Make Christmas extra special by sharing a handmade gift with your loved ones

You don’t have to splash the cash and spend a fortune on presents to show loved ones just how much they mean to you. Here are some ideas to help you get creative and make something meaningful to put under the tree this year.

Map magnets

International travel might be off the cards for a while, but you can keep the dream alive with these sweet magnets.

You could choose places you’ve been with your loved one, or places that are on their travel bucket list.

You’ll need:
• Clear, round glass pebbles
• Magnets
• Mod Podge (or similar glue) and a paintbrush
• Maps to cut up
• Hot glue gun

Simply choose the destination of your dreams, cut it to size, and glue it to the pebble. Let it dry, then use a hot glue gun to attach a magnet to the back.

Sugar hand scrub

After the ‘year of hand washing’, your hands could probably do with some extra TLC. So, why not put together a little jar filled with a sweet smelling hand scrub? Simply mix the ingredients together to your preferred quantities, and your loved one will be rubbing their mitts in glee.

You’ll need:
• Sugar (white or brown)
• Coconut oil
• Your chosen scent. We love ground cinnamon and vanilla extract, but you could use peppermint essential oil, or something else of your choosing.
• An airtight container

Essential oil perfume

You can make a wonderfully unique scent for your loved one – no one will be wearing the same perfume!

You’ll need:
• 5 or 10ml roller bottle
• 2 or 3 essential oils, e.g. ylang ylang, grapefruit, lavender, or vanilla. You can find guides online that tell you which scents go best together
• An unscented carrier oil, e.g. almond or coconut oil
• Dried flowers like edible rose petals or lavender

Take the rollerball off of the bottle. In the container, combine 10 or fewer drops of your essential oils. Remember, you can always add more, so start slowly. Swirl the oils in the glass together to combine the fragrances.

When applying directly to your skin, essential oil should always be diluted, so add your carrier oil and any dried/decorative flowers you might want. Fill with the carrier oil until you reach the top.

‘Reasons why I love you’ jar

Fill a large mason jar with hand written and sentimental notes for your loved one.

Use the following prompts to inspire you:
• Reasons why I love you…
• Remember when…
• Quotes/lyrics…
• You/we have to do this…

You could fill it with 52 notes (one for every week of the year) or, if you’re feeling ambitious, you could aim for daily memos with 365. Tell them to pull out a note any time they’re feeling down – to cheer them up and to make them think of happy times with you.

Create (and bake) your own food hamper

If your loved one’s a bit of a foodie, the best kind of present might be one that speaks to their stomach. Putting together a personalised food hamper means you can choose a few of their favourite sweet or savoury foods.

If they’ve got a favourite dish – something they always order when eating out – you could buy a few of the key ingredients, and make them their own step-by-step recipe card. You’ll find lots of great templates on canva.com that you can edit, download, and print.

To make it even more personal, you could give them something you’ve cooked or baked. Some Christmas cookies would be great for someone with a sweet tooth, or a chutney (to go alongside some cheese) is a great choice for a savoury snacker.