DIY Birthday Gifts To Make Your Loved One Feel Special

Finding the perfect present for someone can feel challenging, so why not make it? Anyone can make these DIY birthday gifts even if they haven’t spent much time crafting. The time and thought you spend creating each present will make your favorite people feel extra loved on their birthdays.

1. A Personalized Poster

Posters are classic gifts. They showcase your interests and become treasured mementos from years past. Make one for your favorite person using a free site like Canva or paint it by hand. 

You could surround the numeral representative of their age with fun facts about them, like their current hobbies or latest accomplishments. They’re still undergoing personality changes as they find their identity in their teenage years and young adulthood. It will become a visual snapshot of their life at this point, which is especially meaningful for young people.

2. A Soothing Body Scrub

Your loved one might adore their skincare routine, but those products are costly. The skincare industry will grow by $30.5 billion through 2028 due to high prices and popularity. Save yourself and your loved one from the extreme price tags by giving them a coconut oil and brown sugar body scrub.

Supplies

• 1 cup softened or room-temperature coconut oil
• 2 cups brown sugar

Instructions

1. Mix the brown sugar and coconut oil with an electric mixer until it resembles a creamy blend.
2. Spoon the scrub into an airtight container, like a Mason jar.
3. Keep at room temperature.
4. Decorate with ribbons, stickers or other crafting supplies to make the gift look more fun.

3. A Custom Journal

Everyone needs a journal, even if they don’t consider themselves writers. Your loved one can record their travel adventures so they never forget their incredible experiences. They might enjoy using it to track their daily to-do list or doodle during class.

No matter how they use their journal, your loved one will appreciate the creativity that went into making it. Follow these steps to bind a beautiful booklet that showcases their personality.

Supplies

• A greeting card for the cover (or another folded card with a cover decorated by you)
• Scissors
• A hole puncher
• Twine that matches your cover
• Sheets of lined or blank paper that’s the same size or bigger than your cover card

Instructions

1. Trace the width and height of your cover card on the blank or lined paper. It should lie completely flat. Repeat for as many pages as you want in your journal.
2. Cut the pages to the correct size and place them in a pile with their long edges lined up. They should resemble long rectangles.
3. Fold the pages in half so they’re the same shape as your cover card.
4. Punch two holes along the crease of your cover card. When it folds closed, the hole punches should look like half circles.
5. Measure the distance between the two holes and the edges of your cover card.
6. Punch holes in the same places for your folded interior pages.
7. Align the interior pages inside your cover card so everything is lying open and flat. The holes should line up.
8. Pull your twine through both holes and tie them on the outside. The twine should loop through all the interior pages to keep them in place.
9. Press the journal folded shut to reinforce the crease.
10. Decorate as needed before wrapping your gift.

4. A Braided Friendship Bracelet

Loved ones in middle, elementary and high school might love getting a friendship bracelet. Give them to your closest friends and family members so you’re always close together. You can use their favorite colors, school colors or favorite sports team to inspire the threads you use for the bracelet.

Supplies

• Embroidery floss in three of your preferred colors
• A clipboard
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Cut your embroidery floss to the necessary length to slide over your loved one’s hand and comfortably fit around their wrist. Their family members, partner or best friend could measure one of their existing bracelets to give you a base measurement. When in doubt, make the embroidery floss 12 inches long.
2. When you finish cutting, you should have two strands of each color for a total of six pieces.
3. Fold all six aligned threads in half and tie an overhand knot to create a small look where the threads bend.
4. Clip the loop into your clipboard so it stays in place.
5. Separate your colors so there are three groups with two threads each.
6. Fold the outer left group over the middle threads and move the middle threads to the left.
7. Fold the outer right group over the middle threads and move the middle threads to the right.
8. Repeat until you braid the threads all the way down.
9. Secure the end with another overhand knot and free the bracelet from the clipboard.
10. Make a final overhand knot to tie the two ends together in a bracelet shape.
11. Place it in a cute box or bag for your gift wrap.

5. A Jar of Bread Mix

People used to give each other jars full of dry bread mix with an index card of instructions. It’s an easy way to gift the joy of baking. The recipes also don’t require kneading, so your loved one who adores making recipes doesn’t have to worry about getting the science of breadmaking wrong.

If you pair your mix with a new loaf pan and a matching spatula, they’ll have everything they need to make a delicious treat. 

Ingredients

• 3 ½ cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons active, quick-rising dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• An index card
• A Mason jar or another airtight container

Instructions

1. Add all of your ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.
2. Pour into your selected Mason jar or airtight container and close the lid tightly.
3. Decorate your container with whatever you like, such as a label, ribbon or stickers.
4. Record the following steps on your index card or type and print them:

Instructions to Write on Your Index Card

1. Combine the jar mix with 1 ¼ cups of warm water and 1 tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar. Mix until no dryness remains, cover with a towel and let the mixture rise for 1 ½ hours.
2. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
3. Press the middle of your dough down until it has an indentation. Fold the sides into the indentation and press down again.
4. Slide the bread dough into your pan. Let it rest for 40 minutes.
5. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Dust the top of your loaf pan with flour and slash the top diagonally three times.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool and enjoy.

Try Making DIY Birthday Gifts for Loved Ones

Anyone can create DIY birthday gifts, even if you don’t have much crafting experience. Consider what your loved ones would enjoy getting and start planning your next present today. It’ll be a fun way to spend time, save you some money and show your loved ones how much you care.