Christmas time can get expensive – the lavish food is one thing, and all the gifts really add up. But even if you’re on a budget, it’s lovely to be festive and be able to acknowledge family and friends with gifts. Making your own presents is not only inexpensive, but everyone will surely appreciate all the hard work and effort you’ve put into making them. And remember, the best gifts come from the heart.

Here are some great ideas for DIY presents you can give to your family and friends this Christmas:

For her

• Homemade hand soaps are not only a beautiful gift wrapped in brown paper and twine, but they’re also practical.
• Body scrubs are great for exfoliating and moisturising the skin, leaving it soft and smooth. A nice festive option which looks great too is peppermint candy cane sugar scrub.
• Lip balms are always useful throughout our Aussie summer. Try a honey lip balm.
• What woman doesn’t love jewellery? And when it’s handmade, they’ll think of you every time they wear it. Consider making wooden earrings or tassel charm bracelets.
• For the woman who loves to spend her time in the kitchen, give her a homemade apron complete with colourful ruffles, oven mittens or tea towels.
• Grocery shopping can be made easier and even fun with a stamped or magnetic tote bag.
• If you know someone who loves to sew, put a sewing kit in a jar or make a picture frame pin cushion.

For him

• Men need aprons too when doing their work around the house, whether it’s cooking or gardening.
• To make your man look handsome and dashing, give them a DIY skinny or monogram tie.
• Gardening can be hard work, but it doesn’t have to be with a pair of glove grips and a hession leaf bag and garden kit.
• Help keep a man’s feet warm when it’s cold with felt slippers or no-sew slipper socks.
• You can also keep precious memories alive with a photo bookmarks or cube.
• His car keys or house keys can always be found inside gold leaf paper mâché bowls.
• Men love beer and to add some festivity, create Rudolph the Red-Nosed beers and put them inside a wooden six-pack holder.

For the kids

• Kids love sweets and savoury treats, so satisfy their taste buds by putting the following food in jars: Christmas toffee, M&M’s, mini cookie snow globes, candy cane popcorn, cakes and hot chocolate ingredients.
• For the creative child, give them a felt crayon holder, a travel art kit or a chalkboard tray.
• Whether you go to the beach or a swimming pool, kids are sure to have fun wearing a shark or reindeer hooded towel.
• If you know a child who likes to read, give them handmade bookmarks or animal bookends.
• Kids need their good night sleep and you can give them that by making them nebula or little lamb pillows, or snowman quilted pillow covers, which they’ll no doubt love pulling out every Christmas.
• Kids usually get lots of toys for Christmas, and a handmade one makes it all the more special. Try fuzzy fluff bears.

For the whole family

• You can make cookie dough or homemade strawberry jam that the whole family will enjoy.
• With customised mugs, family members will know which is theirs to use (and who left theirs in the kitchen sink!).
• Help keep things organised and easy to find with DIY leather cases, such as a card wallet or a pen case.
• You can display the happy memories from the last year and protect surfaces at the same time with square or round Instagram coasters.
• Everyone needs rest at the end of the day and you can offer them comfort by making them floor cushions or beanbag poufs.
• A kitchen hand scrub can help keep everyone’s hands clean and moisturised.

Everyone loves a handmade present, so why not give one of these a try – the effort that you put in will make someone feel extra special this Christmas.

Other ways to save money this Christmas

Set a budget

Before you do your Christmas shopping, determine how much you can actually spend. Take into account postage costs for Christmas cards or gifts, decorating the home, Christmas parties, etc.

Make a list

Make a list of the people you want to buy gifts for and write down how much you can spend on each person. For bigger families, create a gift list with other relatives so you don’t have to buy presents for every single person.

Trim your gift list

You can also choose not to exchange gifts this Christmas with friends, only buy presents for the kids, or set up a Secret Santa, where you draw a name out of a hat and you just buy a present for that person.

Pay in cash

This will allow you to set a spending limit and not overspend, which is good if you’ve had problems with paying your credit card bills.

Use vouchers

Check if you have any gift vouchers lying around the house. You can also use the reward points you earned on loyalty cards and convert them into vouchers.

Prepare for Christmas well in advance

Don’t wait until the last minute to buy or send gifts or even to cook the Christmas feast, as you may end up paying more.

Consider the value of intangible gifts

If you don’t have enough money to buy someone a gift, consider offering to babysit your friend’s child or walk their dog.

Send e-cards

It’s free or only costs a few dollars and there’s no postage either. Some play music and is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends who live far away.

Say ‘no’ to expensive toys

Ask kids to make a list of realistic and affordable things to buy.

Go to a discount supermarket

Discount supermarkets offer inexpensive but good-quality Christmas food, including gingerbread treats and stolen fruit cake.

Use cashback websites

If you’re buying things online, use cashback websites to get back a percentage of the money you spent on online purchases. The cashback will be paid directly into your bank account.

Reduce postage costs

Use discount carriers when sending large or heavy items through the mail. They can also pick up stuff from your home so you don’t need to go to the post office.

Follow retailers on Twitter

If you don’t already have a Twitter account, set one up and follow big retailers like Amazon and eBay. They’ll often tweet about the latest deals they’re offering on their site.