DIY Christmas gifts for the last-minute shopper

Let’s face it, we all have enough clutter in our lives, so when Christmas rolls around, it’s always great to receive gifts that are actually useful. Inexpensive, thoughtful and useful gifts are my favourite to give and to receive. Today, I’m sharing a few of my favourite last-minute DIY gift ideas that are budget-friendly and fun.

Edible gifts are always useful. You can put together a basket with all the ingredients for a home-cooked meal or use a dollar store cutting board to create a charcuterie board.

Alternatively, sharing gift cards to restaurants and farmers markets is a great way to support local businesses.

Gifts from the kitchen are always appreciated, and they are lovely to receive during a time when everyone is busy hosting holiday gettogethers. Consider baking up a batch of your favourite cookies and packaging them up with a tag that says, “Have a SWEET Christmas!”

This year, I made my favourite ginger molasses cookies, packaged them individually in cellophane bags and embellished them to look like little elves. They have green and red cardstock hats, googly eyes, button cheeks and mouths drawn on with a Sharpie.

Ingredients for baked goods make fantastic gifts too. A whisk filled with chocolates can be wrapped up with a “We WHISK you a Merry Christmas” tag, and Christmas cookie ingredients and pancake mixes in jars are simple to put together.

They can be gifted on their own or added to a large basket.

A Christmas Eve gift basket could include: a jar of ingredients to make cookies for Santa, a jar of homemade pancake mix for Christmas morning, hot chocolate, Christmas PJs and magic reindeer food (oats with sparkly sugar crystals).

Gifts with a theme and a fun tag are easy, inexpensive and fun. Head to a dollar store, grab some cheap items and package them in a unique way. A box of chocolates can easily be turned into an adorable snowman. Wrap the chocolates in a white piece of paper and create a hat by stretching mini gloves over the top of the box. A pom pom can be added to the top of the hat by tying the fingers of the gloves with a piece of twine.

Then, finish the snowman by drawing a face with markers, tying a bit of twine around the bottom, and adding a warm wishes tag. Other gifts that are cute paired with warm wishes tags are: cosy throws, hats and mitts, mugs filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows and socks.

Bath and body products also make practical gifts for friends, family, neighbours and teachers. A spa basket is lovely, but Christmas soap with a “We WASH you a Merry Christmas!” tag is a simple option that everyone can use.

When looking for lastminute Christmas gifts that are useful and budgetfriendly, take time to think about the interests and needs of the recipients.

Then, purchase a practical gift and package it in a unique and thoughtful way.

Gina Bell is a mother of three and can be found online at www.eastcoastmommy.com.