you know how to bake, then you have plenty of choices; from the simple cookies to the more complicated muffins and cupcakes. Here are a few ideas:

• The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever
• Perfect Snickerdoodles
• Crazy Customizable Cupcakes
• Marvelous Christmas Muffins
• Easy Sugar Cookies

If you don’t have any time to spare, don’t worry. You can always go for no-bake recipes like these Peanut Butter Chocolate no bake cookies.

 

6. Beautiful Pillows

Do you have newlywed couples on your list? Or friends who just moved into a new home or apartment? Adding pillows is a simple way to completely change the look of a room.

If you like to sew, homemade pillows would absolutely be a great Christmas gift. If you have a trendy dress gathering dust at the back of your closet, you can give it new life with a clever upcycle project. Just cut the length of the cloth, then fill it with cotton batting and stitch it closed. Fitted skirts are perfect since they are mostly cushion-shaped already.

If you have an old plain throw pillow, you can hand paint a couple of trendy patterns onto it. There are also plenty of printable templates you can download online.

 

7. Laptop Desk

Now, how about for your busy colleague who works almost non-stop, even before they go to sleep? They would appreciate a comfy, flat surface they can type on when sitting on the couch or in bed.

The perfect gift for them would be a laptop desk you can make at home – no sewing required! All you need is an old pillow and a picture frame you can purchase at a dollar store.

Here’s a video on how to DIY a laptop desk.

 

8. Build Your Own Terrarium

Terrariums are definitely having their moment these days, so why don’t you get on board! Gift your family and friends with these individually made miniature indoor gardens.

You can just find all the little pieces you will need, such as succulents, glass containers, moss, pebbles, and marbles at any hobby craft shop and they are totally budget-friendly.

Here’s a list of the supplies you may need:

• Glass terrarium
• Succulents
• Potting soil
• Pebbles
• Moss

 

9. Monogram Wreath

This is another great gift for someone in a new home or apartment. I also think a lot of moms and grandmas would like a monogrammed wreath to hang on the door during Christmastime. They are pretty and very personalized, plus they’re easy to make and inexpensive! You can find most of the supplies needed at your local dollar store.

Check this monogram wreath tutorial that you can finish in less than 15 minutes.

 

10. Homemade Shaving Gel

And for the men in your life, you can make homemade shaving gel. Here’s a simple to make shaving gel that is soothing and will leave the skin soft and conditioned. Plus the essential oils smell divine, and you probably already have most of the ingredients at home.

Here’s what you will need (recipe from Mama Natural):

• ¾ cup aloe vera gel
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 7 drops of grapefruit essential oil
• 7 drops of lemongrass essential oil

Use a small funnel in a glass pump bottle and pour in the aloe vera gel. Next, add the olive oil and the essential oils. Then, close the container with the pump lid and shake it well. That’s it!

 

Final Thoughts

Just because you’re on a tight budget doesn’t mean you have to completely swear off giving gifts at Christmas. After all, the value of Christmas gifts can’t be seen on the price tag, but rather in the time, effort and thought you put into creating them. Christmas presents mean so much more when you do it yourself and the intent comes from the heart.

 

Related: Take a look at our 2019 Gift Guide for more ideas. It has non-physical gift ideas that you can just buy and send digitally, no DIY required!

 

Your Turn:

What budget-friendly gifts do you like to give to your loved ones for Christmas? Please let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear from you.

 

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS? SAVE THESE TIPS TO YOUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS PINTEREST BOARD!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAVE for later on PINTEREST!