5 Unusual DIY Christmas Gift Ideas and Decorations

Are you wanting unique finds and something different? I’m sharing 5 unusual DIY gift ideas and decorations.

Christmas! A wonderful time, when you get to enjoy time with family and celebrate the winding of the year in a relaxing atmosphere.  There’s plenty of decoration around, and lots of giddy anticipation for the Christmas morning, when a tornado of gift unwrapping unfolds.

But how can you turn these celebratory days into even more fun?

By going, the less bitten road, and coming up with your own creative decorations and Christmas gifts!

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And to make your Christmas much more memorable we’ve gathered these 5 unusual DIY Christmas gifts ideas and decorations, you can be inspired by.

Let’s dive right into some awesome unique finds.

1.    Christmas Tree with a Twist

This Christmas present idea doubles as a decoration and present. If you’re looking to surprise someone who is not easy to pick gifts for, money in cash is always a good idea.

This way you’ll be sure that the person you’re giving cash to will pick up something they will one hundred percent enjoy.

But simply giving someone an envelope of cash is not the most exciting thing, so why not create something yourself that incorporates the Christmas spirit like a money Christmas tree!

This project is really easy to do and won’t take you more than an hour to do. All you need is several skewers, green twine or elastic bands,  yellow paper for your Christmas tree star, and a cute paper bag to place your tree in.

Start by folding your banknotes in half horizontally. Then place each banknote on the skewer (so the skewer is in the middle of the banknote) starting from the bottom and wrap your twine around the stick and banknote to hold in place. As you go to the top you’ll have to fold your banknotes vertically, so that the structure starts resembling a tree.

Once you’re done with that, cut out a star-shaped design from your yellow paper and glue it to the top of your tree, and your tree is complete.  Place the tree in your gift bag and you’re ready to surprise someone with a wonderful  DIY Christmas gift.

2.    Unique finds Gift Box

Gift boxes are the perfect easy to assemble gift that can be adapted to the preferences of the person you’re giving it to. They are usually a selection of consumables like food, cosmetics, and other household or personal items. They are a wonderful type of gift for anyone who enjoys minimalism and is trying to cut on clutter at their home.

Plus giving someone a gift box with a product you’ve selected yourself, shows your care you’re ready to dedicate time and effort into choosing the best Christmas gift for them.

To make it even more fun you can decorate a box yourself, or even add a few products you’ve created yourself – a tea bag with a selection of the person’s most preferred tea varieties, or a coffee and sugar scrub for example, or even a bar of soap. 

If, however, you lack the skills to do those and prefer to select products instead of creating them yourself you can always choose a theme and purchase the items from businesses that offer quality products.

 For example, if you have a family member who enjoys everything patriotic you can assemble a box that includes a patriotic t-shirt, a cap, mug, and a keychain.

 For someone enjoying good quality cosmetics or ethically sourced and created makeup products, a selection of face-care products, or a makeup set is a wonderful choice to include in a gift box.

All you need is a simple cardboard box, wrapping paper, and a few consumables you

3.    Coffee Table

This gift project is for someone who is a skilled DIY-er and has experience with woodworking and power tools.

It’s a wonderful present for someone looking to add a decorative and yet functional piece to their home and a great gift to be remembered with.

There are plenty of designs out there you can give a try, but since concrete has been trending in home decor in the past few years, why not combine its rough beauty with the evergreen elegance of wood.

Here’s how to make the Instructables Workshop’s concrete top coffee table.

You’ll need a few power tools like a table saw, cordless drill, angle grinder, and good-quality diamond grinding wheels for polishing, alternatively, you can use a sander. Along with those you’ll need bar clamps, pocket hole jig, and face clamps.

The materials you’ll have to purchase are 3 pieces of 8′ 2×4 cedar boards, one 4’x4′ 3/4″ melamine sheet, wire mesh rebar, 2-1/2″ exterior pocket hole screw, outdoor spar urethane, 1″ rubber feet, silicone caulk,  and concrete sealer.

To make your table start by cutting the base parts with three 33” pieces for the aprons and lower stretcher. Then, five 21” boards for the side top and bottom and center support, and four 16-½” boards for the legs.

On each board make marks for pocket holes. Drill the pocket holes on the backside of all the parts except for the legs. Assemble the sides by joining the legs to the top and the bottom with glue and 2-1/2″ exterior pocket screws.

Turn the side assemblies on edge and connect them with an apron with glue and screws. Flip the table base back over and Install center support to help with the weight of the concrete. Position it between the aprons then secure it with glue and screws. Move to apply your choice of finish to the base and let it dry.

Then begin constructing the concrete form.  Cut a melamine sheet to 30” wide by 48” long. Use the offcut to get two long sides at 1-1/2″ wide and the full 48” long.

Crosscut the 30×48 piece down to 30” by 44” and use the offcut and rip down two pieces to 1-1/2″ by 30”.

Place the table base on the form and secure the long sides on edge using 2″ countersunk screws. Cut the short sides to fit and install them the same way.

Vacuum out the form and caulk the seams with silicone caulk. Put tape over all the screw heads so the concrete won’t get in them.

For the concrete top, cut the rebar mesh to support the concrete top. Use bolt cutters and trim it about 1″ in from all the sides. Lastly, clean up the form with some rubbing alcohol to get any residue off the surface.

Countertop mix concrete works great for this project. Mix it per the bag instructions and fill the form, working the concrete around to about 1” thick.

Press the rebar mesh into the concrete, and use a straight piece of wood to screed the surface flat. Ride the board along the top of the form in a sawing motion. This will help you level and distribute the concrete. Cover the form with plastic and let it cure.

After the concrete has cured, remove the concrete from the form and sand the top with your angle grinder – use diamond grinding wheels that are suitable for your concrete mix.

Mix a slurry of portland cement or just the concrete mix to a toothpaste consistency and fill in all the air pockets on the sides and top. When dry, repeat the sanding process. Then apply concrete sealer per the manufacturer’s recommendation with a microfiber cloth.

Install rubber feet on the bottom of the base to keep the wood away from standing water and you have your coffee table ready to surprise your loved ones!

4.    Glass Terrarium

For those in your family enthusiastic about landscape design, or plants in general you can create a small project that gathers all elements of a really cool backyard but on a much smaller and affordable scale. A DIY glass terrarium with succulents is a wonderful way to celebrate your loved one’s fascination with greenery.

For this DIY gift, you’ll need a glass container (a bowl), big enough to fit your succulents, small stones, or pebbles, activated charcoal, potting soil, and succulents.

To make your terrarium, start by covering the bottom of your bowl with

1 ½ inch-thick layer of small stones or pebbles. Then add a thin layer of the activated charcoal. The charcoal will keep water fresh and fight off any bacterial growth in your terrarium.

Then add a layer of potting soil, when buying your soil look for a specialized mixture that is good for succulents.  The soil layer should be 2 ½ inches.

You will now be ready to plant the succulents. Start with the largest one, take it out of its container, and prune its roots before placing it into your mixture. Nestle the plant in the terrarium making a hole that is big enough to accommodate the plant’s roots.

Do that with all of your plants until you’ve planted them all, arranging your design as you see fit.

And you voila you have your terrarium ready to go under the Christmas tree.

5.    Donation

This one may not fall into the decoration or DIY category but is one present that is important to get as much attention as possible.

Christmas is a great time to be generous and show our support for those who may not be as fortunate as we are.

Donating to a charity, an organization helping battle the harmful effects of our activities on the environment, and NGOs trying to preserve wildlife species are just a few suggestions of a selfless gift to give someone this Christmas.

So make a contribution to an organization that your family or friends may be already supporting and see how little it takes to make a difference and give a truly meaningful gift to someone at Christmas.

Wrapping up unique finds

If you want this Christmas to be a nice memory everyone in your family always talks about, then try these  5 DIY Christmas gifts ideas and decoration unique finds.

Turn your house into the Christmas wonderland your loved ones won’t even expect. To top it up,  a few DIY gifts will show your handcrafting skills and remind your loved ones you’re ready to devote your time to creating something special for them with your own hands.

Want more unique finds? Check out all of these DIY Gift Idea Tutorials & Christmas DIY tutorials

So what are you waiting for?

Roll up your sleeves and start creating these unique finds!

Check out some of my other gift ideas!

• Amazing Family Experience Gifts For Christmas Not To Be Missed
• Christmas Gift Basket Ideas
• DIY Christmas Gift Ideas

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