Are you looking to give a special gift? Whether you’re looking for a birthday gift, anniversary gift, Christmas gift, or something else, you can make something special that will be enjoyed. These creative DIY personalized gifts range from quick and easy to make to those that take a little more time. Homemade gifts can be so meaningful, so they are totally worth your time and effort!
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#1 Personalized Scrapbook of Letters
A book of letters can be so meaningful to give because it shows how much you and others care for the person.
A few years ago, I made my friend a scrapbook of letters. I contacted her family and friends and asked them to write a personal letter to her talking about what they loved about her and any memories they wanted to share. (Facebook can be a great way to reach out to people!).
I collected all the letters and put them in a scrapbook. Letters that I received in person were hand written, and I also received typed letters from those who lived farther away. I was able to include pictures with most of the letters as well.
You could put the letters together however you like, but I wanted to make sure mine were protected with page protectors. I included stickers and quotes to fill in blank spots on pages.
This gift can be very meaningful if you can get a lot of letters. My friend really loved her book because she had never had those kinds of letters written to her before.
If you decide to make a scrapbook, I suggest contacting people as far in advance as you can because it will take some people a long time to respond. You also want to give yourself time to put the book together.
#2 Box Of Cards
Another personalized gift you can make is a box of different kinds of cards from you. You place each card or letter in an envelope and write “open when…” and then write a specific time they should open it.
Here are some ideas of when to open the cards. Open when…
- you’re feeling happy
- you want to reminisce
- you’re feeling sad
- you feel like no one cares
- you’re feeling lonely
- you feel discouraged
- you are having a good day
- you’re feeling anxious or worried
- you need motivation
- you need a good laugh
Decide how many letters you want to include and write something different on each envelope. You can make as many cards as you want, but I just did one for each year of my friend’s life since it was for her birthday.
Write a short or long note for each envelope. Make sure you write the note based on what you wrote on the envelope.
You can also include objects that go with certain cards. For example, I wrapped up some gifts such as a candy bar, socks, a journal, etc. You can also include pictures inside your cards, as well as quotes and memes.
I placed all the cards and gifts in a photo storage box. I included a card that said “Open when you receive this gift.” In this card, I explained that she should open the cards only when the message on the envelope applied to her. It may end up taking the person several months to open up all your cards, but the point is to remind your friend you are there for them no matter how they are feeling or what kind of day they’ve had.
#3 DIY Paper Dolls
A fun personalized gift is homemade paper dolls. Depending on the person the gift is for, you can make a paper doll of anyone.
For example, my friend was a big fan of Ed Sheeran, so I made her an Ed Sheeran paper doll with outfits he actually wore.
You could choose a famous person, a character, or someone you know.
How to make a paper doll
To make the paper doll, you need to find a good picture of the person’s face and attach it to a drawn body on either card stock or cardboard. It’s best to look at pictures of clothes before you design the body because you want to draw the arms and legs in a pose that the person normally stands in.
Then, you have to find good quality pictures for the clothes (unless you want to draw them). The difficult part is finding images where the person is standing in the same position. When you cut out the clothes, you want them to all fit the doll you have created.
I created the Ed Sheeran paper doll using Microsoft Publisher on my computer. You should use whatever computer program you’re comfortable with. Make sure all the clothes are the correct dimensions for the body you created. You also need to remove the head and background from all the clothing pictures (which you can do on the computer, or you can just cut them off when you cut out the clothes). I also added tabs to the outfits so that the clothes would stay on the body. I just printed out the clothes after I found a bunch of outfits.
#4 DIY Board Game
You can customize a lot of different board games to make the perfect gift.
For example, I made my friend a personalized Mystery Date board game. I chose four celebrities I knew she liked and used their pictures in the game.
You can create so many games depending on what the person likes. You can even create a totally new game from an old game board and pieces.
Here are some custom games you can make with our tutorials and free printables:
Star Wars Mystery Date Game
Harry Potter Candy Land
Harry Potter Mystery Date
Harry Potter Monopoly
#5 Ancestor Book
If you’re looking for a personalized gift for a family member, a book about your family can be a fun idea.
You can create a family tree with information about your relatives.
This book can include photographs, journal entries, memories, facts, etc.
You could create a scrapbook or use a binder.
#6 Signature Book or Card
If you want to show someone how much people care about them, you can get people to sign a book or a card with a short, personal message. This is similar to the book of letters, but less time-consuming. You would have to ask everyone in person though to get handwritten messages.
If you work with someone, you could get everyone from work to sign it.
This could also be a fun idea for a teacher. You could have all the students write a message to their teacher in a book or card.
You can make a giant card to sign or you could make a small scrapbook like this.
#7 Recipe Book
You can put together a recipe book for someone as a gift.
For example, you could put together all your family recipes for another family member.
You could also have people submit a recipe to you and put them all together in a book. For instance, all your coworkers could include their favorite recipe in the book.
This could be a good bridal shower gift as well.
See our post on how to make your own recipe book.
#8 Pushpin Travel Map
To help someone keep track of the places they’ve visited, you can create a pushpin travel map.
This easy DIY project is a cool way to visually see where you have been.
I created a travel map for my sister and brother-in-law as a wedding present.
You can follow our tutorial here.
#9 Friendship Book
A great personalized gift for a friend is a book all about your friendship over the years.
You can include a timeline of your friendship, photos, screenshots of text messages and social media interactions, stories, quotes, mementos like ticket stubs, and anything else that has to do with your friendship.
This is a great gift to show how your friendship has grown over the years.
#10 Personalized DVD
Another homemade gift idea is a DVD of videos and/or pictures.
If you have a lot of videos, you don’t have to include pictures.
Using a computer program like Windows Live Movie Maker or iMovie, you can put together a video of memories.
All you have to do is insert your videos and/or pictures into the computer program. Make sure you like how the video looks before you burn it to a blank DVD.
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What are the best personalized gifts you have given or received?
We would love to hear about the best DIY gifts you have made or been given. Comment down below!
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