DIY Christmas
By: Cedric Bell
Christmas can be an expensive time of year, especially for University students. One of the easiest ways to circumvent this problem is by getting homemade or cost effective gifts for others. Not only are they generally cheaper, but they can also be much more personally meaningful to the recipient if they can see the time, effort, and personal thought that has gone into making them. There are a variety of different kinds of DIY projects that can turn into great Christmas gifts, such as art, decoration, trade skills, or items that would be personal to the other person.
Art
There are many different mediums of art that could turn into a great DIY gift for someone, no matter what your artistic inclination is. Whether it's knitting, painting, drawing, or even writing to some extent, like poetry. For example, one of the Christmas gifts I gave someone one year was wood burning art of their favourite animal.
(Photo Credit: artofmanliness.com A Beginners Guide Pyrography, aka Wood burning)
Decoration
This one works especially well for anyone you live with, such as family, roommates, or significant others. Redecorating a room or wall to make it more functional or visually appealing would make for a great surprise as a Christmas gift, provided of course that the person is alright with their things being changed. This could include painting a mural, putting up a shelf for someone's collection, or other things like that to make their living spaces more suited to them.
Trades
If you’re not as artistically inclined, there are still plenty of options to turn to for DIY gifts. For example, if you have any skills in the trades like construction, wood or metalwork, there are lots of gifts you could make someone. Maybe you could make them that shelf they need, or a fire pit for when it gets nicer out. There are also lots of decorative things you can make out of wood and metal, if you want a less complicated but more visual gift to give, like a wooden mug or metal art.
Personal items
While these aren’t as easy to make yourself, they can be cheaper than most gifts, and can carry a lot of personal weight. Meaningful gifts outweigh expensive ones, and as long as you know the person well enough, there should be some good options. For instance, you could get them something with emotional meaning, like a photo album, or something to do with an inside joke.
Christmas can be expensive and pricey, but it doesn't have to be. One of the best alternatives to make it a better experience is to give out homemade gifts rather than store bought ones. It cuts down on costs, and often means a lot more to the person receiving the gift. These examples should help to get an idea of what you can make for others, but shouldn’t be constraining in any way. There are plenty of creative and thoughtful ways to show people that you care about them over the holidays, and these are just a few.