So if you’ve read back to a my new year resolution article then you know that minimalism and less stuff is on my list of goals for this year. So a lot of this gifts center around an activity or small scale gift. As a Mom of two finding things that are easy and budget friendly a necessity!

Birthdays and Christmas I like to typically give nice store bought gifts but Valentines is one that I have fun getting creative with. I truly enjoy making cards, crafts and gifts for my loved ones, after all they just got a cool bought gift less than 2 months ago!

Here is my list of top 10 Valentines Gifts for you to create and give.

Bird Feeder

This is a really awesome gift, especially for grandparents, parents or nature lovers. This gifts allows the person who receives it to enjoy watching a variety of birds come into their little corner of the world. I have two options here for you depending on your time and skill level.

Option 1 Pine Cone Bird Feeder

This is by far my favorite option. It ticks all the boxes for me. Eco-friendly, budget-friendly and easy! I like that I can go on a nature walk with my kids with the idea of finding the PERFECT pinecone to create a gift for someone we love. Then we get to come home and finish our creation.

Materials

Pinecone, peanut butter, bird feed (or sunflower seeds) and a string.

Step 1- Find your PERFECT Pine cone! The key here is to find one that isn’t too dried out or you’ll have it breaking and flaking everywhere!

Step 2- Tie your string onto the top of your pinecone! If you don’t do it now, you’ll be a messy peanut butter mess trying to do it at the end.

Step 3- Take your pinecone and cover it in peanut butter. A spoon is great to help kind of push the peanut butter into the various spots of the pinecone.

Step 4- Sprinkle seeds all over pinecone.

Step 5- Gift your pinecone! I recommend wrapping in parchment paper to help reduce the peanut butter getting messy everywhere but newspaper or even popping in a gift bag would be ok!

Option 2 Crafted Bird Feeder

So this is another option where you focus more on your creativity and decorate an actual bird feeder from mostly pre-made item. This is an awesome kit because its super simple to “build” your feeder and it has everything you need to create your gift. The only thing I don’t love about the kit is the paint isn’t non-toxic so for little little ones you really need to be careful. Paint, paintbrushes, jewels, and string are all included! The kit comes with 2 feeders and is currently priced at 12.99 with a 20% coupon available! Click here to grab yours!

You can also opt for these bird feeders that aren’t in a kit and add on this kid-friendly non-toxic paint option. I love that this paint set is fairly small so it won’t add a ton of clutter to your home or go old before you can use it!

Don’t forget your bird feeder! This is 6lb bag for just $6.97 that you can gift as well, so they can enjoy your gift for a bit longer! Click here to grab a bag!

Sugar Scrub

A sugar scrub is easy, cheap and a great gift for someone who enjoys pampering or self care! You can make this as low-cost, budget friendly as you want! You can reuse jars you already have or even use low-cost glass Tupperware to house your scrub! I personally love these beauty jars from Amazon. They are glass so totally non-toxic and eco-friendly. At just $16 for a two pack, they really add a feeling of luxury to your gift and as a bonus, you can keep one for yourself!

I also really like these wide mouth hinge-lid mason jars as well! These would be better if you are making a bunch for co-workers, friends or a group of people! 12 for $24 is also a great price and they come with super cute labels!

I am personally a total coffee lover so my go to scrub is a coffee sugar scrub but this is easy to modify!

Perrys Plate is where I got my original recipe from! She has an awesome site with tons of recipes for the sugar scrub with lots of Holiday versions too!

• 2 Cups Brown Sugar (I also really love using raw sugar or coconut sugar)
• 1 Cup Coconut Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Unused Coffee Grounds

Melt your oil and mix it together with your sugar and grounds! Walaah (thats supposed to be a sound)!

You can add in a 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to keep with the coffee vibes. You could also nix the coffee all together and add in some lavender essential oil drops or lemon essentials oil drops! Really tailor to who you’re giving it to and add their favorite smells!

I personally use my scrub in the shower a few times a week to keep my skin exfoliated and soft. I also use it on my lips when they get super chapped and it works so well!

DYI Bath Bomb

This is another gift for some who enjoys a good pamper session. This is also a really fun gift for someone with kids because it makes for a really fun bath time. Traditional bath bombs are typically full of lots of yucky stuff like dye, fragrance and other skin irritants. This DYI version is safe and even skin soothing!

There are tons of recipes on the web but my go to is below! The most important being to not touch the citric acid with bare hands, gloves are the way to go when mixing it in! Citric acid sounds a bit scary and me telling you to not touch it with your bare hands its also probably coming off as alarming but don’t worry it really is a safe ingredient and the one you need to get that fun bath bomb FIZZ! Ok so now that I’ve got you questioning if this is actually safe (it is!) let’s get to the recipe!

You’ll need the ingredients of course but also 2 bowls, a pair of reusable gloves, a mold tray and refrigerator

• 4 Ounces Baking Soda
• 2 Ounces Citric Acid
• 2 Ounces Corn Strach
• 2 Ounces Epsom Salt
• 2 Teaspoons Water
• 5-10 drops of an Essential Oil (Lavender is my fav and good for your skin)
• 2 Teaspoons Vegetable Oil (Olive, Coconut work great)

1. Mix the baking soda, corn starch, and epsom salt together in a bowl.
2. Mix the water, essential oil and vegetable oil in another bowl.
3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix REALLY well. You can mix with your hands here but again I recommend gloves.
4. Add the citric acid and again combine really well with your hands in gloves.
5. Put your ingredients into you mold.
6. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours and walaah 🙂
7. Drop in your bath and enjoy!

These molds are my favorite because they are flexible and easy to work with but also make pretty shapes!

DYI Jewelry

This is probably my favorite gift on this list! Hear me out, I’m not talking plastic bead jewelry on a pipe cleaner that is slightly too tight for your wrist or neck. I’m thinking beautiful items made with real crystals and gems! You can be endlessly creative with it and it’s fairly inexpensive! Each time I put a piece of jewelry I think of where it’s came from and would love to receive something handmade! So there are a ton of different kits you can get and I’ll show you a few of my favorite in a moment.

I personally went to my local crystal shop and bought a ton of different crystals to make earrings, necklaces and bracelets. I was pregnant at the time and used a lot of moonstone which is thought to be protective and healing during pregnancy. I also grabbed some quartz which is just a go to good vibe crystal for me! Pictured below are similar to the ones I created myself but these are actually from an Etsy shop, linked here!

This kit allows you to make something similar with natural gem stones too! It has Amethyst and Lapiz Lazuli which are two of my absolute favorite gems. It’s a great price at $25 and has all the tools you need to make lots of earrings, necklaces and bracelets!

This next one is a big step above from the plastic bead kit I am very familiar with! This is a kid charm bracelet kit and looks super cute! It’s only $14 and comes with everything you need to make cute necklaces and bracelets.

A Card

I know your like seriously, I didn’t need an internet search for a card! This is honestly the easiest gift and truly appreciated by the receiver. Spending your time creating a beautifully decorated card and writing a lovely message about the receiver is a guaranteed win! Be sure to tell them something you love about them, your relationship about them and a future item like you can’t wait to see them, travel with them, enjoy a coffee date whatever!

My favorite is still the old school card with the lace foil doily thing but again this world is your oyster on creativity here.

For kids you can cut a sponge in heart shape, dip in paint and let them go to down making a collage of paint stamped hearts!

What are you planning on creating for Valentine’s Day? I really love creating gifts from the heart and love that my kids are getting old enough so I can create this tradition with them!