I don't know about you, but Christmas seems to sneak up on me. If you're in the same boat as me and often find yourself needing some easy last-minute gifts, I've got you covered with some quick DIYs you can make with what you have at home. Even one for the guys! I promise you, these are so simple but still gorgeous gifts to give. Of course, they are all self-care-inspired. Let's go, we got this!
1. BODY SCRUB
Give the gift of pampering and self-care to a loved one with this gorgeous, nourishing body scrub made with simple ingredients straight from your pantry.
Ingredients
200g table salt (or white sugar for a gentler scrub, or brown sugar for a super gentle scrub great for sensitive skin or the face)
100g oil (fractionated coconut oil, sweet almond oil, grape seed oil, olive oil)*
10g baking soda (optional)
Gingerbread
10g ground ginger
10g ground cinnamon
2g ground nutmeg
5g vanilla extract
Choc peppermint
1 tbsp cocoa powder / raw cacao powder
5-6 drops peppermint essential oil/peppermint essence
Christmas Cookie
5g vanilla extract
2 tbsp red and green sprinkles
Instructions:
Add salt/sugar, oil and baking soda into a bowl and use an electric mixer or fork to mix well.
Gingerbread: In a seperate bowl mix the spices and vanilla extract, then add to main mixture.
Choc peppermint: add cocoa powder and peppermint into main mixture, mixing well.
Christmas cookie:
Mix well, spoon in jars, label and voila!
*NOTES: Adjust oil as necessary for a spreadable consistency. The amount oil can vary depending on the oil used.
2. BATH SALTS
Bath salts can look incredibly luxurious, especially when dried botanicals are used. They are easy to make and customise. I have a bunch of suggestions you can choose from, or get creative!
Ingredients - base
1.5 cups Epsom salts
1/2 cup coarse salt (e.g. sea salt or Himalayan salt)
Optional: 1 tbsp baking soda
Options:
• Candy Cane
- add crushed candy canes and peppermint essential oil to smell
• Orange Rosemary
- dried orange slices (use dehydrator or oven to dry orange slices)
- 2 sprigs dried rosemary
- 1 small cinnamon stick (or 1 tsp dried cinnamon)
- 5 drops rosemary essential oil
- 5 drops cinnamon essential oil
- 5 drops orange essential oil
• Chai Tea
- 1 tbsp white tea
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground star anise
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 10-20 drops sweet orange essential oil
Method
Mix all ingredients in a bowl thoroughly.
Place into jars or bottles and label. Tie a cute ribbon or jute string around the top with a gift tag and you're done.
For more information on bath salts, check out the blog post all about them here
3. LIP SCRUB
Lip scrubs remove dry and flaky skin, revealing smooth and moisturised lips ready for mistletoe ;)
Ingredients - base
2 tbsp castor sugar or brown sugar
1 tbsp oil (melted coconut oil, olive oil, grape seed oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil)
Options
• Minty fresh
- 1 to 2 drops peppermint essential oil
• Chocolate kiss
- 1/4 tsp cocoa powder / raw cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp honey
Method
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.
Add to jars or small tins, label and gift away.
4. ROOM /LINEN SPRAY
I'm a big fan of having my house smell nice. This easy room spray recipe means it's super quick to get your home smelling fresh, especially with all the extra visitors that pop around this time of year. It makes the perfect gift that is practical and customisable.
Ingredients - base
2/3 cups of distilled water (tap water works fine too)
1/3 cup isopropyl alcohol (easy to find at Bunnings) or witch hazel extract
Options
• Calm
- 20 to 30 drops of lavender essential oil
- 10 drops of ylang-ylang essential oil
• Citrus Fresh
- 20 drops of sweet orange essential oil
- 10 drops of lemon essential oil
- 10 drops of bergamot essential oil
• Vanilla
- 1 to 2 tbsp vanilla extract
For more details on this DIY head to the dedicated blog post here
5. AFTERSHAVE
We can't leave the guys out! Again, this is super customisable with whatever essential oils you can get your hands on. Keep in mind that citrus oils can cause photosensitivity so they are best to avoid in products that stay on the skin.
Ingredients - base
1 cup witch hazel extract
1 tsp vegetable glycerin
Options
• Smokey
- 6 drops of sandalwood essential oil
- 4 drops oakmoss
- 4 drops vanilla
• Forest Fresh
- 4 drops of pine essential oil
- 2 drops of lemon eucalyptus essential oil
There you have it, my top 5 DIY self-care Christmas gifts. Let me know what you end up making for Christmas gifts this year, or if you have a favourite DIY.
Happy Christmas and happy gifting xx
Do you usually give handmade Christmas gifts?
Always
Most of the time
There's a first time for everything!
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