Looking for inspiration this Christmas? Look no further than this list of top homemade gift ideas from our very own P3 colleagues. Read on for festive fudge recipes, DIY advent calendars, candle-making 101 and more!

Sock Advent Calendar

Alix Ratcliffe, UFA

(NB: That’s an advent calendar with a pair of socks for each day of December, not a calendar made of socks!)

The first thing I did was buy all the socks! I got multipacks of socks so each pair cost between £1-2. The biggest challenge was the finding an advent calendar that was big enough to fit 25 pairs of socks in, so I decide to think outside the box.

I used small brown paper bags, with numbers stuck on the front and tied them up with some Christmas coloured string; each bag had a pair of socks in. I just used a Christmas gift bag to keep them all in one place. I got the brown paper bags from a shop called Flying Tiger. They are amazing for crafty things, especially Christmas, and even better, they are cheap and eco-friendly!

It was pretty easy once I had all of the pieces of the puzzle and half the price (if not more) of a branded one—plus most of them only come with 12 pairs, not 25!

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Get Pickled!

Linda Saxton, Property team

Pickling jars of beetroot is a quick and easy idea for a personal gift.

Put the cooked, peeled and sliced beetroot in sterilised screw top jars and cover with pickling vinegar. You can use recycled jars you may already have, or reasonably priced pickling jars can be bought from IKEA or Wilko. However, a Gaviscon tablet should always be attached to the jar!

I have found Mr Simms is partial to a jar of homemade pickled beetroot in past years…

Homemade jam

Anon, supported by our Cheshire team

Best thing about homemade jam, it tastes a lot better and you know what's in there!

I started with a big pan and a wooden spoon, everyday stuff. A lot easier with a thermometer. Save everyday jars. Tip: placing the jars on a baking tray with sides makes getting them out a lot easier. Set your lids out so you know they are going on the right jar. Once all cooled down place some nice fabric over the lids, a gift tag and some ribbon and tie a bow around the jar to look good. Keep an eye out for free fruit in the summer, or reduced items in shops, which make it all more worthwhile. Just have fun, no recipes are set in stone.

Candle-making

A while ago I saw someone on TV making their own candles and thought, I would love to have a go at that. I completely forgot about it until Covid19 came along, bringing lockdown and furlough with it. After baking lots of cakes and getting fed up with eating them(!) I decided it was a good time to have a go at the candle-making.

I watched lots of YouTube videos and read lots of articles before ordering some wax, fragrance oils, wicks and glue dots. At first, I used the glass pots you get the GÜ desserts in, whilst I experimented. From there I became hooked.

I started ordering more of everything to the point it has now taken over my weekends! Friends and family have been my guinea pigs and given lots of feedback, which I have taken on board to improve the candles. I have now started selling them to cover a few costs, as there is a delivery of some sort most days of something new I’ve discovered, need or want, whether it be wax, containers, candle dye, more wax(!), labels, new fragrance oils and more wax!

Slow Cooker Fudge

Helen Chambers, Finance

I do the easy version of homemade fudge, using condensed milk and a block of chocolate, popping it in the slow cooker without the lid. I have also used cherry brandy and dark chocolate, or soaked raisons in rum to make rum n’ raison, which is yummy.

Coat-hanger Christmas Wreath

Louise Owen-McGee, Communications

Simply reshape a metal coat-hanger to make a circle, leaving the hook as this is what you will continue to use to hang the wreath wherever you decide to locate it.

Then cut multiple carrier bags into ribbons approx. 20-30cm long x 2.5cm wide (depending on how deep you want the ruffled effect to go) and just keep tying them onto the hanger with a basic knot. Green and red look nice and festive, white is very wintery or just go with what you have!

Once you’ve achieved the desired wreath effect you can zhuzh it up with glitter, old baubles or ribbons! Ta-dah, it’s done … both my girls have made them.

Christmas in a Jar

What you need:

• A cookie jar, old candle, mason jar, even a large vase

• Fake snow or salt/sugar

• Small crafting trees, statues, toy cars, anything to add to the scene

Clean the jar and use newspaper to remove any smears. Fill the bottom of the jar up with fake snow or sugar and arrange the Christmas scene in the bottom; heavier items tend to sit better in sugar than fake snow. These can be decorated further with ribbon around the lid or glitter glaze (PVA glue spread thinly then glitter dusting).

These can be set up as part of a display in all different sizes. You can also replace the Christmas scene with small wrapped gifts and place them in the snow to give the jar as a gift for a friend or family member.

Upcycled glass vases

Laura Gavin, Communications

When I worked freelance, I was constantly on a budget(!) so making my own Christmas presents became an annual ritual.

For these DIY vases, you just need to collect and clean some beer bottles, jam/spread jars, or any other glass vessel you want to give a new lease of life. Get some spray paint from somewhere like Hobbycraft or The Range; matt effect gives a nice finish. You might need a couple of coats. The example above was sprayed first and then stencilled after, but you can also hand-paint the design on.

Obviously make sure you use a well-ventilated area (outside if possible!) for spraying and/or put a big old sheet down as it gets everywhere. The year I made these, I spent a few hours spray-painting in the shared garden of the flats where I lived, and the neighbouring flat had a viewing. When they came out to look at the garden, they must have thought they were moving in next door to a notorious graffitist or something!