Holi(DIY)s and How to Host a Holi(DIY) Party: Inspiration from P.S. I Made This and SodaStream

Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is over, and you know what that means; IT'S CHRISTMAS! If you want to spice up your annual holiday party, or you're just on the prowl for some crafty holiday DIY projects, look no further!

I was invited to a collaborative HoliDIY event hosted by SodaStream, and run by the uber talented Erica Domesek, the DIY expert behind P.S. I Made This. It was the most unique holiday party I've ever attended, so I thought I'd share some of the highlights!

The party included DIY drinks, DIY glassware, DIY Instagram flat lays and a DIY cookie jar bar!


DIY Drink Station

A well-dressed DIY drink station is a complete game-changer. It inspires people to make their own drinks, reducing your hosting responsibilities! It also never hurts to encourage people to compare their creations, and let them garnish their drinks (and pour their alcohol) freely. Not to mention it's a great excuse to purchase a bunch of beautiful winter foliage for decoration.

All of the drinks at the HoliDIY event contained carbonated water (from sodastream machines of course), and the bar was stocked with every fruit imaginable to either throw in the drink for some additional flavour, or to decorate the rim of the glass!

DIY Drinking Glasses

Glass decorating is the epitome of the perfect sit-down DIY activity; you can swap design ideas AND eat/drink while doing it! This DIY is a super easy way to allow your guests to create their own set of personalized glasses, and they double as a party favour.

You can purchase Sharpies of different widths and colours that write perfectly on glass from almost any craft/office supply store. If you aren't feeling incredibly confident in your artistic abilities, using stencils is encouraged!

I took a simple approach and decorated two of my glasses with swirls, and two with various sized "funfetti". To make the glasses dishwasher-safe, bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. 



DIY Instagram Flat Lay

It's 2016, meaning most people will probably want a cute Instagram upload from your party, so why not help them out? At the HoliDIY event there was a table full of colourful holiday and miscellaneous accessories for the sole purpose of creating our own flat lay. Needless to say, it was everybody's favourite part of the event. A table like this is super easy to prepare, and makes for an easy DIY for every single one of your party attendees to participate in. 

DIY Holiday Cookie Jar Bar


If you're a DIY person, or a last-minute gift purchaser, you've probably seen the mason jar cookie mix gift in some form before. It's a jar filled with all of the ingredients to bake cookies (except for the butter and the eggs)! It's ideal for anyone who loves to bake homemade treats but wants to avoid the prep time, or doesn't want to purchase all of the ingredients for one tray of cookies. It's essentially the perfect personalized gift for anyone with a sweet tooth.

This DIY is a great addition to any holiday party because it helps your guests who are in a last minute gift bind, or it can act as another party favour! Just lay out the ingredients and the required measurements, and let people fill their own mason jars. You can also decorate the jar by adding ribbon, a name tag, and the recipe/baking instructions so everyone can make the cookies again!

For the cookies jars pictured, you'll need:

1/2 Cup of Sugar
1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup of Cocoa Powder
1/2 Tsp of Salt
1/2 Tsp of Baking Soda
1 1/4 Cups of Flour
2/3 of A Cup of Chocolate Chips
2/3 of a Cup of Crushed Candy Canes

After your ingredients are gathered you'll need to add one stick of butter and one egg. Then just roll the dough into 1-inch balls and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes!

At the very least, this post is proof that no matter your level of DIY expertise, there is truly a holiDIY for everyone. Happy holidays!