No matter how hard it was to pick out that brand new video game (along with that intoxicating smell of shrink wrap), purchasing a gift from a store just doesn’t mean as much as making a special gift for a special someone.

Students should consider taking the initiative to create something personal for the people they are really close to.

Even if it is a purchased kit or something that was bought and altered, that extra human touch can make all the difference.

To start off, be sure to choose something you’ll feel comfortable with. Handmade gifts are not for the faint of heart. Inexperienced bakers can send a kitchen up in smoke, and try to whittle a miniature wooden carving can result in more cuts and blood than that little figurine is worth.

But never fear, for these tragic misadventures can be avoided with a little bit of caution and perhaps a tutorial off of the Internet or from a book.

Even if it is a purchased kit or something that was bought and altered, that extra human touch can make all the difference.

Not all purchased gifts are devoid of meaning, though it seems that how much a gift is cherished is proportional to how much it costs.

However, homemade gifts carry an emotional aspect within them, meaning that something as simple as a mixtape can still hold meaning in a world where the cassette is an antiquity.

The act of making a gift yourself can also benefit yourself in the process. Cooking and baking are crucial life skills, and simply finishing a project can be extremely satisfying.

So when you are about to trek to the store to buy the same thing everyone else will be trekking to the store to buy, remember you can always stay at home and spend a little time making something special. Ask yourself if that gift is really all that satisfying once the initial thrill wears off.