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The “holiday season” may fall in December, but between graduations, weddings, Fathers Day and the like, you’re hardly off the hook for gift giving this time of year. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered, with a variety of ideas that all involve clever covers for recycled cans, bottles or jars.

Sure, gift cards are an easy, though impersonal, option for last-minute presents. Pairing them with small, handmade items, however, makes for a more memorable gift, without taking up much of your time or money. This collection of decorative yet useful items can be easily customized for different recipients, from dads to grads, teachers to bridesThe simplest idea is also the most elegant wrap bottles or jars with white birch bark and turn them into rustic vases or candle holders. If you’re lucky enough to have an intact, tube-shaped piece of bark, just slip it over the container. If not, cut a flat piece of bark so it’s large enough to wrap around the container with a bit of overlap and hot glue the ends together a rubber band helps hold the bark in place until the glue dries

These are perfect for couples, especially if you carve their initials into the bark. Use a small knife, or even the end of a small, flat-head screwdriver to (carefully!) scrape letters into the bark, and fill them in with a fine-point brown marker to make them stand out.

While I’m lucky enough to live in New Hampshire, where the white birch is the official state tree, and there’s easy access to bark from fallen branches and limbs, there are online retailers who sell the bark in sheets and tubes as well.