Christmas is only a few days away… How many people do you need to get gifts for still…?

Crap. Let’s try to keep this under $20 per person. Ready? Set – Go!

Quick Fix Spa Kit

How about a spa kit for the ladies in your life? This gift is great for friends, family and that special someone. A majority of these items are pretty easy and simple to throw together, provided that you already own the staple ingredients. For some, it may be tricky if you aren’t a regular coconut oil, cocoa butter or essential oil junkie. Buying everything up front could get a little pricy, but they are items that serve many purposes and are extremely inexpensive when you consider how long they last and how many pricey items you can replace with these simple, staple ingredients!

• Body Butter – let’s face it, we could all use a little extra moisture during the winter. Am I right fellow Canucks?
  • 6 oz of coconut oil, 2 oz of cocoa butter and an essential oil scent of your choice!
    • Melt, cool, whip, add scents, place in a pretty jar (dollar stores are your best friend). Super simple!
      • Try this festive peppermint body butter to get in the holiday mood! Sample
• Coffee Ground & Brown Sugar Scrub – this one is one of my faves! It just polishes and renews that ugly dead skin, revealing a warm and healthy glow.
  • One part unused coffee grounds, one part raw cane sugar (not the sticky baking kind).
    • Mix it up – keep it dry! Add a scent if you’d like, some like vanilla or coconut – I like it plain Jane.
      • The sweet coffee scent is pretty invigorating as is, but nothing wrong with a little extra zing! Recipients need only a tiny bit of water to activate one tbsp, then rub all over. It feels so good!
• Lime & mint foot soak – this is one timeless treat we can all appreciate. Another way to add some zing in your step (pun intended)!
  • Some Epson salt, baking soda, lime zest, lime & peppermint essential oil.
    • Mix & voila! Soak those tootsies and they will love you!
      • Try this recipe, it comes with snazzy printable labels and instructions! Sample
• Some nice accessories for this spa kit would be a loofah or a scrub glove, both can be found at a dollar store. Along with a festive basket to put it in.

Fast Basket

For those of us who do not have the luxury of living in a non-frigid climate for the holidays, may I suggest a Keep Warm Basket? Something everyone would love!

This one is super simple and requires very little prep time! One quick run to your local department store should do the trick.

• A cozy blanket – who doesn’t like snuggles?
• Throw together some hot chocolate mix and marshmallows, (found at most bulk food stores), in a dollar store mug! Fancy.
• Toasty socks: I recommend warm fuzzy slipper socks. These can be found at your department store or dollar store. They usually come in packs of 2-6 – slipper socks for everyone!
• Lastly, freshly baked cookies.
  • Not a big baker? Can barely use a microwave? No problem! Ready-made cookies are a lifesaver. You can look for the pre-cut ones. Place them on a tray, or foil if you don’t have a tray, and bake as per instructions, (usually 10-12 minutes). Saran wrap those puppies and throw them in your basket.
• Oh yeah, you’ll need a basket! But you can also use whatever you can find around the house. A gift bag, an extra pillow case, a box – pretty much if you can tie some ribbon around it, why not?!

Simple Speller

A personalized scrabble fram e- this may sound like you need to be artistically inclined…but nope! Super simple to throw together yet the finished product looks so polished and sleek. This is definitely a gift for anyone that loves a little desk art!

• Grab an inexpensive photo frame (yay for dollar stores!)
• Pop the glass out and choose a background; printer paper, construction paper, cardboard, fabric, etc. Whatever is around the house will work just fine.
• Use scrabble tiles to spell out a name, a saying, or anything meaningful.
• Glue the pieces down to the selected background using super glue or a hot glue gun, once you have your ideal positioning.
• Once dried, place the product into the frame, sans glass, and ta-dah! You so fancy.
• Take a look at these bad boys on Pinterest for some inspiration! Samples

Wall Art FTW

Have I told you how much I love the dollar store? It makes me feel like anything in life is possible. Sometimes we don’t need to spend double or triple digits to become an art aficionado.

Try this modern, minimalist approach and let me know if it’s not a hit.

• Blank canvases from….you guessed it! The dollar store!!! You can get however many you’d like in whichever sizes you’d like.
• Some twine, string, yarn or thick thread.
• Grab some pine leaves from random trees outside, or steal some if you have a fresh tree dolled up in your living room.
  • Place a leaf onto the canvas and use your string to wrap around the canvas and leaf. Use a zig-zaggy pattern, (that’s a sophisticated art term), to hold the leaf in place. Tie the string tight at the back and you’re done!
• Take a look at my inspiration – Sample 

Still too much artistic coordination? Try this one on for size:

• Blank canvases
• Visit a paint supplier and “borrow” some pretty paint swatches. Let’s focus on greens, and grab a brown just for fun.
• Cut the green colour swatches into the shape of a tree. Cut the brown in the shape of a stump. Glue your finished products onto that beautiful clean white canvas. And darlings, you got yourself a festive work of art.
• Take a look at my inspiration – Sample 1 &  Sample 2 

The Manliest Man Basket

Although spa kits are a wonderful treat, men will very rarely admit their admiration of fruity scented toiletries. At least my special man won’t, in front of other people! How about a Pamper Your Man Basket?

I’m dating a lumber sexual. *Gasps* I’m okay with it, actually, I am pretty sure I am only dating him for his beard, plaid shirts and tech-savviness. Here’s a basket to make most men jump for joy:

• DIY Beard Oil – beard oil is a great invention; promotes healthy skin, hair growth, moisturization and can have positive health benefits associated with the essential oils selected. Have you ever tried buying it though? It does not come cheap, honey. However, it’s pretty simple to make if you have the staple ingredients readily available.
  • Almond oil as a base, vitamin E oil, tea tree oil and some manly scents.
  • Try this recipe on for size – Sample
• DIY Beard Balm – also great at taming the untameable. Some guys prefer the oil or the balm or just like to have a little variety in their lives. Either way, it’s a treat for all!
  • Melt 2 tbsp of coconut oil (I put that sh*t on everything), add essential oil scents, a couple drops of each. You can personalize this to scents your man likes, or scents that you like – I’m a sucker for sandalwood and lemon. Mix it all up, put it in a handsome container and let it cool down and solidify.
• Coffee Ground & Brown Sugar Scrub – this one is just a great gift for anyone. Quick assembly and easy instructions for use. Scroll up for details!
• Jack Daniels in the bathroom – hand soap is one of those things that we all need to use, but most likely comes in fruity haven or unscented, very little in-between. Man-up your misters counter with a Jack Daniels soap dispenser
  • Rinse out an empty JD bottle, (how you empty it is your choice). Grab a soap dispenser from the dollar store or department store. Ensure that the width is the same as the empty. Fill ‘er up with hand soap of your choice and twist on that new pump. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Holidays are definitely the time for giving; love, respect, and memories to last a lifetime. While doing so though, it doesn’t have to put you in debt for the New Year. I try my best to make my own gifts as much as possible, all year round. Not just to be cheap, but because it is unique, personalized, and was created for that person alone. It’s always the thought that counts in my books, but you definitely want to gift something that will not just sit and collect dust! I hope your loved ones enjoy whatever makes its way under their tree & I hope these ideas were helpful. Let me know in the comment section below!

From the Typical Geek family to yours, Happy Holidays & may the DIY force be with you.