<p><img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/17/2009/12/500x_untitled-2_01.jpg" class="left image500" width="500" />Homemade gift ideas, when properly executed, have an appeal all their own. We've rounded up some of the best gift-friendly DIY projects from our archives to help inspire your holiday gift giving.</p> <p>While the Lifehacker DIY archives are filled with all sorts of interesting DIY projects big and small, not every project is suitable for use as a gift. Turning a leftover Marriott <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5374055/turn-a-credit-or-membership-card-into-a-media-player-stand">room key-card into a portable media player stand</a> might be a novel trick for your own personal enjoyment, but we can't imagine many people being thrilled to find out that your gift to them is a used up Best Buy gift card bent into a stand for their iPhone.</p> <p>We thumbed through our archives and picked out some DIY projects that aren't outrageous undertakings&mdash;in other words, do-able by the holiday deadline&mdash;and would be well received by people as a crafty homemade gift.</p> <p><strong>Tummy Warming and Filling:</strong> If you want to give a gift that's almost universally usable and won't clutter up the recipient's house, you can't go wrong with food and drink. Over the years we've shared all sorts of food-related tricks and hacks and quite a few of them are gift-friendly.</p> <p><img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2009/12/thumb160x_c38e622259b33f3543f6a4399caba934.jpg" width="158" height="155" align="left" class="left" />Fresh bread is a treat few would turn down and it's extremely inexpensive to make. During <a href="http://lifehacker.com/tag/food-week">Food Week</a> earlier this year we shared a <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5287212/make-fresh+baked-bread-in-five-minutes">great recipe for easy no-knead homemade bread</a>. Several of us on the Lifehacker staff have tried it out and it is in fact extremely easy to make and very delicious. It's easy to customize with spices and herbs for extra flavor. If you really want to impress you can even make some <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5339179/enjoy-homemade-butter-in-less-than-five-minutes">homemade butter</a>&mdash;again, extra points for flavoring it with herbs&mdash;to accompany your fresh bread.</p> <p><img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2009/12/thumb160x_db1e9692c3cff88b85a4c0de4e7bc1cf.jpg" width="158" height="188" align="right" class="right" />For an alternate, but just as delicious food-gift, you can make your own chocolate-covered strawberries. They aren't difficult to make and they are extremely easy to dress up extras like drizzles of a contrasting chocolate or other toppings. Have someone on your gift list that loves to cook? Make them <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5145419/make-homemade-vanilla-extract">homemade vanilla extract</a>. It's delicious, doesn't take long to make, and the best part is the vanilla extract becomes more potent over time so the gift continues to improve long after you've given it.</p> <p>On the side of tummy-warming instead of tummy-filling, we've covered some pretty neat ways to create your own alcoholic concoctions. Have a coffee lover on your gift list? Brew them a custom blend of <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5227596/brew-your-own-coffee-liqueur">coffee liqueur</a>. Flavored vodka more their style? You can <a href="http://lifehacker.com/373627/make-your-own-infused-vodka">make your own flavor-infused vodkas</a> right at home. We're definitely on the tail-end of the cider season but don't let that stop you from <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5373351/brew-hard-cider-from-scratch">brewing your own hard cider</a> and bottling it for your favorite hooch-swilling friend.</p> <p><img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2009/12/2009-12-13_160502.jpg" class="left image340" width="340" /><strong>Home and Decor:</strong> Picking out something for another person's home or office can be tricky, but we think these household-related DIY projects will hit the mark.</p> <p>Give the gift of office greenery with a moss terrarium. We first shared the idea of making a <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5170081/turn-a-wine-bottle-into-a-terrarium">super-low maintenance terrarium out of a wine bottle</a> with you earlier this year. Stuffing things into a wine bottle is a tricky and imperfect art, so when we followed up with our <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5404522/make-a-moss-terrarium-for-low+maintenance-greenery">own homemade moss terrariums</a>, we opted to use a wide mouth jar. Later, in an edition of <a href="http://lifehacker.com/tag/pst/lifehackerlabs/">Lifehacker Labs</a>, we even showed you how you could <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5418548/lifehacker-labs-everlasting-razors-delicious-turkey-and-more">put a terrarium in a tiny spice jar</a>. It doesn't take much moss to make a spice-jar terrarium, making them a perfect gift for a situation where you want to give something thoughtful and homemade to a number of people like coworkers or neighbors.</p> <p><img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2009/12/2009-12-13_160618.jpg" width="160" height="223" align="right" class="right" />If you want to share a little festive mood-lighting, you can recycle a wine bottle into a source of soft twinkling lighting. Some empty bottles and a few strands of Christmas lights and you've got a rather unique gift on your hands. Not sold on the wine-bottle-as-light idea? Check out <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5315357/create-your-own-sun-jar-lifehacker-edition/gallery/">our DIY Sun Jars</a>, a $10 DIY version of a much more expensive item. For a more traditional source of lighting you can always <a href="http://lifehacker.com/399649/how-to-make-a-scented-candle">make a homemade scented candle</a> and perhaps even pair it with a matching <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5099743/make-your-own-bath-bombs">fizzy bath bomb</a> for a DIY spa-kit for a stressed out friend.</p> <p><strong>Fun and Games:</strong> If you've got a game lover on your list it's tough to go wrong with a custom chess set. Chess lends itself well to customization since it has a variety of pieces, a space to display them on, and since the rules of the game are widely known and static the uniqueness of any given set is a strong point of attraction. For the <img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2009/12/2009-12-13_161057.jpg" width="159" height="146" align="left" class="left" />chess lover you could make a <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5414114/build-an-led+based-chess-set">glowing LED chess set</a>, one out of <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5307432/make-a-chess-set-out-of-nuts-and-bolts">nuts and bolts</a>, or even a crazy <a href="http://lifehacker.com/213885/diy-transparent-chess-board">3D chess board out of plexiglass</a>. As long as you can find the parts, there are few limitations to the kind of chess pieces you can make.</p> <p><strong>Computers and Electronics:</strong> We really couldn't leave a survey of fun gift-related DIY projects without touching on ways you can geek out this holiday season. On the simple side of things you can craft <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5251244/8-diy-aluminum-laptop-stand/gallery/">an $8 aluminum laptop stand</a> that <img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2009/12/2009-12-13_161336.jpg" width="160" height="102" align="right" class="right" />looks far more polished than its price tag would suggest. Know someone that recent got a netbook or will be getting one for Christmas? <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5286116/turn-a-place-mat-into-a-low+profile-netbook-cover">Turn a placemat into a netbook sleeve</a>; you can pick out a bold or unique pattern and really spice things up.</p> <p>Have a ton of computer parts laying around your workshop? <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5151369/the-first+timers-guide-to-building-a-computer-from-scratch">Build a computer for someone</a> or even turn it into an <a href="http://lifehacker.com/302821/soup-up-your-xbox-media-center">amazing media center with XBMC</a>.</p> <hr /> Want some more great ideas for DIY gifts? Check out the comments on <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5073041/are-you-diying-gifts-this-holiday">Are You DIYing Gifts This Holiday?</a>, an Ask the Reader poll from last holiday season. You'll find dozens of excellent ideas, courtesy of your fellow readers. Have an amazing DIY gift idea of your own? 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