7 Easy DIY present ideas using our mindful crafting kits

Are you still trying to figure out what to give your close ones for Christmas? As the big date approaches, we often have to deal with the stress of preparations, the strain of work, and the pressure of finding that perfect present. 

Handmade gifts are the perfect way to make your presents more special while also giving you free range to express yourself. 

In this article, we’ll go over the benefits of making your own Christmas presents and give you some ideas you can easily make with some of our kits!

Why should you make your Christmas presents yourself?

Heartfelt, personalised Christmas gifts

Everyone knows that one person who seemingly has everything, and they can be a nightmare to shop for. While chocolates and fun socks are perfectly good gifts, they are not the most personal of presents.

Making your Christmas presents yourself is a fantastic way of showing your appreciation for someone. Not only that, but it allows you to make exactly the type of gift that you want. Say goodbye to out-of-stock items and long queues in shops!

Budget-friendly presents

Christmas is an expensive time of year! Between presents, festive meals and travel costs, it can be difficult to budget efficiently. 

DIY presents can often be made with just a few simple tools found around the house. The supplies you don’t have can be as cheap or expensive as you want them to be. The value of the kit comes from the work and attention you put into it, so you can be quite creative in how you use your supplies.

Resist the stress of Christmas preparations

Trust us when we say we know how busy the Christmas period can get! This might seem counter-intuitive, but we at OurHands are firm believers in the mindfulness benefits of crafting. 

Carving out some time to be creative is a great way to centre yourself and quiet down the noise of everyday life. Just 20 minutes of creativity here and there will do wonders for your mental health, and you’ll be done with your presents in no time!

7 DIY present ideas using our crafting kits

Countless types of beautiful presents can be handmade. I’m sure you could come up with dozens yourself, just thinking of your own hobbies and focusing on what the recipient enjoys. In case you’re stumped though, we’ve compiled a list of 7 DIY Christmas gift ideas. They ranged from quick and easy to more involved, so you can plan your schedule accordingly!

Relaxing bath brew

Have you ever heard of bath tea? Is the perfect gift for that one friend who always seems to be very busy!

Bath brew, or bath tea, is an organic bath product that replaces bath bombs. Filled with delightful natural ingredients such as flowers, herbs and minerals, it is as fragrant as it is relaxing! They’re also very easy to make and tweak. There are many bath tea recipes online, so you’re sure to find something that would fit the recipient! Different recipes will target different issues, such as dry skin, anxiety, or sore muscles, so you’re sure to find something that will fit your recipient! You can also think of their favourite scents and incorporate them into your bath brew.

You can store your bath tea in cute glass jars ready to be gifted, or you can make your blends inside a little muslin pouch that’s ready to be popped in the tub!

Our new and improved Bath Brew kit comes with high-quality ingredients, as well as detailed instructions to make up to 8 different recipes. It is the perfect starting point if you’ve never made bath brew!

Delicately scented incense paper

Incense paper is a very chic and unique way of scenting your home. The paper can either be burned to release all the fragrance like typical incense, or it can placed inside drawers and cupboards to act as a discreet potpourri. It is very popular in France and Japan!

Incense paper is made by soaking thick paper into a chemical bath, waiting for it to dry then lightly coating it with scented oils. The paper can be made into all sorts of shapes - strips, stars, hearts, or even Christmas greeting cards! It is quick and easy to make - it only takes a day for the paper to dry, and an additional day to allow the scented oils to sink into the paper.

Our Incense Paper kit comes with all the chemicals you need to soak your paper, as well as three different scented oils that can be used by themselves or combined to create a personalised fragrance. It also comes with delicate laser-cut leaf-shaped paper and some additional paper sheets that can be cut into whatever shape you like. It also comes with a lovely aluminium tin that can be used to store the paper while it’s not being used.

Customised signature scent

A customised signature scent is a great way of showing people how well you know them. It’s a lovely present to get, and they’ll be sure to think of you every time they wear the perfume!

Making perfume is a little bit more involved than the previous ideas, but it’s quite quick and it is surprisingly easy to get high-quality results using the right scents. It is also a very fun and rewarding activity.

While perfume-making can seem quite overwhelming at first, our Perfume Blending kit comes with everything you’ll need to get started. With five different high-quality fragrances to choose from and combine, you’re sure to find the perfect blend for your close ones. The kit also comes with detailed instructions on how to make perfume, as well as six perfume ideas to get you started. We provide you with a glass atomiser bottle and some stickers to name your perfume, so it is a lovely gift to receive.

Christmas bitters for festive cocktails

This is the perfect Christmas gift for booze lovers!

Bitters are a strong alcoholic preparation that is added to cocktails to give them depth and complexity. They can be flavoured with almost anything, from flowers to herbs or dried fruit. They’re also really easy to make! It only takes about two weeks of infusing your chosen ingredients into strong alcohol to make delicious bitters that’ll elevate any alcoholic drink.

For gifting, we recommend decanting your bitters into small glass jars closed some twine and a kraft tag detailing the ingredients. Because bitters are so versatile, you can make bitters with all the recipient's favourite tastes! If you don’t know them well, some Christmas bitters with spices are sure to be a resounding success.

Our Bitters Making Kit comes with detailed instructions and enough ingredients to make chocolate and orange bitters. You can even combine them into a festive orange & chocolate bitters that would go fantastically in a Negroni or a Manhattan!

Personalised sashiko-pattern clothes

Sashiko is the Japanese art of using visible mending to repair and embellish fabric with beautiful geometrical patterns. Similar to kintsugi, the art of repairing ceramics with gold, it stems from the Japanese ‘wabi-sabi’ philosophy. Wabi-sabi teaches us to find the beauty in the history of an object, with every tear and subsequent repair adding to the soul of the item.

As sashiko involves some sewing, it does take a bit longer than some of the other crafts we’ve mentioned, but you would be surprised by how good the results can look with some effort!

Sashiko can be done on almost any fabric, so you have a lot of freedom with the end result. It would look great on the back of a thrifted denim jacket, or to spruce up some cushion covers. If you know a friend or family member has recently torn through one of their garments, you could also try and get it from them to repair! It would make for a very meaningful and personal present.

Our Sashiko Repair kit comes with everything you’ll need to get started, from thread and needles to squares of fabric that can be used to strengthen the fabric. It also comes with a detailed illustrated instruction booklet that will teach you the sashiko sewing techniques, as well as some of the most popular sashiko patterns.

Heartfelt handmade book

A handmade book is perhaps the most personal and customisable present you could give someone. It can be a collection of poems and lyrics that make you think of them, collages of photos, or even a personalised story.

Making someone a book does require some planning, but is quite easy to achieve once you know what you want the finished book to look like. 

Our Bookbinding kit lets you make three different types of books: a delicate pamphlet journal, a beautiful Japanese stab-bound book with visible patterned stitching, and a sturdy adventurer’s journal. They can easily be customised to the number of pages you need. The kit comes with enough paper to make all three journals, beautiful patterned covers for your journal, and all the tools you need to get started. It also has detailed illustrated instructions that will teach you how to make all three books.

 

We hope these seven ideas have inspired you to try and gift some homemade presents this holiday season. If you’re still looking for more inspiration, we do have many kits that would make a great gift for that hard-to-shop-for person in your life. Whether they drink coffee by the litre, are obsessed with tea or love being creative, you’re sure to find something that they will enjoy! Don't forget to use our code LASTMINUTE23 for 10% any orders before Christmas day.

From both of us at OurHands, we wish you a fantastic Christmas and a happy new year, and we will see you in 2024 with more exciting craft ideas!