I love giving DIY handmade gifts to people around holiday time. I feel like the amount of love that you put into making the gift supersedes the amount of money you actually paid for the gift.
A few years back, my aunts started making these absolutely adorable light up snowmen. They were so easy (and cheap) to make, it became my “go to” gift to give. This past year I put a spin on the gift and created the light up Rudolph. Both of the jars are made pretty much the same way, just using different colors of paint.
Here’s how I made them:
Materials:
![Jar 2]()
- Small clear glass jar with a hinged lid (you can find them at The Dollar Store or Ikea…prices are about the same)
- Circle tipped sponge brushes (various sizes)
- Acrylic paint (white, black, orange for the snowman…brown, black, red for Rudolph)
- box of white holiday lights (string of 25 or 30)
- thick wired ribbon of your choice
- dark brown felt (for Rudolph’s antlers)
- glue gun to glue on Rudolph’s antlers
Instructions:
- Paint the inside of the jar using blotting with sponge brush. Use white paint for the snowman and brown paint for Rudolph.
- When the inside of the jar completely dries (about 30 minutes), use the small circle sponges to dab on the eyes and mouth using black paint. Using the smallest circle for the mouth to have the appearance of coal. (No mouth on Rudolph.)
- For the snowman’s nose, dab the small circle sponge in orange paint and then make a quick swish to have the appearance of a carrot. For Rudolph’s nose, I use a slightly larger circle for the nose in red.
![Jar 3]()
- After the face is dry (about 10-15 minutes), place the light strand inside the jar leaving the prongs with about 6-8 inches of wire hanging out the back of the jar. Close the lid.
- For Rudolph only: cut dark brown felt into chubby antlers leaving a long stem. Hot glue the stem part to the back of the jar careful not to glue them to the hinged top.
- Tie a large bow around the top covering the latch of the lid.
- Plug the little guy in and enjoy!
I love to give these as a cute little hostess gift when going to holiday parties. I also gave them to the room moms in my classroom. I had to create Rudolph because I had a mom who was my room mom two years in a row.
Whenever I see the jars at The Dollar Store (which isn’t always) or when I make it up to Ikea, I buy as many as I can to keep on hand. The craft is just so easy and cute that I can’t help but make them. I’m even working on new ones to branch out to other holidays.
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