Let’s say your group of friends or your significant other is a bit too obsessed with Japanese animation — it’ll be easy to shop for them, right? All you have to do is hop on over to any of the online DVD and manga retailers to check out what’s out this Christmas.

Once you get there though, you find out that all of the merchandise are quite pricey and are quoted in either USD or JPY — none of which your poor, moth-eaten wallet has as of the mo. What do you do? Easy! Just make your presents yourself!

Amigurumi

If you know how to crochet, then that’s half of your problems solved right there! All you need to do now is to download some crochet doll patterns off the internet, customize them to look like anime and manga characters, and give them away to your favorite friends.

Plush Toys

If you’re hopeless with a crochet needle but have the barest minimum of sewing skills, then plush toys is the way to go for you. All you need to do is source some felt fabric in a variety of colors, hunt down a nice pair of scissors, and collect a lot of different color threads. Like the anigurumi, just design dolls to resemble your friends favorite characters, and stitch them together with very basic blanket and running stitches.

Felt Hats

If you’ve seen those people walking around convention halls wearing panda, poring, or Pokemon felt hats on their heads, then you have a good idea of what I’m talking about. The fun thing about these hats is that the basic materials and processes are the same as making felt plush toys, just scaled up to fit human heads. If you find yourself stumped, then a quick search online will yield downloadable patterns and step-by-step instructions on putting together felt hats for your friends.

Cupcakes and Cookies

For some folks, baking is more their thing than sewing and crafts. That’s great too because what you can do is make cookies or cupcakes and decorate them with anime and game themes. If you need inspiration, Google is great place to find baked goods decorated with Super Mario, Totoro, Pokemon, and Pacman designs.

Sculpey Pin Badges

Another thing you can make with your home oven is Sculpey pin badges. Sculpey is great because you can mold it by hand, and all you need for it to set is to bake it according to package instructions. Aside from chibi anime characters, you can also make make fruit, cake, and sweets that go great with Sweet Lolita outfits.