Good morning everyone!  Are you ready for Christmas yet?  I can’t believe it is less than a week away, it has just come up too quickly!  I’m happy to say that I am finally ready, but it’s been an uphill battle this year more than any other.  Time just seems to be slipping away so much faster than it used to and there just aren’t enough hours in the day!  That’s why I wanted to put this post together while there’s still time and hopefully it will help anyone out there struggling to come up with some creative last-minute gift ideas for friends and family.

I love doing DIY projects, especially when I can give them to my loved ones!  There’s just something special about receiving a handmade gift when you know how much time and effort someone put into making sure they gave you a unique gift just for you that they made with their own hands.  I know that some people really don’t think of themselves as “crafty”, but I’m making sure to include some homemade gift ideas that ANYONE can make – even my “craft-challenged” readers.  So enjoy this list of DIY Christmas gift ideas and I hope this helps you finish your Christmas gifts in time to celebrate with friends and family!

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Homemade DIY Christmas Gift Ideas

1. Snack Gifts- Sometimes, you just want to give something small to a coworker or friend but you still want to make it something special. How about making a snack gift?  This could be something as simple as wrapping a couple of candy bars with a pretty ribbon and including a gift card or cash?  You could even tie a few candy bars around a bottle of soda and you’ve got a nice small gift.  Dress your gift up with some ribbon and a pretty tag to make it even more special!
2. Notebook Gifts- These are great for anyone who loves to make lists or has a lot to keep track of in their daily life. A small, easy to carry notebook decorated nicely and a pen are a wonderful gift to give.  There are so many embellishments that you can pick up at most craft stores to make your notebooks unique and stylish, and you don’t have to be a craft wizard to be able to do it!  Try using some stampers and inkpads, flowers and twine, or stencils and marker pens to decorate your notebooks any way you want – this allows you to make them as unique as the person receiving the gift!  Plus, the embellishment makes wonderful wrapping since it’s already so pretty!
3. Hot Beverage Gifts– These are perfect for those cold winter days ahead! Find a pretty mug or dress up a plain mug (see below for ideas on how to do personalize a mug) and fill it with hot apple cider packets and cinnamon sticks, hot chocolate packets with mini marshmallows and a candy cane, or even a favorite K-Cup or two and mini creamers.  This gift will be loved by all!
4. Cookie Gifts- If you’ve read my previous posts then you know that I love to bake for the holidays. But even if you don’t bake, you can always give cookies that you buy and just present them in a nicely decorated wrapper.  You can find small cardboard or plastic containers, clear decorative cellophane bags, or tins to wrap your goodies in or you can get even more creative and make your own.  Use decorative paper and cover an empty Pringles can, place them in empty mason jars and decorate with ribbon, pine and berries, or even take a paper lunch bag and embellish it to turn it into a beautifully wrapped gift using stencils, markers, or stampers.
5. Pampering Gifts- These will appeal to any of the ladies on your list. You can wrap items together in a cellophane bag or use a basket and decorate with ribbon and a pretty tag.  Some of the items you can include in your pampering gift are:  nail polish and a nail file, bubble bath, bath salts, sugar scrub (see below how to make your own sugar scrub), lotion, lip balm, body spray and hand sanitizer.
6. Recipe Cards- For the ones who love to cook or bake, you can make personalized recipe cards and card box or even a recipe binder. To make recipe cards, pick up blank index cards and use stamps or stencils to personalize and decorate them.  Make an Ingredients section and a Directions section and provide lines to write the steps of the recipe out and you’re done.  Then you can take a card file box and decorate it to match the style of the recipe cards.  If you’d rather make a recipe binder, just take a small 2-ring binder with divider pages.  You can even laminate the divider pages after you’ve decorated them to keep them looking nice as your favorite cook uses this handy gift.  There are a lot of free printable templates for the recipe pages as well as for the recipe cards online so just find which style you prefer and have fun!
7. Coaster Set Gift- I love this idea because there are so many ways that you can personalize them! Just take 4 inch tiles (easy to find at any home store like Lowe’s) and use them as your base.  Then you can decorate them a few different ways.  Use chalkboard paint and decorate with embellishments like small bows, jewels, or even glitter on the corners or around the edges.  You can also cover them with scrapbooking paper or even maps and mod podge to decorate the tiles.  Or maybe you really want them to be unique – use personalized photos and affix them to the tiles using an acrylic sealer (Tip: to waterproof the coasters, try coating with a high gloss resin.  This wouldn’t work for the chalkboard paint though as you won’t be able to use chalk on them anymore after it is applied).  Tie the coaster set with twine or ribbon and you have a lovely personalized gift that is useful!
8. Personalized Mug Gift- This one is so much fun to make! There are so many ways to personalize a mug – use colored sharpies and create a unique picture or saying on the mug.  Or use craft paint and a foam paint applicator and create a design free-hand or use stencils.  You can even put letter stickers on the mug and paint overtop of them, then remove the letter stickers to have a negative of the letters on the mug.  Once you’ve created your design on the mugs, bake them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and then turn the oven off and leave the mug in as it cools down for a few hours.  This will allow the design to set and prevent it from washing off in the dishwasher.
9. Potholder Kitchen Gifts- Here’s another idea for those friends and family who love to cook or bake. Take a potholder mitt and fill it with spoons, whisks, recipe cards (see above for ideas on how to make your own recipe cards), scrapers, or any small kitchen gadgets.  You can even include a cookie or dip mix to make it even more delightful!
10. Movie Night Gifts- This one is great for couples or families to have for movie nights. Take a mixing bowl or basket and fill it with a box of microwave popcorn, a flavor shaker, some movie candy, and even some soda and they’ll be set to watch their favorite movie together.  You can even include a Netflix free code or movie theater gift card to make it even more special!
11. Sugar Scrub Gifts- These are fun and easy to make and they make wonderful gifts! Just mix a cup of granulated sugar with ¼ cup of olive oil, coconut oil, almond oil, or grapeseed oil.  Then add about 15-20 drops of the essential oil (or extract) that you want for your scent.  I always like using lemon, peppermint, or even orange when I make my sugar scrubs because they are so invigorating, but you could also use lavender for a more soothing scent.  Want to make your scrub even more appealing?  Add a few drops of food coloring to make your scrub even more festive.   Color all of the sugar scrub or only part of it if you want to layer the colors when you put it into an empty mason jar.  Decorate the Mason jar with ribbon or twine and a pretty tag and your sugar scrub gift is done!
12. Recipe Jar Gifts- This one is very versatile. I like to fill a large empty mason jar with the ingredients to make cookies or soups and give them as gifts.  Then I print the recipe out and attach it to the jar with ribbon or twine and your gift is done.  Now your friends and family have a delicious treat waiting for them any time they want to make it!
13. Glass Tile Necklace Gifts- I’ve made these before for my nieces and they loved them! Cut a piece of scrapbook paper, a map, or any decorative piece of paper to the shape of your glass tile.  Then take mod podge or a clear glue to attach the paper onto the back of the glass tile (Tip: lay wax paper on your work surface so the glue doesn’t stick to your where you’re working).  Trim any paper around the glass tile that sticks out and wipe of excess glue or mod podge and let dry completely.  Once dry, apply a second layer of mod podge or glue and allow to dry completely again.  This will help to seal the image.   Glue bails (jewelry loops for the chain) or a bezel (pendant plate that your glass tile will fit into) onto the back of your glass tile and allow to dry completely.  Once dry, add a chain and your glass tile necklace is ready to be given as a gift!

These are just some of the wonderful handmade gifts you can make for friends and family.  Check out my Pinterest Board for more Holiday Gift Ideas and don’t forget to share this post.  Do you have a favorite DIY gift idea?  I’d love to hear it so comment below to share your ideas with readers too!

Since this is the last post before Christmas will be here, I want to take a moment to wish everyone a wonderful, blessed Christmas!