I’m all for handmade and DIY. But sometimes you just procrastinate a little too much and suddenly the gift giving occasion is four days away and you have three days that are exploding with plans and activities. You don’t really have time to sit down and knit a blanket or put together that epic scrapbook you’d been planning.

This, my friends, is the time to go semi homemade.

I’m kind of obsessed with the idea of gift boxes right now. It shouldn’t be surprising since I’m always a fan of themed gifts (I just bought a birthday boy a monster puppet making kit with a monster book to go with it—and you can bet your butt I’m going to wrap it in Monsters U wrapping paper). And gift boxes are the perfect way to go semi homemade.

Themed gift boxes are kind of awesome because you can take a broad idea and make it work for your budget it while tailoring it for the person you’re giving it to.

Take a look at what I mean…

I’m pretty crafty, but there’s one thing that I have yet to tackle and conquer: sewing. Even just stitching up a hole is a major undertaking for me. My sister, on the other hand, is really good at it—and with a degree in fashion design, the girl better be!

Since I really want to learn my way around my sewing machine, I’ve roped my sister into giving me some lessons. I thought it would be cool to share her tutorials with you guys too. Whether you’re a clueless beginner like me or someone who knows her way around a machine, our goal is to encourage ladies to make more things with their own two hands.

Without further ado, here’s her first tutorial: a DIY Christmas stocking that any of us should be able to tackle.

Whenever we’re stuck inside for an extended period of time, we end up pulling out the Play Doh. It’s quick, it’s easy, it requires minimal supervision (so I can run around cleaning up the last mess that was created while they make a brand new one), and it’s not too terrible to clean up (once it dries a little the vacuum does the trick).

The problem? The stuff dries out. Which means sometimes, when momma’s in a pinch, it just won’t do. So we decided to make homemade play dough.

Samantha is one of those kids who is constantly wanting you to stop what you’re doing so that you can check out her sweet dance moves. Some of her “moves” were picked up from a Zumba class she took after school, but most of them are self taught (although she did take ballet for two years and we should probably get her back in there).

The ballet/Zumba combo means that much of her dancing is done with dramatic faces and sweeping arm movements with a little bit of hip swiveling thrown in for good measure.

Needless to say, when Ubisoft offered to send over a copy of Just Dance Kids 2014 for us to review, I was all over it. 

It’s safe to say I’m a wee bit gift wrap obsessed. I absolutely love wrapping presents. I know full well that nine times out of ten the person on the receiving end won’t even notice my efforts. But I don’t care.

For me, it’s kind of like a chef obsessing over flawless plating. So much thought has gone into your little gift, why slap any old paper on it and call it a day?

Still, while I’m a big fan of presentation, I’m an equally big fan of cheap. I don’t want to throw tons of money at paper that’s just going to end up in the garbage. That just seems kind of silly.

As you can imagine, when pretty and inexpensive are combined I immediately wet my pants and squeal with glee.

Of course, I have a little (ok, no so little) Pinterest board filled with gift wrap inspiration that makes my heart go pitter patter. I picked a few of my current favorites to show off in the hopes that they will inspire you (and me!) this holiday season.