Inexpensive Holiday Gifts College Students Can Make

If you are or have been a college student, you are fully aware of how expensive it can be to be one. Between buying heinously expensive textbooks, paying for tuition, rent and multitudes of other expenses, a college student can feel the pinch when it comes to buying gifts during the holiday season. But don't fret, fellow broke college student- there is hope! There are many ways for a student to give great gifts to family, friends and co-workers without choosing between paying for tuition or getting your mom that scarf she was eyeing at Macy's.

Homemade gifts are not only cheap but thoughtful. Gifts such as bath salts, cookie mix in-a-jar, soup mix in-a-jar, gift certificates for ones services such as cleaning or no-sew fleece blankets can be perfect to items to give. All of these homemade gifts are easy and cheap enough to make, which is a huge plus for a busy student.

To make bath salts: combine Epsom salts or kosher salt, a few drops of food coloring and fragrance oil, mix it up and put it into clear bags tied with a pretty ribbon. One website that is great for bath salt supplies is thesage.com, run by a company called Majestic Mountain Sage. The company sells 100 clear gusseted bags for only $6.50 and 5 ml sample bottles of fragrance oil for just $2.00, which is great because two cups of salts only needs a few drops of fragrance oil. Travel to your local office supply store and buy some labels so you can let the recipient of your gift know what type of salt you are giving them.

To make cookie and soup mix in-a-jar: A website that I found that is great for the recipes required to make these homemade gifts is Allrecipes.com. Type in "cookie mix" or "soup mix" in the search engine and several recipes will pop up. It's easy and cheap enough to get all of the ingredients that are needed to layer the mixes, such as flour, sugar or dried beans. Large mason jars for the mixes can be purchased at the local grocery store, and with a decorative ribbon and a recipe card, you have a wonderful gift to give.

To make gift certificates: This one is probably the easiest gift to give, as it only takes a computer or some paper and colorful markers. Make each certificate specific to the recipient's likes or needs and you'll have a gift that keeps on giving. If your mom is always saying she needs her car washed, give her 5 free washings for the year. Or, if your dad never has time to mow the lawn, write him up for a few free mowings. One could also create a booklet of coupons to give to a whole family or a couple, which is not only cheap, but kills a whole bunch of birds with one stone!

To make no-sew fleece blankets: Travel to your local craft store or even Wal-Mart and purchase 3-4 yards of plain-colored fleece and the same amount of printed fleece and get online for directions to make the blankets. It's very basic, as all it takes is a pair of scissors and a pair of hands to make the blankets. Make sure to get the fabric on sale, though, as it can often be up to $8 per yard.

All in all, there are ways for college students to make and give great gifts to their family and friends without maxing out their credit cards or taking on more loans. So, make this holiday season one of true giving and bust out your scissors and creative skills!