Five timeless treasures you can make yourself to show how much you care

By: Sabrina Scroppo

My earliest memory of the holiday season is one of my mom dressed in a ruffled apron decorated in stains and hovering over our oven while notes of warm vanilla float through the air. With her face powdered with flour, we put together gift boxes of gingerbread cookies to drop on each doorstep in our neighbourhood. 

With the commercialization of the holidays, gift-giving is usually accompanied by big box store buy-one-get-one sales and expensive shiny gadgets. Who’s to say that the gesture of giving something homemade doesn’t mean more than a new perfume or a pair of shoes? 

Here’s a few DIY Christmas presents your friends and family are guaranteed to cherish and never forget.

Baked goods

There’s no going wrong with a care package of chewy snickerdoodles, cranberry orange shortbread bites or traditional holiday fruitcake. No matter your level of baking expertise, homemade treats are always served with a side of love. Bring back all the nostalgia from childhood traditions and present a platter of festive desserts to your co-worker, neighbour or favourite teacher.

A self-care kit

The holiday season marks the end of a stressful month of deadlines, exams and last-minute tasks. Take the time to relieve your friends and classmates of that stress with a DIY self-care kit. 

You can personalize a box with their favourite candy, a book and a candle, with an added handwritten note to get them through the day. Including handmade spa day essentials like bath bombs or face masks are great additions to a gift everyone wants but won’t get themselves.

Handcrafted jewelry

Dedicating hours to a new skill is often rewarding, so sharing what you’ve learned is always a prize. As an affordable alternative to pricey diamonds, a handcrafted bracelet tailored to the person you are gifting makes a unique keepsake. You may choose to string colourful plastic or wooden beads through a thread in a random pattern or even assemble your loved one’s name in a bracelet. A different route could be to create friendship bracelets together using embroidery floss for some extra quality time during the holiday season. 

You can also scour Esty’s online shops to support small Canadian businesses and do a little extra good for artistic entrepreneurs this time of year.

Personalized family cookbook

Tucked away and hidden from kitchen messes is the collection of recipes my grade 6 class compiled for a Mother’s Day gift. As a relentless 12-year-old, I knew my mom’s mashed potatoes deserved the first page. 

A creative idea for the chef in your life is a handpicked assortment of recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. From your great aunt’s apple pie to your new friend’s famous pizza, this unique cookbook won’t be one just anyone could find on a storefront shelf.

Frame anything! 

The beauty of a homemade Christmas gift is that it can be personalized in every which way. Wrap a shiny red bow around a family portrait and you have the perfect balance between sentimental and practical. 

It is close to guaranteed that any grandparent’s heart will melt over a special scrapbook of memories. A collection of home videos or old collectibles will promise no dry eyes on Christmas morning.