Still unsure what to buy that hard-to-shop for person on your holiday gift list? No worries. Handmade gifts are not only perfect for the difficult to shop for, but anyone on your list. Handmade gifts allow you to personalize each gift and truly show how much you really thought about them. Here are a few do it yourself projects you can throw together at your new home in Wake Forest in less than an hour.

Be sure to share your great DIY gift ideas and pictures with us on Facebook! You can find plenty of great handmade gifts and crafty items for your DIY gifts at local shops in Downtown Wake Forest. You can search for local craft stores and specialty shops online at local.triangle411.com, Yelp.com, YP.com and local.yahoo.com.

1. Wine stoppers – Create your own wine stoppers for the oenophile in your life. Pick up a few replacement corks at a kitchen or home store, a 1 inch expansion plug at an auto store, and a ¼ inch dowel at a craft store. Cut the dowel to 1 inch long. Drill a ¼ inch hole in the cork and expansion plug and then place the dowel in the hole. Use superglue or epoxy to glue a personalized topper to the cork. You can use anything as a topper from a door knob to stamps to pretty stones. Look for inspiration around your new home in Wake Forest. Pair your personalized wine stopper with a great bottle of wine and you’ve got a perfect gift for Heritage neighborhood parties.

2. Soup or Cookie Kit – Everyone could use a hot bowl of soup or a fresh batch of cookies on a cold winter day. Gather canning jars and a few cookie cutters or mini soup ladles at a home goods store. Then find all the dry ingredients for your soup or cookies at a grocery store. Layer the ingredients in the jar to create a beautiful looking gift. Print off the soup or cookie recipe on a fun index card and tie it to the canning jar with festive string and the soup spoon or cookie cutter. These festive kits are great for the cooks on your list or holiday hostess gifts.

3. Gardening Kit – For anyone who’s not afraid to get their hands dirty, give a handmade gardening kit.  Find several small pots at a gardening or home store, a small amount of potting soil, seeds, canning jars and an old tool caddy. If you can find a small trowel, that would be great too. Place the soil in a few canning jars and the seeds in separate small jars or the canning jars. Don’t forget to label which seeds are which in your jars. You can use seeds for pretty spring flowers or herbs for a small herb garden in the spring. You also can find great North Carolina hardy plant ideas from the Heritage Wake Forest Xeriscape Garden. Place all of your elements in the tool caddy with a recipe for gardening success. Any new home in Wake Forest can benefit from a little extra beauty this spring.