Skip the Stores This Year and Make a Homemade Xmas Gift for Your Boyfriend: 10 Easy DIY Gifts That He Won't Believe You Made (2020)!

Ingredients

• 250 gm butter
• 1 kg mixed dried fruit
• 200 gm brown sugar firmly packed
• 125 ml brandy
• 125 ml water
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp orange rind grated
• 1 tsp lemon rind grated
• 1 tbs treacle
• 5 eggs medium lightly beaten
• 250 gm plain flour
• 50 gm self-raising flour
• 2 tbs glace cherries to decorate (optional)
• 2 tbs blanched almonds to decorate (optional)

Method:

• Grease a deep 23 cm round cake tin, line base and sides with 3 layers of baking paper to 5 cm above edge of tin.
• In a large saucepan, place butter, fruit, sugar, brandy and water. Bring to boil, stirring, then simmer covered for 10 minutes. Stir in soda, cover and allow to cool.
• Stir rinds, treacle, eggs and flours into cooled mixture. Spread evenly into prepared tin. Decorate with the cherries and almonds and bake at 140 degrees C for about 2¾ hours, checking after 2 hours.
• Cover hot cake tightly with foil, cool in tin.

Materials:

• Black Paint
• Smalll jar
• Cardboard piece
• glue
• scissors
• pen

Instructions:

• Write the initials of your boyfriend's name on the cardboard in bold letters.
• Cut the initials and stick them on top of the small jar with the help of glue and scissors. Paint the initials with black fabric paint.
• Stamp the painted initials on the handkerchief on one side and let it dry. Repeat for all the handkerchiefs.
• Your DIY homemade monogrammed handkerchiefs are ready. You can even use hearts instead of initials or any other shape if you want.

Materials:

• Craft glass block (found at your local craft store with a precut hole).
• Bag of peppermint candy.
• Craft foam letters.
• Christmas pick and/or holiday embellishments.
• Hot glue gun and glue stick.
• Wire cutters or scissors.

Instructions:

• Remove all adhesive labels and clean your glass block.
• Select a “holiday” word such as “JOY” and paste the letters onto your glass block.
• Disassemble your Christmas pick.
• Using your hot glue gun, decorate glass block with holiday embellishments and/or Christmas pick.
• Fill glass block with peppermint candy.
• Display proudly in your home.

Material needed:

• Fabric paints of any two colors.
• 2 Paper plates.
• Plain tee of any color of your boyfriend's size.

Instructions:

• Spread the tee on the floor.
• Take a generous amount of the first paint on a paper plate.
• Dip your palm on the paint and ensure that your palm is covered thoroughly.
• Place your palm on the tee as shown in the video.
• Repeat with the different color with the other palm next on the tee.
• Your personalized hand print tee is ready for your boyfriend.

Materials

• Pictures of your boyfriend and you
• Large Cardboard Piece
• Glue and scissors

Method

• Cut out heart shapes from the pictures and keep them ready.
• Cut the cardboard in a large heart shape.
• Start sticking your pictures in the order of when you both first met, your first date, etc.
• Decorate with some glitter in the end.
• Your heart-shaped picture collage is ready.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups (1 lb 2 oz/497 gm) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (6 oz/170 gm) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg , optional
• 3/4 cup (6 fl oz/170 ml) buttermilk
• 1/4 cup (2 oz/57 gm) butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• Vegetable oil , for frying

Method:

• Fill a pan with about 1 inch of vegetable oil then line a baking tray with a wire rack and paper towel for the donuts to cool and drain, set aside while making the dough.
• In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices, set aside.
• In another large bowl combine the melted butter, buttermilk and eggs. (check notes for egg substitute)
• Using a whisk, gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet until a sticky dough is formed. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and bring the dough together. Then use your palms to press the dough into roughly a 12-inch rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.

Shaping the donuts:
• Before cutting out your dough, heat the oil over medium-low heat (this should take 5-7 minutes).
• While the oil is heating, cut out your donuts: Using a 3 inch round cookie cutter and a 1-inch cookie cutter, cut out the donuts and the donut holes. You should be able to cut out about 12 donuts. If you have any extra dough left after cutting out, stick it all together, press it out and repeat the process until you have used up all of the dough.
• Transfer your cut out donuts and donut holes to a baking tray and place the tray near your stove so you can easily place the donuts into the oil.

Frying the donuts:
• To make sure your oil is the right temperature test it with a donut hole. If it's hot enough this should puff up and be golden brown after cooking for roughly 2 minutes per side.
• When ready to fry carefully drop the donuts into the oil. Allow the donuts to fry for about 3 minutes per side (donut holes for 2), or until golden brown.
• Once puffed up and golden brown on both sides carefully remove from the oil using a fish turner, tongs or spider. Be careful as the oil will be very hot. DO NOT walk away from the pan at any stage of frying. If you need assistance with this step ask for help.
• After transferring the cooked donuts to your wire rack, repeat the process with the remaining donuts and donut holes until they are all fried off.

Seasoning:
• If tossing in cinnamon sugar, this can be done as soon as the donuts are cool enough to handle.
• If glazing the donuts do this while still warm so the glaze soaks in. Repeat for 5 donut glazes. Allow to cool for about 5-7 minutes then dunk both sides in the glaze.
• Return to wire rack to set (you may want to do this 2 times for an extra thick layer of glaze).


• Enjoy immediately. These donuts are best eaten within 24 hours of cooking.

Ingredients:

• Scrap Book
• Glue
• Scissors
• Glitter and colored markers
• Ribbons
• photos of both of you together
• souvenirs or postcards from your trips taken together (even Imagica Tickets if you have kept them safely)

Instructions

• Begin by January and remember all the outings and occasions you celebrated in the month of January.
• Paste photos and souvenirs from January. Write some messages for each other about how your love grew, your fights, your adventures, etc. Continue this way for all the months.
• Decorate along the way with glitter, ribbons and colored markers. Be as creative as you can.
• On the front cover write 'Our Love Journal - 2018'. This gift can be an ideal keepsake.

Ingredients:

• Plain photo frame which you can buy from Amazon or Archies online (white color). Select a frame which has plenty of space on the outside where you will do your craft
• Small photos of your boyfriend
• Cute stickers of trains, aeroplanen, rockets, hot air balloons and a parachute
• Glue
• Scissors
• Colored sketch pens

Instructions:

• You need to first collect cute face photos of your boyfriend. If you have his pics on your phone, you can get them developed and then cut out the face shapes.
• Make a list of all the places your boyfriend has been to.
• Begin sticking your boyfriend's face on one side and stick a sticker of either an aeroplane or a train next to it.
• Write the name of the place next to the face. This way, stick at least 6 to 8 face cut outs with aeroplane, train, parachute, rocket, hot-air balloon stickers next to them. Write 6 to 8 names of the places he has visited in the recent years. In the centre, put his most liked picture from Facebook (get it printed in advance)
• Surprize him with this cool personal travel frame.

DIY Heart Shaped Tea Bags

Here’s what you need to make your own heart shaped tea bags:

• Fillable tea bags (coffee filters will also work!)
• Pink or red thread
• Sewing machine
• Loose tea
• Pink or red baker’s twine, string, or yarn
• Pink or red felt
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Teaspoon

Instructions:

• Start by drawing a heart onto your tea bag.
• Sew around the heart, just inside the pencil line, leaving a small gap near the bottom.
• Cut out the sewn heart, making sure to cut off all pencil marks. Alternately, you can use a food safe marker.
• Use your teaspoon to fill the tea bag with loose tea and then sew the gap closed.
• Attach a long piece of baker’s twine to the tea bag. Then cut a small heart out of felt and attach it at the other end of the baker’s twine to make a little “tag” for your tea bag!
• Pack them all in a cute little gift bag and gift your boyfriend for Xmas.

Materials

• 1 deck of cards
• Punching machine
• Ribbon or thread
• Black permanent marker with a thin tip

Method

• Punch two holes in each card in the same place
• Tie them up together with a ribbon or thread as if making a booklet.
• Write cute 52 things you love about your boyfriend in each card. The front card will have the wordings 'I love your - '. Write things like 'smile' , 'passion', 'intelligence' and such other adjectives you think are most appropriate for your boyfriend. A very easy and doable Xmas gift, this one is too endearing and likeable.