As the holiday season rolls around again, all of us begin to think of gifts that we can purchase for loved ones. Although giving gifts can be rewarding to the soul, it might not be so rewarding to the wallet. The holidays can be a stressful time for students when it comes to gift giving, but with the right knowledge students have no need to worry.

“I make DIY gifts because I think they are fun to do, and they are inexpensive. When you give the creation to someone, they light up because they know you took time to make something special just for them. I think making gifts is a good way to lower the cost of holiday gift shopping because you don’t need to buy much or anything at all for a DIY,” sophomore Gabrielle Falletto said.

Pinterest is a great resource for students who are looking to save some money on gifts. Here are some ideas:

One gift idea from Pinterest: hot chocolate in a jar. All a student needs is a glass jar, marshmallows, hot chocolate mix, chocolate chips and a holiday ribbon. To make, simply fill the jar with the hot chocolate mix, chocolate chips, then marshmallows, finally closing the jar and tying the ribbon around it. Peppermint can be added to this mix to give it some flavoring. To find different flavoring or hot chocolate recipes visit Pinterest.com and search hot chocolate recipe in a jar.

Another gift from Pinterest: homemade mugs. All you need is a mug,  some sharpies and an oven. Some designs consist of drawing snowmen, christmas trees, santa claus, names or sayings. Draw the chosen design on the mug, put the mug in the oven, set the oven to 425 degrees and let the mug bake for an hour. Once the hour is up, take the mug out and let it cool.

Homemade gifts such as a homemade snow globe is easy on the wallet and a great gift to give. The materials needed are a small figurine, water resistant glue, a jar with a lid, glitter and water. First take the lid of the jar and glue the small figurine to the inside; using the water resistant glue. Next pour some glitter inside of the jar, then pour water into the jar. Next put glue around the outside of the lid and put it on the jar and close it tightly. Set the jar upside down and the snowglobe is complete.

Pinterest has many great gift ideas that can help you make gifts such as these. It is not only a great way to save a buck during the expensive holiday season, but also fun to make and rewarding to give.