While store-bought gifts are always appreciated, homemade gifts show true love and compassion straight from the heart. Make a friend’s day with a sweet and thoughtful homemade Christmas present. These presents are cute, affordable, and very sentimental. Here are four great Do-It-Yourself Christmas gift ideas:

1. Candy Cane Bath Salts- These bath salts are always fun when you just want to relax and take a nice, warm bath. Surprise your friends with this gift of holiday tranquillity.

Materials:
3 cups of Epsom salts
3 teaspoons of Sweet Almond Oil
9 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil
1 drop of red food coloring (more if you like)
1 drop of green food coloring

Directions:
Obtain three bowls, and put a cup of salt into each bowl. Then get three new bowls and put one teaspoon of almond oil into each new bowl. Put the drop of red food coloring in one bowl of almond oi; and put the drop of green food coloring in another bowl of almond oil. Into each of the three bowls of oil and food coloring add three drops of peppermint oil and mix each bowl well. After mixing, pour each of the bowls of oils and coloring into one bowl of salt. This will leave you with a bowls of respectively green, red, and white scented salts. Now let these sit for a few hours. Then, put your bath salts in a clear jar with a turn lid or cork seal. Adding Christmas ribbon to the jar will also look cute and festive. If you want to add a candy cane effect, layer each color: a layer of red, a layer of green, then a layer of white, etc. For the finishing touch adding a candy cane-shaped gift tag would top off the present.

2. Winter Wonderland in a Jar- Snow-globes have always been a fun and sentimental gift, and now this wintry scene can come straight from your imagination.

Materials:
1 clear jar (Baby-food, pimiento, and olive jars are good choices)
synthetic evergreen tips (can be found at Michael’s)
oil-based enamel paint
sandpaper
epoxy
distilled water
glitter
glycerin

If the jar lids are not already seasonal colors, paint them with the oil-based enamel paint. Sand the inside of the lid until the surface is rough. Adhere the figurine to the inside of the lid using clear-drying epoxy, and then let the epoxy dry. Next fill the jar almost all the way to the top with distilled water and add a pinch of glitter and a dash of glycerin to keep the glitter from falling too quickly. If you add too much the glitter will stick to the bottom of the jar when it’s flipped. Lastly screw the lid on tightly and be careful not to dislodge the figurine. You are now free to tip your jar over back and forth and let it snow!

3. Paper Flower Bouquet- This gift idea is fun and unique and lasts longer than a real bouquet without the hassles.

Materials:
watercolor wash (mix watercolor paint with water)- you can have as many different colors as you want
cast-off pages
glue
florists’ wire

Directions:
Use a water color wash to paint cast-off pages. Let these pages dry. Then cut out petal shapes form the paper and crinkle them to make them suppler, then straighten. To make a petal, pinch the bottom of the cutout piece to create a curved shape. Glue the petals together and let them dry. Roll back the edges to open the bloom and insert florist’s wire into the bottom for the stem. Secure the wire with glue. These flowers look cute in a small jar or vase that can sit on a desk or window sill.

Materials:
Small sock or sweater
Buttons or felt snowflake cutouts

Directions:
After washing, cut a 3-inch section from the sock or the sleeve of the sweater. Embellish this section with the buttons or felt snowflake cutouts for the Christmas flare. This easy-t0-make cup sleeve will prove extremely helpful and fun for the cold winter months of warm beverages.