With the holiday season approaching faster and faster by the minute, it can seem like a struggle to find a last-minute gift for the last remaining people on your gift list. Especially when you are a college student and need to find something affordable, FAST. Luckily, there are ways to find a meaningful holiday present for that special someone that won’t break the bank. All you need is a little time and creativity to put together some eye catching and unique gifts!

Coffee Mug Candle

This is a super easy gift that lots of people can appreciate. And all you need to are a few items to finish the job!

Things You’ll Need:

Mugs

Candle Wax

Braided candle wicks

Hot glue gun

Glue sticks

Metal Tabs

Microwavable container

Scissors

To make the coffee candle mug, you can visit a local thrift store to find a large variety of mugs to choose from at affordable prices! When you have picked out your mug, you will need to clean it out and plug in your hot glue gun. Taking your wick and metal tab, lace the wick through the center of the tab and hot glue the tab to the center of your coffee mug (make sure the wick extends past the top of the mug, you will cut it down later.) From there, you will chop up your wax into chunks and place it in your microwaveable container. Microwave the wax until it reaches 185 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point, you can add some colored dye and candle scent to the melted wax if you so desire! Next, you will poor the melted wax into the mug carefully so that it is about half of an inch below the rim of the mug, and straighten the wick immediately after pouring so that it does not get caught in the wax as it dries. Give the wax an hour to dry and then trim the wick to your preferred length (typically about a half inch above the wax) and now you have a lovely coffee mug candle to give to your loved ones! These steps can also be used with any other cup form, like tea cups!

 

Holiday Snowman Cookies

You can never go wrong with cookies especially if they look like cute little snowmen! They are a sweet treat that are perfect with a cup of hot chocolate this time of year. Here is a great recipe that will delight anyone’s taste buds.

Ingredients:

1 cup softened butter

8 ounces of cream cheese (1 package)

2 cups sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Green and red M&Ms

White icing

Food coloring

In a large bowl, mix the butter, cream cheese and sugar together and then add the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking soda. Then combine the two mixtures, cover with wax paper and refrigerate overnight. Shape the dough into forty-eight one inch balls, forty-eight ¾ inch balls and forty-eight ½ inch balls. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and create the snowman shape of the cookie by placing the balls in groups of three. Use each size of the balls so that you have a little ball for the head, a medium sized ball for the middle, and the largest size ball for the snowman’s bottom. Do not stack them, but lay them side by side and press down on the balls so that they are connected and will not break apart. Place the cookies onto ungreased baking sheets and put them into the oven. Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes or until light brown. When they are finished baking, remove them from the oven and let them cool for 2 minutes. Once they are cooled, press on the chocolate chips onto the heads of the snowmen so that your snowmen have eyes and the M&Ms onto the middles and bottoms so they have buttons! To add some carrot noses and other fun details, just mix your icing with the food coloring color of your choice in a small bowl and dab it onto your snowmen cookies. Now you should have some very tasty treats that the people on your gift list won’t be able to resist.

 

 

DIY Snow Globe

Is there anything that says winter more than a snow globe? Well, now you can make your own winter wonderland in a jar!

You Will Need:

Mason jar with lid

Distilled water

Glycerin- you can find this at most pharmacies

Plastic/ceramic figures (animals, action figures, etc.)

Tinsel glitter (look for this at craft stores)

Epoxy

Sandpaper

To start, take your sand paper and scuff up the inside of the lid a bit. This will help the epoxy to hold to the lid better. Grab your figure and glue to the lid using the epoxy and let it dry. Now fill the jar to almost full with the distilled water and add a tiny drop of glycerin to the water. Add glitter to the jar. Add more glitter to the jar if you want it to look really snowy. Now you can attach the lid to the jar and screw it on. Flip the jar so that the lid is on the bottom and give it a shake. Now you have a winter wonderland in a jar!