The DIY Christmas Column
Translation: Julie Summers
Let’s lower our Christmas stress and skip the unpleasant parts of the holidays. The trick is to start early, get organized, and spend smartly. After all, the Yule Lads often start filling their bags with gifts in the autumn. You can collect gifts all year round, and smiles don’t cost a thing. You can also create homemade gifts that encourage family togetherness. If money is tight, you can always write a thoughtful message and give someone a coupon to help them, babysit their kids, invite them for dinner, or whatever else you can think of. For this article, I’ve collected some ideas for DIY Christmas activities that fall into three categories: Christmas crafts, shoe presents or stocking stuffers, and quality time.
Photo / Unnur Gígja ingimundardóttir
Photo / Unnur Gígja Ingimundardóttir
Christmas Crafts
You don’t have to tackle a complicated project; the goal is just to have fun. Crafting is a great way to spend time with loved ones, and you might end up with a beautiful Christmas decoration or a gift. You can also have some fun and take your time wrapping the gifts to make them extra special. These are ideas for people who have plenty of time on their hands.
Make salt dough (or buy bakeable crafting clay). You can use it to make molds of children’s hands and give them as gifts.
Create homemade cards or gift labels to go with your presents.
Paint jars to use as candle holders.
You don’t always have to buy expensive Christmas decorations. Toilet paper rolls, glue, and spray paint will get you pretty far. Pinterest is packed with ideas!
Fiber crafters can create beautiful Christmas gifts. My most prized possessions are hand-knitted and hand-sewn garments made by my grandmothers.
Make a Christmas wreath to hang on your door or in a window.
Create an Advent wreath or cover a platter with festive decorations and candles.
Save yourself the stress of the post office by sending digital cards. Including a family Christmas letter and photo album can be fun for people you don’t get to see very often. If you’re tech savvy, try using Canva or Photoshop.
You can buy all sorts of ready-to-use crafting kits complete with instructions.
Shoe Presents or Stocking Stuffers
Everyone wants to make the holidays as memorable as possible for children. The Yule Lads who sneak into houses to place little gifts in children’s shoes on their windowsills should remember that all children are equal. Shoe gifts bring a little light and a spark of magic to the winter darkness. Here are a few ideas that I hope the Yule Lads will consider:
Something small related to one of the child’s interests
Little Lego or Playmo packs
Play-dough or magic sand (available in small packages)
Slime, flubber, or toys with a slimy or sticky texture are a kid favorite
Little bags of Perler beads or Perler pegboards
Jewelry or hair accessories
Coloring books and utensils
Small children’s books are widely available - you can even grab one next time you go to the grocery store
Small toys - some gifts can be broken down and given one part at a time
String lights or Christmas decorations - kids love having their own decorations for their bedrooms
Socks, underwear, and a toothbrush, or something else they need - you can also sneak some candy in with the more practical gifts
Chocolate sticks (chocolate-covered sticks that you stir into a cup of warm milk), hot chocolate mix, candy canes, or marshmallows in fun packages
A game that’s fun for the whole family - a great gift from Candle-Beggar (Kertasníkir), since his gifts often help to pass the time on Christmas Eve
Quality Time
Myndir / Unnur Gígja Ingimundardóttir
Children want to spend time with their families, so why not combine quality family time with things you need to get done before Christmas? Let’s enjoy the Advent season, when Christmas lights brighten the winter darkness, the smell of freshly baked treats wafts in through your window from your neighbor’s kitchen, and the spirit of love and compassion is at its peak. Here’s a list of ideas that don’t cost much – some are even free!
Bake and/or decorate cookies
Sip hot cocoa while watching a Christmas movie
Sing along to Christmas music
Go sledding
Play in the snow, build a snowman or snow fort
Create homemade Christmas decorations, gifts, or cards
Go for a walk to enjoy all the Christmas lights
Do a good deed (shovel the sidewalk, clear the snow off your neighbor’s car, or sneak a thoughtful message into someone’s mailbox)
Play games
Search for the Yule Lads (check ahead of time to see where they are before you head out: https://jolavaettir.safnadu.is/en/)
Meet the Yule Lads at the National Museum (they appear in order, one every day for 13 days before Christmas)
Go ice skating
Feed the ducks at Tjörnin, the pond downtown
Make bird food to put outside (the internet is your friend here)
Decorate the house and Christmas tree together
Visit the Christmas village in Hafnarfjörður, the Christmas display at Blómaval, or the Christmas House in Akureyri
Write a letter to Santa
Wrap presents (obviously for people other than whoever’s helping you!)
Go for an evening walk by flashlight (you can even take a thermos of hot chocolate and some cookies!)
Host a Christmas party or pay someone a visit to deliver some tasty treats
Read or tell a Christmas story
Visit your local library (many host special events in December)
Create a blanket fort in the living room and decorate it with string lights
Have a cozy day where you stay in your pajamas
If you need more ideas or a reminder of what Christmas is all about, follow the author on Instagram at @sveinka.is.