The kit

If you’re a Secret Santa who got a little behind this year (like me) have no fear. Sometimes it’s better to do a post-Christmas gift exchange, when the deals are hot and the stress is lifted. That’s what I do with my girlfriends anyway. “Happy New Year! Here’s your present.”

I call these Granny gifts, because they’re a combination of fun little things and handmade crafts. And usually some silly or weird inside jokes. It’s always one of my favorite projects.

Coasters

I promise you can master the coaster. I did these in just an hour, on the day I gave them out. You probably have a lot of the supplies at home already, and if not, cost under $20. You’ll have enough to make multiple sets of these little guys.

You’ll need:

• Shower tiles from a hardware store (or extras). You can usually find spares on clearance!
• Matte gel medium decoupage (mod podge)
• Brush (foam brush works too)
• Decorative paper cocktail napkins
• Polyurethane (I chose a satin finish, since we had it leftover.)
• Felt backers

After you fall in love with the perfect cocktail napkin, you can begin.

Post-holiday clearance anyone?

Start by unfolding and cutting your cocktail napkins – just bigger than the size of the tiles

Place them face-up on top of the tile and brush a coat of decoupage right over top

See how they start to shrink-wrap around it? Cover the edges and let dry 30 minutes

Then tear off any extra paper. Apply a coat of polyurethane to seal the deal.

Once that’s dry, grab your felt pads and stick ’em to the backs.

That’s pretty much it! They have a cute hand-painted look when they dry.

Extras

Gotta love lotion in the winter. And to go with the winter drinks theme, I couldn’t resist champagne toppers. Also, these mason jar shot glasses were too cute to pass up.

So there’s the winter survival kit. Throw in a winter drink recipe guide, hot cocoa mix, marshmallows, a fun mug, little candles, or any other coffee table novelty.

At least you can count on best friends to pardon your belated, not-so-secret Santa gifts. It’s like getting a little bonus present for getting through the holiday.

What are your holiday gift secrets? Any fun crafts we can make with leftover materials?