DIY Christmas gifts always seem like such a wonderful idea, don’t they?
We have this vision of cosy nights in as a family creating gorgeous handmade DIY Christmas gifts for everyone from friends to grandparents. And then when the kids are finally asleep whipping up unbelievably cute DIY Christmas presents for the kids themselves.
And we tell ourselves all those DIY Christmas gifts will be super cheap & help us do Christmas on a budget.
Hmmmm …. we wish …
The problem is coming up to Christmas most of us are too tired and too stressed and let’s be honest too hopeless at most things crafty to conjure up any of the DIY Christmas gifts we see all over Pinterest.
And even if we whip something up that doesn’t look like the dog’s dinner, after forking out for craft materials our DIY Christmas gifts are anything but cheap!!!
But over the years I have discovered some genuinely cheap DIY Christmas gifts that truly are wonderfully easy to put together for the whole family.
I’ve got a huge list of them for you here. There’s over 101 cheap DIY Christmas gift ideas on the list for kids from you and from kids to mom, dad, grandparents and teachers, plus DIY Christmas gifts for husbands, wives and partners and cute DIY Christmas stocking fillers.
Do check them out & save for later.
And for more inspiration do check out my other simple Christmas ideas.
101 Cheap DIY Christmas Gifts
DIY Christmas Gift Jars
Homemade gifts in a jar are one of the loveliest and simplest ways to create cheap DIY Christmas gifts for the whole family.
You can of course create mason jar gifts but you can also just upcycle any old jars you have in your kitchen rather than fork out for mason jars that are not cheap.
You don’t have to fork out either for gifts to put in the jars.
In this guide to 30 simple mason jar gift ideas you’ll find all sorts of suggestions for presents from things you have around the home or that can be bought very cheaply.
There are lots of cute and yummy ideas for food filled jar gifts in the gift guide but also loads of suggestions for gifts that are not food for everyone from your kids to grandparents, teachers and neighbours.
Plus ideas for gift fillings you can buy cheaply in bulk to fill mini jars.
Do check out the guide : 30 Simple Mason Jar Gift Ideas
Very Simple Handmade Gifts You Can Sew
Handmade presents can get horribly complicated but there are loads of lovely ways to craft handmade gifts that are either no sew or need only the most basic sewing skills.
And I have a guide to 25 gorgeous but incredibly simple handmade gifts for you here …
They really are quick and easy to make as when I say basic, I truly do mean basic. All these handmade gifts are the kind of thing a six or seven year old could help with. So even if you haven’t sewn since you were six you can make these presents.
The other totally brilliant thing about simple handmade presents is you can create them for free by upcycling old fabric. And I am not talking here about some big stash of crafting fabric.
All of our wardrobes are cluttered full of old clothes and bedlinen we never wear or use that can be transformed into something genuinely gorgeous.
So do check out these handmade gifts.
Then have a pre Christmas declutter and find all the old fabric you could use to make DIY gifts that aren’t just cheap but actually free.
DIY Gardening Gifts For Christmas
With just a few clever tricks it is super easy to put together cheap DIY gardening gifts for the whole family.
You – and your kids – can easily make fun and useful presents for really keen gardeners and garden lovers on your Christmas – or birthday – gift lift. But you can also create very simple but lovely presents cheaply – or even for free – from your own garden.
I have a got for you here a big guide to inexpensive DIY garden gifts covering everything from pretty pressed flowers and gorgeously upcycled planters and wind chimes to practical gardening gloves & kneelers.
There are loads of cool planters and plant markers children can make as gifts plus fun growing kits for kids to get them gardening …
For garden inspiration for the whole family do check out the guide : 35 Inexpensive DIY Garden Gifts.
Easy Homemade Preserves For Christmas Gifts
Now I am sure many of you will run a mile at the very mention of jams, jellies and preserves but they really are super easy to make and can take less than 30 minutes.
They can also be super cheap as DIY gifts if you use foraged fall fruit, cheap seasonal ingredients, bags of frozen fruit or even leftovers!!
We pick pounds and pounds of seasonal fruit every year, so can make DIY gifts for nothing more than the price of some sugar. It tastes way better than store bought so seriously frugal but seriously lovely.
For genuinely simple recipes checkout this guide to homemade preserves for Christmas gifts. It covers 18 cheap and easy but truly delicious recipes for homemade jams, jellies, pickles and more …
DIY Gift Lessons
One of the most wonderful cheap DIY Christmas gifts we can give is ourself and our time and our special skills. Committing to hook up once a week for a little while to share a skill creates the space to truly connect with those we love.
Now this might seem easier if you’re super crafty and can pass on you skills in for example :
- Sewing
- Knitting
- Painting
- Baking
- Preserving
- DIY
- Furniture Renovation etc
But loads of us have all sorts of other wonderful skills we can pass on including:
- Guitar Playing
- Car & Bike Maintenance
- Languages
- Singing
- Tennis
- Ice Skating
- Piano Playing
- Hair Styling
- Make Up Tutorials
- Swimming
Use this free Christmas coupon book printable to “package up” your gift.
We might feel embarrassed about offering these but clutter free experience gifts are massively popular right now though seriously expensive, so we may be able to offer family & friends something, they wouldn’t otherwise receive.
And more than anything these DIY Christmas gifts give our kids what so many of them crave right now, and that’s simply for us to slow down & enjoy spending time with them.
The Gift Of Time
The special gift of time isn’t just popular with kids. It is also a massive winner with parents of all ages. In our over-busy world many of us are crying out for “more time” so why not gift some of yours to someone who needs help whether its :
- Babysitting
- Gardening
- DIY
- Decorating
- Car valeting
- Or even the dreaded decluttering!!!
Again you could use a printable coupon book to package your gift.
We can also gift our time to put together those collections that so many of us love but never get round to compiling, whether it’s a:
- Photo album
- Digital photo album
- Family scrap book
- Or music playlist
DIY Christmas gifts like these can bring so much joy without costing us anything. By sacrificing our time for someone we love we’re actually giving something much more valuable.
DIY Vintage Gift Ideas
Now many of the things on this list might seem too small for a big gift for your family – although don’t under estimate the true value of your time – but if you’re on a really tight budget for Christmas the place to go looking for great cheap, DIY Christmas gifts is amongst all those wonderful things we have stashed away that if we’re honest have become forgotten clutter.
Root them out, repair them and give them some TLC and pass them onto someone you love who can enjoy them more. It could be any of these:
- An evening dress
- Gorgeous heels
- Vintage handbags & luggage
- Watches
- Fountain pens
- Bikes & scooters
- Cutlery, glasses & china
- Furniture like a great chest of drawers or chair
- A sewing machine or other expensive tool they’ll really get use out of
- A bundle of well loved books simply tied up with ribbon
Or for kids any of those classic toys of yours your parents still have stashed away in a basement or attic like train sets, dolls houses, dolls prams, bricks, toy garages and forts, stilts, roller skates, basket ball nets etc.
Between you and me, I could have started a toy shop with all the old toys my parents were hoarding!! But with just a quick clean up they’re now enjoying a new lease of life with a new generation of kids. And somehow, those DIY Christmas gifts passed on down through the family better capture the true spirit of Christmas than the job-destroying junk our hard earned cash can so easily be wasted on.
So go on capture the real spirit of Christmas this year and give some of these simple, cheap DIY Christmas gifts to your kids, family and friends.
And for more simple homemade ideas for a lovelier Christmas on a budget do check out these other tips :
- 10 Simply Lovely Christmas Traditions
- 75 Fun Frugal Christmas Tips
- 7 Homemade Christmas Decorations
- 101 Clutter Free Christmas Gifts
- Best Homemade Christmas Candies
- Best Homemade Christmas Fudge
- Easy Homemade Christmas Cards
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