Sophie Appleton shares five DIY creations to keep Christmas crafty…

I’m a big fan of Christmas, but like most of us, I’m no stranger to opening up my purse and having a few festive moths fly out of it. The familiar “Yikes, only one more pay day before Christmas” feeling is something we can all relate to, but it can be beaten!

DIY gifts are a dangerous game to play with less than a month before the big day, but if you do it right, you can come up with something that will be as well-received as it is cheap.

So if you’re struggling with the pre-Christmas panic, check out my top five DIY Christmas gifts…

1. DIY Scrabble Art

Now that our smartphones have replaced most of our board games, it’s time to fish out your old Scrabble box and put those letters to good use. You can even buy sets of assorted letter tiles on eBay or Amazon for very cheap, and if you’re clever about it, you can get two or three gifts out of just one set of letters!

Combine the letters to make names and words, then glue them down in a frame along with photos or trinkets. Use scraps of wrapping paper, wall paper or magazine cuttings for a background to make the gift that extra bit special.

If you can’t get your hands on Scrabble tiles, a great alternative is to create a Word Cloud. Visit wordle.net, enter a list of words (or names), then click create. Now you have a personalised piece of art to put in a frame and wrap up!

2. The Lazy Man’s Cookbook

Cook books are always a great gift, and at Christmas time there are plenty to be found on shop shelves… at a premium price. But what if your loved ones just don’t cook? What if no matter how quick Jamie Oliver makes his meals, it’s still not quick enough?

If that’s the case, give them a cook book they’ll really appreciate… The Student/Bachelor Cookbook!

Buy a ring binder and decorate the front cover with their name and a funny message, then have a walk around the town to collect heaps of takeaway menus (or if you’re extra lazy and you don’t fancy tackling the busy streets and freezing weather, get them posted through the letterbox). Put them all in the ring binder and – depending on how many you have – add a contents page and dividers for different types of food.

3. DIY Kid’s Cushions

There’s nothing kids love more than making a mess, and with time off school they’re bound to do it at some point. So… you might as well get a gift out of it!

Find an old cushion (or pick one up for cheap online) and create a fun design using their paint-covered hands and feet. Accessorise using scraps of material from old clothing tied into bows, or stitch on some sequins and googly eyes to give it extra character. Don’t forget to sign and date it so you can embarrass the kids later in their teens!

4. Personalised Candles

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of a present for her is a candle. Nobody can have enough candles, and especially not in the winter months. Yankee jars are the obvious choice, but why burn a hole in your pocket when you can make them yourself?

That afternoon tea set you’ve been saving for a raining day for the last fifteen years is finally going to come in handy here, or alternatively you can nip to the local charity shop for a nice, pretty cup and saucer.

Place wax beads (or even just some old, half-burnt candles of your own) in a bowl over a pan of hot water, or in a slow cooker (with a non-stick insert). For colour, use a vegetable peeler to shave bits of crayon into the wax, and stir to blend. Add more shavings for darker colour. Place a wick into the centre of the cup, and pour the wax into it. Leave it over night to harden, trim the wick, and simply wrap with cellophane and tie with a ribbon. Lovely!

5. Bespoke Chocolate Slabs

On a rainy December Saturday, this is a great one to keep the kids busy… and it’s great value for money. Chocolate slabs are worth upwards of £7 in fancy chocolate shops, but can be made at home for next to nothing.

Grab a silicone cake or loaf tin (pound shops recommended), then melt two or three bars of supermarket chocolate. You can find a good selection of milk, dark, and white chocolate for around 40p each, but anything more expensive is a bit of a non-starter, cost-wise. Fill the melted chocolate with jellies, popping candy, nuts or marshmallows. Decorate it however you like – perhaps with their name or favourite treats? Pop it in the fridge to set, and then wrap it in a clear bag of cellophane and some ribbon. Yummy!