Last-minute Christmas DIY – Quick (and sustainable) Christmas ideas to make yourself

Since we students are usually broke af (skint) and the festive season is drawing ever closer, I'm presenting you with a few quick and partly sustainable ideas that can save your bacon even shortly before gift-giving!

DIY and Upcycling The fancy English terms DIY, meaning "do it yourself" (do it yourself) and upcycling, meaning reuse, are fundamentally built on the idea of sustainability. Buy less, make more yourself or simply give things new life. I thought the best way to explain my ideas to you would be through examples, so I've organised my Christmas gift list by person.

Sister or brother: Whether big or small – everyone likes sweets really. So how about a cookie baking mix? Simply take a clean Weck jar, ideally one you already own. Into it go the measured, dry (!!) ingredients of your favourite recipe – ingredient by ingredient, layered nicely. Stick a label on it where you write the preparation instructions (and what else is needed, like milk, oil or eggs) – alternatively also attached as a note on the gift ribbon and you're done with your personalised biscuit mix for your sibling.

Grandmother: For a few years now, homemade liqueur has been a hit not just at Christmas. Whether you soak sweets in vodka or prefer to mix chocolate liqueur is up to your taste. I'm going for vegan eggnog, as it's quick to make and tastes delicious. For one bottle you'll need 400 ml vanilla soya custard, 200 ml vodka, 100 g unrefined cane sugar, 2 cl Cointreau, 1 vanilla pod and a pinch of salt (you can also replace the sugar, Cointreau and vanilla pod with two packets of vanilla sugar – tested for you). Simply blend everything with a hand blender or in a stand mixer until the sugar has dissolved. Pour into a clean glass bottle using a funnel, add a label, tie a ribbon round it and you're done. The liqueur keeps in the fridge for up to 8 weeks. Give it a good shake before drinking!!

Grandfather: For as long as I can remember, my grandfather has loved marzipan, so what could be more natural than making marzipan truffles myself? You can get marzipan paste in almost any supermarket. Simply shape it into small balls, hearts, little figures, … and coat them with melted chocolate of your choice. If you can't be bothered to let the chocolate melt slowly in a bain-marie, you can simply heat it briefly in a bowl in the microwave. You just have to be careful it doesn't burn – unfortunately that's happened to me more than once. So it's better to start cautiously with the wattage and begin on a low setting. The truffles can be packaged in a Weck jar or a wooden box.

Aunt: This year I want to try something new for my aunt. She loves beauty products of all kinds and especially ones not tested on animals. That's why I'll be making a face mask or lip scrub. The internet is full of recipe ideas. I'm going for the mask that promises a "radiant complexion" and I'll mix five teaspoons of coffee grounds, one teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of olive oil into a homogeneous paste. Kept cool, you can store it safely for a few weeks, but knowing my aunt, she'll try the mask straight away.

Uncle: My uncle loves music. Especially loud and heavy. He also likes watching films and snacking on chilli nuts and cheese crisps. To combine all this, I came up with the idea of making a vinyl record bowl. There are already plenty of instructions for this on the worldwide web. You'll need an old vinyl record (from a car boot sale, second-hand shop, etc.) and one larger and one smaller heat-resistant bowl. Preheat the oven to 100 degrees and place the small bowl upside down inside, then lay the vinyl record in the middle on top. After a short time (about 10 minutes) the vinyl record will start to soften and warp. Carefully remove it and bend it (wearing gloves) however you like. Then place the larger bowl upside down over it to fix the shape. Let everything cool down well and then fill it with homemade biscuits or your uncle's favourite crisps.

Cousin: I have a particularly close bond with my cousin. Even though she lives very far away, we're very close. Some time ago she even told me that I was her role-model (role model). Since she loves reading just as much as I do, I'll give her a book that I particularly like and add margin notes, such as particularly well-written passages or metaphors relating to our lives, etc. I think this is a very personal and beautiful idea.

Cousin: My cousin also bathes in the lake at below-freezing temperatures – as befits a true Swede. Since in winter his preferred bathing spot is the bathtub, I'll be making fizzy bath bombs myself. That's sure to bring him the greatest joy. The main ingredients are bicarbonate of soda, citric acid and starch, and depending on preference you can add oils like olive oil or essential oils. To make the bath balls look even nicer, you can divide the mixture and colour it with different food colourings or fill it with flower petals. I'm curious to see whether he'll like the result of my experiment.

Partner: Giving a gift to one's own partner causes the most worry lines for most of my fellow humans. It should be something unique and wonderful, but not completely blow the monthly budget. That's why sponsoring a joint trip is only an option after I finish my studies. But how about other joint activities? For example, you could describe a sealable jar with small vouchers (written on slips of paper) for a long walk, a massage, breakfast in bed or the first ice cream of the new year. Your imagination knows no bounds here. I'd also find it nice to write down special moments that you can then remember together. Even more emotional is the appreciation letter. With this tradition, you write down why you're together in the first place and what you particularly value about your partner. Very romantic and even free of charge!

In-laws: The subject of in-laws is always a thing in itself. Best to avoid skincare products, but only sweets and alcohol is also boring. So I'm doing a batch of herb oil like last year. You'll need a clean glass bottle and normal, preferably flavourless vegetable oil (sunflower oil is perfectly fine, as it will be refined anyway). Into the bottle you add spices like dried or fresh, washed and well-dried herbs, colourful peppercorns, garlic cloves or dried tomatoes. Then pour the oil over and seal it well. The oil tastes best if it's been infused for about two to three weeks in a dark, cool place. If you prepare it shortly before giving it away, just mention this – no problem.

Time instead of things

Parents: For my dear parents I've chosen something special. The initiative "Time instead of things" advocates spending more time together instead of giving pointless consumer goods. A walk in the forest is far more precious than the tenth perfume. Time also costs money and is gradually becoming an ever more valuable commodity. Following the motto "Collect memories, not things", I'd much rather spend time with my parents than clutter them up with books they won't read anyway or clothes they won't wear. What's important is to arrange a specific date and fixed plan straight away, otherwise this voucher will disappear into a cupboard drawer like countless other unredeemed vouchers.

White Elephant gift exchange

Pretty much everyone knows the tradition of white elephant gift exchange!? With my friend's family we perfected it last year and brought more or less useless stuff that was cluttering up our homes or simply no longer made us happy (Marie Kondo – Magic Cleaning !!), nicely wrapped, to the in-laws. To make the gift exchange even more exciting, we arranged everything under the tree and passed the dice around – whoever rolled a six got to choose. This continued until everyone had a parcel in their hand.

We then set the timer for five minutes and various rules came into effect such as "on a three, every parcel moves one to the left", "on a four, one to the right each", "on a one, you must swap" etc. However, these should be discussed beforehand, as with younger players the fun can quickly turn to tears.

When time is up, you take turns rolling the dice until you get a six (unwrap!!) The laughter is usually huge, but you should bear in mind beforehand that you only give away things you have spare and don't buy anything new, otherwise the fun is lost. The most popular gift in our round was an old "paint by numbers" game that still had a Deutsche Mark price on it.

This is followed by another five-minute round of "Swap" to bring the tension to a peak. Whatever everyone has in front of them afterwards, they have to keep and take home with them. Believe me – the fun is endless and I'm already really looking forward to this year's white elephant gift exchange!

Josefine Lietz