Show Your Clients You Care With Homemade Holiday Gifts

Five nail techs gave us step-by-step instructions for holiday gifts they’ve made for clients in the past. Each tech has created a personal and thoughtful way of thanking her loyal customers. As a bonus, find one tutorial from the editors at NAILS!

Regardless of your skill level, time limit, and budget, there are options that will work for you. So try your hand at these gifts and show your customers a little extra love these holidays.

Goodie Bags

Tech: Eva Jenkins
Salon: Extraordinary Nails by Eva
Location: Bellevue, Neb.
Time: 1 hour
Cost: $50/10 bags

You will need:
Small gift bags
Ribbon
Manicure set
Nail polish (there are plenty of festive mini bottles around this time of year)
Any extra goodies

Step 1: Fill the small bags up with all the essential nail goodies.

Step 2: Tie with ribbon and that’s it!

Business Card Gift Box

Tech: Shewanda Marsh
Salon: Pynk Dymond Nails
Location: Goose Creek, S.C.
Time: 5 minutes
Cost: $2/box

You will need:
Six business cards
Ribbon
Cuticle oil or other small gift bottle

Step 1: Fold the cards into pieces suitable for assembling into a cube by taking two cards and placing them across each other, with the inside faces together. Try to make the 90-degree angle between them as accurate as possible, because each card serves as a guide for the folds in the other.

Step 2: Fold the ends of the bottom card up over the top card. Make the folds nice and crisp; the crisper the fold, the snugger the final cube will be.

Step 3: Flip the pair over so the bottom folded card becomes the top card.

Step 4: Fold the other card’s ends up.

Step 5: Pull the two cards apart: you’ve made two cube pieces. If you’ve made the folds tight, the pieces will be more “closed up” than shown here; that’s good.

Step 6: Repeat steps 1 through 5 two more times. Now you have six cube pieces. You are ready to begin assembly.

Step 7-10: Assembling the pieces

Now that you have six cube pieces, you can assemble them into a cube. This requires a little bit of dexterity, but is not as hard as it might seem. At each step, make sure that the new card you’re adding to the cube is hugging the existing cards with its folded tabs. At the last step, you would place your gift item inside the cube — I put a small bottle of cuticle oil to remind my client of after-service care tips. In order to close off the cube, you will need to carefully pry open the remaining tabs to get the last card in properly (under the other cards’ tabs, but with its tabs over its neighbors). Then tie a really cute ribbon around the box into a bow.

Festive Florentines

Tech: Alicia Jelley
Salon: Alicia Coletta Nails & Beauty
Location: Flintshire, Wales
Time: 20 minutes
Cost: $10/20 Florentines

You will need:
.75 oz. butter
1.75 oz. Demerara sugar (also called Turbinado)
1.75 oz. golden syrup (can substitute mix of two
parts light corn syrup to one part molasses)
1.75 oz. plain flour
1.75 oz. flaked almonds
12 glacier cherries, chopped
7 oz. dark chocolate
Makes 8 Florentines

Step 1: In a pan, melt the butter, sugar, and syrup until combined together, then take off the heat.

Step 2: Add the flour, cherries, and almonds to the pan and mix thoroughly.

Step 3: Divide the mixture into small balls, place on a baking tray with grease-proof paper, and flatten slightly, making sure there’s plenty of space between them.

Step 4: Bake for 8-10 minutes at 180ºC (around 350ºF) or until golden brown.

Step 5: Remove and leave to cool.

Step 6: Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a bowl over some hot water.

Step 7: Spread the chocolate onto the base of the Florentines and leave to cool or set in the fridge.

Step 8: Find some festive paper and ribbon, and wrap two or three Florentines inside to make a little parcel.

Inspirational Pierced Earrings

Tech: Jaime Mansfield
Salon: Jaime’s Nail Designs Salon
Location: Alliance, Ohio
Time: 10 minutes
Cost: $.70/pair

You will need:
2 cross charms
4 jump rings
2 wire earring hooks
2 Rondell crystal spacer beads.

Step 1: Hold the cross charm and put a spacer bead on top of it. It should slide over the top easily.

Step 2: Open a jump ring and attach it to the loop part of the charm.

Step 3: Attach that ring to the earring and pinch it closed.

Step 4: If you’d like longer earrings, add additional jump rings.

Scented Tea Light Candles with Soy Wax

Tech: Simone Gilbert
Salon: Urban Bliss Beauty
Location: Ferntree Gully, Australia
Time: 3 hours, depending on experience
Cost: $60/5 gift bags

You will need:
Soy Wax
Fragrance oil or essential oil
Measuring cup
Tea light cups
Wicks
Glue gun (cost does not include)
Saucepan and heatproof jug
or double-boiler saucepan
Packaging
Ribbons
Gift tags

Step 1: Set out the tea light cups ensuring they have space around each one.

Step 2: Using a hot glue gun (or double-sided tape) affix the wicks to the tea light cups.

Step 3: Measure out your chosen fragrance according to the package instructions or essential oil and set aside.

Step 4: Heat the wax in a heatproof jug and saucepan of boiling water or a double-boiler at a low temperature and remove from heat once the wax is melted. Once cooled a little, add the fragrance and stir to combine.