The Christmas lights and decorations are popping all over and holiday shopping has began since Thanksgiving has passed. As college students, money can be tight, especially around the holidays. Making gifts is a great alternative to spending money. Here are some good DIY gift ideas for college students that won’t break the bank!

DIY Peppermint Candy Spoons

These Peppermint Candy Spoons are the perfect DIY Christmas Gift! They are easy to make and are the perfect stocking stuffer for your RAs, friends, co-workers and family. The only ingredients required are peppermint candy and a spoon mold!

Gift Box

For this DIY, all you need is a wooden box and some art supplies. This is an easy project that is great for all non-craft lovers. If you want to add a little something extra, you can cut or print some pictures you know your friend will enjoy seeing, such as one of you together or quotes that you know they’ll love.

DIY Bath Bombs

Don’t let the title fool you! This DIY is actually very easy to make. It only requires cornstarch, water, some essential oils and food coloring. The key is to make sure your mixture is dry. This DIY is an awesome gift to give someone an extra kick in the morning. If you want to be even more creative, you can add a little surprise inside. To add even more fun, put your mixture into a mold to make a pretty cool shape. This will definitely save you a trip to Lush.

Smart Phone Projector

This DIY does require a few more items, such as a magnifying glass, but it is such a cool gift that you can just make it out of a shoebox and wrapping paper. You can also pair it with a cute DIY basket to fill it with those movie essentials! Just make sure when you create your projector, your phone is at its highest brightness level and that it is placed upside down when you put it in.

DIY Paw Print Ornament

We can’t forget about out furry friends during the holidays! This is an easy DIY you can make while you’re home with your pet. Just get some flour and food coloring, place your pet’s paw in the middle and put the ornament in the oven. It’s that simple.

Eye Print Pillow

All you need for the eye print pillow is black fabric paint and a white pillow. All you have to do is draw a bunch of eyes around the pillow and that’s it! This is an easy and cheap gift that you can give to your roommates.

Graphic Patch Cap

What you need for the patch hat are patches of your choice that you think your friends will like, a blank hat and glue. All you need to figure out is where you want to place the patch, let the glue dry and you’re done! This DIY takes as little as two minutes to create. The finished product is so fun and creative, and you can make multiple ones with different colored caps and patches.

DIY Spices and Oils

This gift you can give to someone that loves to cook or barbeque! You just need an empty container than you can get cheap at the local craft store. Mix up the spices of your choice in a container and your friend or family member will have a new condiment or cooking tool in no time. For the cooking oil, just boil the oils and flavoring extracts that you choose to mix.

Calendar of Love

This gift can be for someone very special in your life, such as a significant other, best friend or a parent. All you need is a daily calendar. You can fill the calendar with cute sticky notes with favorite memories or dates. While it requires a lot of thought, it will make that person feel very special.

These are some easy and quick DIY ideas that college students can re-create during the holidays. Making gifts is a great alternative to buying gifts because they help save money and they are more personal. So sit back, create these DIYs and enjoy the holiday season.