Whenever Christmas comes around, most of us feel pressured to buy gifts for every relative and friend imaginable. But there are actually ways that you can come up with gifts without spending much money. Rather than going to the stores, go scrounge around your home and see what DIY gifts you can make. To help you out, here is a list of DIY gifts that you can make in your own home.

Terrarium Kit

If you want to make a cute terrarium kit, wit & whistle has their own guide. To make the kit you can start by collecting small stones for the bottom of the jar and filling it up to 3 cm. You can buy river rocks from a garden store or get them from outside. For the jar, a mason jar should work just fine.

Make sure to print the instruction card, which you can get on their site, and slide it into the jar. Then pour a few tablespoons of activated charcoal into a small ziplock bag and put that in the jar. You can also get this at a pet store aquarium section. And you’re done!

Animal Bookend

This animal bookend is very simple to make. All you need is a plastic animal toy, a wood piece, glue, primer and spray paint. Firstly, spray the toy with a primer so that the paint doesn’t bubble. Glue the toy to a piece of wood, you’ll want a strong glue so that it will stay together. Then pick your favourite spray paint, whether pink, gold or blue and spray it all.

Gold leaf paper mache bowls

To create these pretty bowls you will first need to blow up some balloons. Then cut up newspaper into small strips and, using a foam brush, stick the strips to the balloon using mod podge. The more layers you use, the thicker the bowl will be. Then place your balloon upside down on a paper cup and let it dry overnight. Once it’s dry, pop the balloon. Then use scissors to cut down the imperfect edges.

Paint the bowl with a few coats of white paint. If you want them to have the polka dot design, use sticker dots and stick them on the bowl. Then you can brush on gold leaf adhesive, use fewer adhesive if you want it to look smoother. Carefully remove the dots one by one and then seal it off with a gold leaf Sealer!

Personalised coasters

These are super easy to make if you want to gift some personalised coasters. You’ll need cork coasters, masking tape, vinyl letters, stencil brush, mod podge, and craft paint. First, spread mod podge on the cork coasters before painting so that the paint can be applied smoothly. Then create stripes with masking tape and initials with vinyl letters. Stick them on the coasters, then with a stencil brush apply craft paint and let it dry. Then remove tape or letter.

Gold leaf notepads

These notepads make a perfect gift for the friend who loves to make lists. All you need is a notepad of any colour, a ruler and gold leaf adhesive. Place the ruler on the notepad, then brush on the gold leaf with a brush making sure to keep it in line. Then use gold leaf sealer to seal it together, then you’re finished!

Sharpie pen mugs

If you’ve ever wanted to gift a mug with your own designs, there is finally a way that you can do that. Firstly buy some cheap mugs, then pick a design or inspirational quote that you want to place on the mug. Make sure to practice drawing it first on paper so that you don’t end up making a mistake. Then using an oil-based paint sharpie marker, draw it on a mug. After you’ve drawn it let it dry overnight before placing it in the oven

Bake the mug in the oven for 30 minutes at 180°C. Make sure to place the mug in the oven before it heats up and leave it in until the oven cools so there won’t be any cracks.You can choose to bake the mugs twice to really set the sharpie drawings. Hand wash it gently, and you’re done!

As you can see, you don’t have to spend all your money on presents. There are many gifts that you can make if you scrounge around your home for items. So why not put the shopping list aside and get crafting.