I love giving and receiving homemade Christmas gifts. There is something so special about knowing someone has taken the time to make the perfect gift for you. As a bonus—they’re usually more budget-friendly. As someone who has tried my hand at making lots of different DIY gifts and gift baskets, I’ve included some of my favorite cute and easy DIY Christmas gift ideas for you to try out!
Stovetop Potpourri or Simmer Pots
This practical, clutter-free gift is perfect for everyone from teachers to neighbors to family and friends. Fill clear bags with holiday-themed potpourri ingredients, print out a label with instructions (make your own or use one from this tutorial), and you’re done! My favorite bags include oranges, cranberries, cinnamon sticks, small pine branches, and cloves, and I love how you can customize them however you’d like.
Macramé Wall Art
My kids received beautiful macramé hangings that my sister-in-law made last Christmas, and they look so cute in their rooms! Stylish, trendy, and calming to make (well, hopefully calming), this makes a great DIY Christmas gift. This tutorial is great for beginners.
Cookie Cutters with Melted Chocolate and Peppermint Crunch
To make these, buy a set of metal cookie cutters and lay them on wax paper. Crush up some candy canes and set aside. Then melt some chocolate and pour a thin layer into each cookie cutter, ensuring it fills all the way to the edges. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the chocolate right away. Once the chocolate is set, carefully peel it off the wax paper, ensuring it stays in the cookie cutter. These can be enjoyed on their own or put on top of hot cocoa, and adding the cookie cutter for them to use again and again is so fun! I like to package these individually in clear bags.
Treats
You could make bags of a single type of treat to hand out or make various treats to include in a cute box or basket. My favorite easy treats to use for DIY Christmas gifts are fudge, turtles, candied pecans, cut-out sugar cookies, and festive popcorn (pop plain popcorn, spread it out on a cookie sheet, drizzle with melted white chocolate or red or green candy melts, and sprinkle with red and green sugar). If you’re looking for some more unique (but maybe a little more challenging) treats, I also like making meringues, macarons, and peppermint marshmallows.
Bread
Sweet or savory bread makes great gifts and can be packaged beautifully. Find some inspiration and recipes for some unique loaves of bread here.
Cookie Mixes
Take all the measuring work out of making cookies by putting together these cute mixes for someone special. Here’s a tutorial with a premade label to simplify the job.
Make Your Own Pizza Night Kit
People will love this gift because it’s practical, gives them a dinner they didn’t have to plan for and can be a nice break from all the holiday sweets people are gifted. I did this last year for my group of friends, gifting it in a holiday-themed reusable plastic container. To put it together, make pizza dough (I like to package the dough in a gallon-size freezer bag in case they don’t want to make the pizza right away), portion out sauce, cheese, and topping, and include a card with baking directions.
Gingerbread House Kit
Of all the DIY Christmas gifts I’ve made over the years, this one has, by far, been the most memorable! I saved this one for last on the list because it might sound overwhelming, but if you can bake a cookie, you can do this!
All you need is a gingerbread recipe you love (this is the one I use—it tastes delicious and is very sturdy) and a template for a gingerbread house (here’s the one I use, but I don’t cut out the door or windows).
When I’ve done this for friends and family, I bought a couple of movie theater-size candy boxes, separated the candy into smaller, bagged portions, and included those with the kit. I also purchased disposable piping bags and filled them with great royal icing. My biggest tip for you if you’re trying out this DIY Christmas gift: once the cookies come out of the oven, put the template back over them and cut the edges that have spread so they’re straight lines again. This will help the house stand up straight!
Other great DIY Christmas gifts I’ve done have been homemade candles and soap, but those items can take a bit of investment in specialty equipment. However, if you’re interested in pursuing something as a hobby outside of just making gifts around the holidays, then I think it’s totally worth the investment! Happy DIYing!
