Thanksgiving has passed, SOOOOO…… Let’s talk about CHRISTMAS! Now I don’t know about all of you, but I LOVE CHRISTMAS. I love the season of family, friends, snow, and gift giving. I have always loved giving other people gifts, it is my favorite of the love languages, because it gives me so much joy to watch someone open a present and show them how much they mean to me. However, as a poor college student, I don’t have money to be spending on expensive presents, even with my Black Friday Steals! So, I scoured Pinterest for some awesome, cheap, DIY gift ideas! Here are just a few of my favorites!
1. Ornaments filled with glitter. No, seriously. It is just a clear ornament filled with your choice of colorful glitter and then you can personalize it with a name written in puff-paint or permanent marker and a cool ribbon!
2. No-sew tie Blankets. We have all seen these, and I have made them for family and this year a friend of mine will be getting one for Christmas!(SHHH Don’t Tell) It is just two, 2-yard pieces of your choice of fleece that are laid on tops of each other and then cut in 1-inch sections and tied around the entire outside of the blanket. This can be kind of expensive if you buy fancy fleece, but they also make great baby blankets or pillows and those only take one yard or even half of a yard of each piece! They are super warm and great for napping! (Every college kid loves her naps)
3. Friendship Bracelets. These are super cheap to make. They use embroidery floss and come in varying styles! They can be made in any color and are great for stocking stuffers or for smaller gifts for friends!
4. Button Jewelry. Okay this is in honor of my good friend Emily who makes practically ALL of her jewelry out of old buttons. Let’s face it, we all have a million buttons laying around, because every shirt, skirt, jacket, etc. that has buttons comes with spare buttons, SO why not make those spare buttons into matching jewelry?! They are truly adorable. You can thread them on a nice string, chord, or ribbon for a cute necklace or bracelet, or hot glue them to earring studs (these can be purchased at Hobby Lobby or other craft stores for CHEAP!).
I hope this has given you some fabulous ideas for this Christmas that might save you a few dollars! Have a great Holiday season.
Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas,
Chloe
Chloe McLaughlin is a college freshman at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana majoring in Church Music and Christian Worship. Originally from Frankfort, Indiana, Chloe was a participant in the Distinguished Young Women program and was selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of Indiana for 2012. Learn more about Chloe here!
