10 Pagan DIY Gifts For Yule

‘Tis the season not to drown under the rampant consumerism of Yule. Celebrating those you love shouldn’t have to involve spending loads of money. There are plenty of easy do it yourself gifts you can make this time of year. Most of these will take little to no investment and you might even have some of these ingredients and materials already on your pagan shelves.

• Protection Mojo Bag is a great holiday gift for yourself and others. You can use it to provide protection for your home or yourself as you brave the season. Here’s a short video I made on how to put one together. 
• Love Nuts – Food is one of the best presents anyone can give. It nourishes and blesses at the same time. This easy love nuts recipe is designed to spice up the Holidays. The best gifts are given from the heart and this one has has the added benefit of bringing more love into the lives of those who eat it. For more tasty magickal recipes please check out my African-American Ritual Cookbook.

• DIY Runes with glass drops. The best way to create a new set of runes both spiritually and practically is to birth them from an existing set. Begin by setting up a sacred space for your working. Light a candle, perhaps charged with oils for psychic power and get ready to begin. Take your set of runes and transfer the symbols one at a time to the glass drops. Leave the two sets together overnight to help with the energy exchange between the old and new sets. Then the new ones are ready to place in a bag or box and give to someone as a gift.
• Carved Candle requires you get a candle large enough to carve a sacred symbol in, some glitter, herbs and oils, and something to carve with (a porcupine quill or even a paper clip will work.) You will need to begin by choosing what symbol you are going to carve. There are astrological symbols, planetary symbols, veves, runes, a whole world of things to choose from. Try and personalize the candle for the people you are giving it to. If it’s for a family, maybe carve each of their sun sign astrological symbols and Wunjo, the rune for joy. If it’s for your favorite college student consider choosing a veve for money or wisdom. After your candle is carved rub it with the corresponding oil and roll it in powdered herbs and glitter. Wrap in plastic wrap and or tissue paper and it’s ready to gift.
• Incense stick holder– This do-it-yourself gift is genius in it’s simplicity. Just drill or nail a hole in wood, and voila you have made a holder for an incense stick.

• Yule Smudge Sticks are one of the simplest things you can make this holiday season. In order to do it yourself will need: Sage, Lavendar, Cedar, or Pine (Any or all of these can be used or add your own favorite herb for protection) and embroidery floss. Bundle the herbs together and tie tightly, if the herbs are very fresh you will need to wait awhile until they dry out and can be burned.

• Tarot/crystal/rune pouch – A project like this requires some minimal sewing, but the entire project from

  

  start to finish should take less than twenty minutes even for a beginner. Pagan blogger Patti Wigington‘s detailed post shows simple instructions on how-to create your own.

• Cinnamon Stick Pentacle Ornament – For this project you will need five cinnamon sticks( longer ones if possible)  for each ornament and a glue gun, along with some ribbon for hanging. It may take a bit of searching and re-arranging to find five sticks that you can easily attach together as a star. Lay them out in front of you and try different combinations until you get a good fit. Glue the sticks together into a star shape. Attach a festive ribbon at the top and now it is ready to hang from the tree or mantle.

• Cinnamon/twig candle holder – This can be done with either cinnamon sticks or twigs. Take the sticks and tie with ribbon, making sure the sticks don’t interfere with the flame. This project would also be great used as decoration around your home, or as part of your yuletide altar.
• Tin Traveling Altar – These portable altars or shrines have become very popular of late. They allow people a small and portable place to worship at home or on the road. I have seen them created for ancestors, deities, or even just to celebrate love or joy in your life. You will need a tin, a some mod podge or other strong fixing glue/sealer, and whatever photos and small items you want to attach. The only limits are your own imagination.

This list is only a beginning, there are many more wonderful diy gifts you can make this holiday season. I’d love to hear your favorite in the comments below, and if you make any of these crafts I’d love to see that too. Please if you have enjoyed what you read here,  consider sharing this post and spreading the holiday cheer.  Have a lovely Yule season everyone !