Cool Homemade Gift Ideas for Your Boyfriend that Won't Make Him Cringe

Let's face it: homemade gifts get a bad rap. While you may get points for the "thought", if your homemade gift lacks cool, it may spend the rest of its days in a landfill. This year, instead of making him something you think he wants, make his something you know he'll use. Stumped? Check out these cool homemade gift ideas that won't make your boyfriend cringe.

Personalized Rubik's Cube

What guy hasn't tackled a Rubik's cube at some point in his life? Your boyfriend may even still diddle with one from time to time. Rubik's cubes are still considered pretty cool, which is why every year, Thinkgeek.com, a site devoted to creating cool gifts for guys, finds new ways to remake it. This year, put your own spin on the Rubik's cube by personalizing it. Rip off the stickers and replace them with personalized stickers made from your own computer. Take six of your boyfriend's favorite pictures and turn them into 54 tiny frames, nine frames for each picture. Stick each picture of nine frames on each of the six sides to create the ultimate, cool, homemade guy gift.

Xbox 360 Custom Faceplate

If your boyfriend owns an Xbox 360, make him a custom faceplate. For this homemade gift idea, create a faceplate using a favorite picture or awesome image. Upload it to Leftskins.com and begin creating your customer faceplate. Once done, Leftskins.com will mail your gift.

Comic Book Laminated Place Mats

If your boyfriend still digs comic books, head to your local comics store to make this cool homemade gift idea. Pick up a copy of his favorite comic and then tear out the pages. Rearrange on a piece of construction paper. Then laminate to create 4 to 6 place mats.

Wallpaper for Computer or Phone

If you're particularly artistic, another cool homemade gift idea is to make him a wallpaper for his computer or phone. Your image resolution should be about 1280 x 1024 for his computer. You'll have to look up the screen size of his phone. Use free programs such as Paint or Gimp to help you perfect your image. Then email the wallpaper and upload your homemade gift.

Memory Box

A memory box, though slightly cheesy, is also practical, which makes it cool. For this homemade gift idea, you'll need to locate a classic cigar box. If the outside of the box is particularly cool, leave it as is. Otherwise paint it. On the inside, place one or two of your boyfriend's favorite pictures of the two of you along the inside flap. Include a sweet note that means something to both of you or refers to a favorite spot or goofy inside joke.

Cookie Jar with Homemade Cookies

Food always makes for an excellent homemade gift idea, as long as you know what he likes and can follow a recipe. This Christmas, fill a cookie jar with a homemade version of your boyfriend's favorite sweet treat.

Duct Tape Wallet

Another practical (translation: cool) homemade gift idea for your boyfriend is a duct tape wallet. Duct tape gear is currently all the rage. You can find at least five colors of duct tape at Wal-Mart. Impress him with your craftiness by making him a duct tape wallet.