DIY Christmas gifts beat anything with a barcode, and these 50 prove it. There are gifts from the kitchen like vanilla extract, hot cocoa mix and a cookie mix in a flannel sack, gifts for the bath like lotion bars, bath bombs and a ten minute lip balm, and gifts to make with your hands like a zippered clutch, a crochet cup cozy, a clay ring dish, painted mugs and a rice heating pad that never needs a cord. Most cost a few dollars and take one evening, and a lot of them come in batches so one afternoon covers the teachers, the neighbors and the office. Perfect for the people who are hard to shop for, the hostess, the coworker and everyone who says they don't need anything.
1. Peppermint Mason Jar Candles
Crystal makes a batch of these every December for friends, coworkers and neighbors, and keeps a couple for herself. Soy wax melts in a double boiler, a few drops of peppermint fragrance oil go in, and it pours into small mason jars around a wick held straight with a clothespin. Once they set, a wrap of red and white baker's twine, a sprig of frosted greenery and a couple of red berries turn a plain jar into a gift. Ten candles cost less than one from a boutique.
2. Custom Holiday Wine Labels
This one is ours, and it turns a bottle from the grocery store into a gift that gets a laugh. You print a holiday label, Merry Christmas on a red ornament, To Santa's Favorite, or a checklist that reads naughty, nice, I can explain, and glue it over the front of the bottle. A tiny felt Santa hat slips over the cork and a scrap of red felt makes a scarf. The original label stays on the back, so nobody loses the wine information. Five minutes per bottle.
3. Ten Minute Lip Balm
Heidi's lip balm takes ten minutes and makes a dozen at once, which is why it's the stocking stuffer on this list. Beeswax, coconut oil and shea butter melt together in the microwave, a drop of flavor oil and a shaving of lipstick or a pinch of mica tint the batch pink, and it pours into little screw top pots to set. A bowl of them in cream and berry pink looks like a candy dish. Once you make one batch you'll want to make every flavor.
4. Rice Heating Pad
The sisters behind Alice and Lois sew this heating pad every year for anyone with a sore neck, and it's the gift that gets used the most. It's a long rectangle of soft cotton flannel in a black and white print, stitched into channels and filled with plain rice, then sewn shut. Two minutes in the microwave and it stays warm for an hour, drapes around the shoulders and never needs a plug. Tie it with a length of chunky red yarn and add a card with the heating instructions.
5. Decoupage Clay Jewelry Dish
These little dishes are ours, and they're the gift for the friend whose rings live on the bathroom sink. A ball of air dry clay gets rolled flat, cut into a circle and pressed into a small bowl to dry with a gentle curve. Then a pretty paper napkin, cherries on pink or a scatter of hearts, is decoupaged over the top, the rim gets a line of gold paint and a few tiny rhinestones. No kiln, no baking, and each one costs about a dollar to make.
6. Cookie Mix Gift Sack
Autumn's cookie mix sacks are the neighbor gift that gets baked instead of thrown out with the tenth plate of fudge. The dry ingredients for double chocolate mint cookies go into a quart zip top bag, the bag slides into a little drawstring sack sewn from red and green flannel, and a tag on the outside lists what to add and how long to bake. Because it's a mix, the neighbors bake it in January when the treats have run out. A yard of flannel makes six sacks.
7. Zippered Clutch
Stef's zippered clutch is the sewing gift for the friend who never has a place for her phone and lipstick. Two rectangles of upholstery weight fabric, two of lining, a twelve inch zipper and an evening at the machine. The lining hides all the seams so the inside looks as finished as the outside, and a couple of wooden beads on a cord make the zipper pull. Pick a bold print like her orange bird fabric and it doubles as an evening bag.
8. Dotted Heart Mugs
These mugs are ours and they take one marker and some patience. A plain white mug gets a heart built out of tiny dots in two or three shades of red and pink, using oil based paint markers so the design survives the dishwasher. The dots hide shaky lines, which is why this is the mug project for people who say they can't draw. Bake it in the oven to set the paint, then fill it with cocoa packets and a candy cane.
9. Watercolor Agate Slices
Alexis was trying to paint malachite, failed, and stumbled into these agate slices instead. Rings of watercolor in blues, teals and golds painted wet on wet, with a sprinkle of salt while the paint is damp to make the crystal texture, and a band of gold paint around the outside edge. Three or four framed in a row look like a gallery wall that cost hundreds. She also offers the finished slices as free printables for anyone who'd rather frame than paint.
10. Basketweave Cup Cozy
ChiWei's cup cozy is the crochet gift that works up in one sitting and fits every coffee cup in town. The free pattern uses front and back post stitches to build a basketweave texture in worsted yarn, so it looks woven and grips the cup without slipping. Make it in the giftee's team colors or a neutral gray, add a wooden button and slip it over a gift card to their favorite coffee shop. A skein makes four or five, which covers the whole carpool.
11. Marbled Jewelry Purse
This little clamshell is ours and it started as two metal jar lids. Each lid gets dipped in water with a few drops of nail polish floating on top, which marbles the metal in seconds with no swirling required. The insides get lined with soft felt, the two lids are joined along one edge with fabric and a zipper trim strip so they open like a compact, and it's the right size for a necklace and earrings on a trip. Every one comes out different.
12. Cinnamon Sugar Scrub
Jo-Anna's holiday scrub smells like a cinnamon bun and every ingredient is safe to eat, which is her test for anything that goes on skin. Sugar, solid coconut oil and ground cinnamon get stirred together, and the cinnamon does double duty as the exfoliant. It goes into a small jar with a band of black velvet ribbon, a couple of cinnamon sticks tucked under the bow and a kraft tree tag. It keeps for months, and it's for hands and feet, not faces.
13. Homemade Vanilla Extract
Averie's vanilla extract has two ingredients and the hardest part is waiting. Split a few soft, pliable vanilla beans down the middle, drop them into a bottle of plain vodka, the same one you'd use in a cocktail, and let it sit in a dark cupboard for a couple of months, shaking it now and then. Decant it into swing top bottles with a handwritten label. It's better than the little bottles at the store and costs a fraction per ounce. Start it in October and it's ready for December.
14. Clay Flower Ring Holder
This ring holder is ours, and it's the one to make for the newly engaged friend. A disc of air dry clay gets pressed into a small bowl so the edges ruffle up like petals, and a rolled cone of clay stands up in the center to hold the rings. Once it's dry it gets painted coral with a wash of deeper red streaks, and a coat of clear resin makes it shine like porcelain. No kiln, no oven. It catches the rings that come off for dishes.
15. Scrunchies In A Mason Jar
Ellen sews a stack of scrunchies from fabric scraps and layers them into a pint mason jar, and it's the gift every teen and every mom with long hair reaches for first. Her basic scrunchie takes a strip of cotton, a length of elastic and a few minutes on the machine, or a bit longer by hand, and the lace trimmed version adds a strip of trim along one edge. Six to eight fill a jar. Tie a lace ribbon and a kraft tag around the lid and it's wrapped.
16. Homemade Bath Salts
Sara's bath salts take five ingredients and four are probably in the house already. Epsom salt, coarse sea salt and baking soda get stirred together, then a few drops of fragrance oil and a few drops of food coloring turn the batch lavender or pale yellow. That's the whole recipe, and it makes about a pound. Spoon it into small glass jars with lids and it looks like it came from a spa shop. Make two colors so every jar gets a pair.
17. Beaded Bracelet
This bracelet is ours, and it's the beginner pattern that turns out sturdier than the simple string of beads everyone starts with. Seed beads get woven in a two needle pattern so every bead is locked in twice, which keeps it from snapping in a purse. Red, green and white make it a Christmas bracelet, black and gray or deep blues make one for the person who prefers muted tones. A few dollars of beads makes a stack of them for the whole friend group.
18. Thrifted Brass Canister Candle
Lauren pours candles into thrifted vessels, and a brass tea canister with its own lid is her favorite so far. Soy wax flakes or the leftovers from half burned candles melt in the microwave or a double boiler, a couple of wicks get glued to the bottom of the clean canister and held straight with chopsticks, and the wax pours in with a few drops of fragrance oil. Candy dishes, teacups and old coffee tins all work. The lid makes it look boutique at a thrift store price.
19. Lavender Rose Bath Bombs
Rachel's bath bombs look like something from a French apothecary. Baking soda, cornstarch, Epsom salt and citric acid get whisked together, then a little almond oil, a splash of water and lavender and eucalyptus essential oils go in a few drops at a time until the mix holds together when squeezed. Dried rose petals and lavender buds get pressed into the molds first so they show on the outside. She ties each one with silver cord and a treat yourself tag she gives away as a free printable.
20. Beaded Wind Chime
This wind chime is ours, and it's the gift for the person whose porch is their favorite room. Strands of glass and acrylic beads in mixed colors get threaded on beading string with a few charms and tiny jingle bells along the way, then tied to a ring so they hang in a circle and catch the light. The bells give it a soft tinkle in the breeze. Work over a tray, because dropped beads roll everywhere. Hang it and it's the porch decor they didn't know they wanted.
21. Vanilla Salt In Test Tubes
Heather's vanilla salt is the gift for the cook who already has everything. Split a vanilla bean or two, scrape the seeds into half a cup of coarse grey sea salt and rub them through with your fingertips until the salt is speckled all over. Then it goes into corked glass test tubes with a little snowflake tag on black and white twine. It keeps forever and it's for the top of caramels, chocolate, shortbread, buttered popcorn or the rim of a cocktail glass. Ten minutes, a dozen gifts.
22. Christmas Simmer Pot Jar
Evelyn's simmer pot jar makes a whole house smell like Christmas without a single candle. Dried orange slices, dried apple rings, cranberries and cinnamon sticks get layered into a pint jar, and the free printable label on the lid tells the giftee to tip it into a saucepan, cover with water and simmer on low all afternoon, topping up the water as it goes. A red gingham ribbon around the lid finishes it. Dry the fruit yourself in a low oven and a jar costs about two dollars.
23. Hair Tie Rings
These rings are ours and they're the two minute stocking stuffer for the teen on the list. A thin elastic hair tie gets a single pearl, a bead or a tiny charm glued to it, and that's a ring. Because it's a hair tie, it stretches to fit any finger and goes on the wrist when it comes off. A pack of hair ties and a handful of beads makes a dozen, so tuck three or four in a little box and let her mix and match.
24. Whiskey And Woodsmoke Beard Balm
Rachel's beard balm is the gift for the man on the list who says he doesn't want anything. Beeswax, shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil and sweet almond oil melt together in a tin sitting in a saucepan of water, then a few drops of cedar and rosemary essential oil and a little bourbon oil go in before it pours into small jars to set. Her label reads Whiskey and Woodsmoke, scent: drinking in the woods, and that label is half the gift. Print your own on sticker paper.
25. Mango Butter Lotion Bars
Misty has tested every natural butter and lands on mango butter for these lotion bars because it has no scent of its own, so whatever essential oil you choose comes through. Beeswax, jojoba oil, coconut oil and mango butter melt together and pour into silicone molds, then pop out as solid bars that melt on contact with warm skin. She stacks a batch in a wide mouth mason jar for gifting. They're light enough for summer and rich enough for cracked winter hands.
26. Gingerbread Spiced Nuts
Elaine's party nuts taste like gingerbread with a little heat. Mixed unsalted nuts get tossed in a whisked egg white so the spices stick, then coconut sugar, her homemade gingerbread spice blend of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves and nutmeg, sea salt, pepper and a pinch of paprika go on before they roast. A galvanized bucket of them with a sprig of holly is the hostess gift that disappears first. They keep for a couple of weeks in a jar, if they last that long.
27. Beer Bread Mix In A Jar
Melissa's beer bread mix is two ingredients and it never fails. Three cups of self rising flour and three tablespoons of sugar go into a quart mason jar, and the free printable tag tells the giftee to stir in a bottle of beer, pour it into a loaf pan and bake. That's the whole recipe. Tie a red polka dot ribbon around the jar with a red whisk and, if you're feeling generous, a six pack. Add dried herbs or Parmesan for a savory version.
28. Leather Mason Jar Sleeve
Josh turned a pint mason jar into a proper mug with a strip of heavy leather. He wrapped the leather around the jar to mark the length, cut a rectangle and a handle strip, scratched a diamond design into the front and cut it out with a craft knife, punched holes and set snap fasteners so the sleeve closes and the handle rivets on. Thick leather, a punch, a snap setter and a hammer are the whole kit. It's the coffee gift for the guy who's hard to buy for.
29. Cutting Board Tablet Holder
Liz built this for reading recipes off a tablet without propping it against the flour canister. A wooden cutting board is the back, a short length of 1×2 cut on the miter saw and glued and brad nailed along the bottom edge makes the lip that holds the tablet, and a second block behind props the whole thing at a reading angle. Stain it or leave it raw. She cut her own board with a jigsaw, but a store bought board works. Give it with a favorite recipe already loaded.
30. Gingerbread Spice Mix
Natalie mixes her own gingerbread spice every December because the jar at the store is stale by the time you open it. Ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves and nutmeg get measured into a bowl, stirred and funneled into a small corked jar with a tiny wooden spoon tied on with raffia. It goes into cookies, cakes, muffins, pancakes and lattes all winter, and you can adjust the ginger up or the cloves down to taste. Five spices from the cabinet make a whole row of jars.
31. Winter Forest Soap
Julie's winter forest soap is melt and pour, so there's no lye and no waiting. A green tinted layer of soap base scented with pine and cedar goes into a loaf mold first, a spritz of rubbing alcohol pops the bubbles and helps the layers bond, then a white layer pours on top like snow. Once it sets, slice it with a crinkle cutter so every bar has a wavy top edge. Wrap each one in kraft paper for a stocking stuffer that smells like a tree lot.
32. Scrap Wood Cookbook Stand
Donna's cookbook stand is built from scraps of 1×10 poplar and it keeps the recipe book up off the flour. A back board, an angled base and a lip along the bottom get cut on the miter saw, sanded, glued and brad nailed together. Then she tapes off the top third and paints the bottom two thirds white so the finish is two toned, raw wood above and crisp paint below. It holds a hardback cookbook or a tablet. Give it with a vintage cookbook propped in it.
33. Yardstick Wood Coasters
Donna's coasters are little pallets made from cedar strips and an old yardstick. Cut the cedar strips to size, cut short pieces of yardstick to flank both ends, predrill so the wood doesn't split and screw the pieces together with short screws and washers, starting in the middle of each side. Stack four, tie them with jute and tuck in a tag that says wood you like to join me for a cup of coffee. Junk store yardsticks are a dollar and one makes several sets.
34. Spa In A Jar
Stephanie Rose packs a whole at home spa into one quart mason jar, all scented to match. Her eucalyptus and mint theme runs through a foot soak, a sugar scrub, a tin of lip balm and paper packets of tub tea, each with its own label, and every recipe is on her site. Pick your own scent theme, lavender or citrus or rosemary, and make all four in one afternoon. The jar becomes the gift box, and the labels make it look like it came from a spa boutique.
35. Felt Apple Coasters
Agnes designed these apple coasters for teacher gifts, and the number one teacher lettering on one says so. Two layers of red felt get cut into an apple shape and stitched together with embroidery thread, then a green felt leaf and a brown felt stem tuck in at the top. One apple gets a bite taken out, one gets the lettering. A set of four in a ribbon is the gift for the teacher who has enough mugs. Felt is a dollar a sheet, so the set is under five.
36. Angel, Elf And Reindeer Candy Jars
Melissa's candy jars come as a trio, and the angel is the one with the free printable wings. A smooth sided quart jar gets filled with white pearl gumballs, a band of gold glitter tape goes around the lid, paper angel wings on white cardstock glue to the back and a jingle bell hangs from a gold twine tag. Her elf jar has a red felt collar and green candies, and the reindeer wears pipe cleaner antlers and a pom pom nose. All the tags are one free download.
37. Map Mason Jar Bank
Claire's savings jars are decoupaged in map napkins, one a world map and one a New York street map, and each is a travel fund with a luggage tag. Spray the jar white first so the thin napkin doesn't show through, separate the printed layer of the napkin, brush it onto the glass with matte decoupage medium and smooth it with cardboard. A slot cut in the lid takes the coins. Pick the map of the place they're saving for and write the fund on the tag.
38. Fabric Trimmed Tea Towels
Jessica took a break from yarn for these and they're the fastest sewing gift here. Plain white flour sack towels get a wide band of pretty cotton print stitched across the bottom, either with a zigzag along the edges or with the raw edges folded under and pressed first if the fabric frays. Two towels in coordinating prints, folded and tied with a ribbon, make a kitchen gift for about four dollars. Cut teacups or Christmas trees from the fabric instead of a band if you want to get fancy.
39. Crochet Face Scrubbies
Amanda's face scrubbies are three and a half inch squares of DK cotton in a mixed cluster stitch, so the texture does the exfoliating and they wash and dry a hundred times without fraying. The free pattern is a chain of sixteen and a handful of rows, and one skein makes a whole stack. Crochet them in a soft pink and a charcoal, tie five together with a ribbon and pair them with a bar of homemade soap from this list. Every one takes about twenty minutes on the couch.
40. Geometric 2×4 Candle Holder
Colleen made this from less than two feet of a 2×4 and a belt sander. Clamp the board down and use the edge of the sander with 80 grit paper to grind away random facets until the block looks carved, smooth it with a sanding block, then drill a row of three quarter inch holes for taper candles and rub in a finishing paste. Six white tapers in a row turn one scrap board into a centerpiece that looks like a design store piece. Give it with the candles.
41. Alcohol Ink Coasters
Sacha's coasters look like polished agate and start as four inch white ceramic tiles from the hardware store. Drops of alcohol ink in two or three colors go on the tile, a dropper of rubbing alcohol spreads them into blooms and veins, and a metallic mixative adds the gold threads. A spray of varnish seals them, black paint covers the edges and a self adhesive cork square goes on the back. Four in a stack tied with jute is a gift that costs a couple of dollars in tiles.
42. Bubbling Foot Scrub And Soak
Bren's foot soak bubbles because there's body wash in it. Two cups of Epsom salt and half a cup of coarse sea salt get stirred with three tablespoons of a favorite scented body wash, a spoonful of almond or olive oil and a few drops of essential oil, then spooned into an airtight jar. Half a cup in warm running water makes a fifteen minute foot soak, and the leftover salt scrubs the rough spots. Her printable round labels turn a plain glass jar into a spa gift.
43. Book Lover Tote Bag
Meredith made this for her sister, who has been a book lover her whole life, and it's the gift for anyone whose purse is really a book bag. A canvas tote with leather handles gets a quote about books cut from black heat transfer vinyl on a cutting machine, mirrored, then ironed on. She designed her own lettering, but any script font works. Fill the bag with a paperback and a bag of good coffee and the whole gift comes in under twenty dollars.
44. Fabric Tape Bangles
Bre's bangles are wooden bracelet blanks from the craft store dressed up in paint and fabric washi tape. Paint each bangle in a solid color, navy, pink or turquoise, let it dry, then wrap strips of floral fabric tape around it in stripes or diagonals. Fabric tape stretches and flattens around the curve, which is why it works where paper washi wouldn't. Three stacked on a wrist is a gift, and a whole set costs a few dollars in blanks and tape. Teens can make these themselves.
45. Christmas Tree Granola Jar
Angie paints the outside of a quart jar green with a tree shape masked off, so the granola shows through the tree, and it's the cutest food gift here. Her coconut almond granola bakes with oats, coconut, almonds, dried cranberries and green and red candy coated chocolates stirred in after it cools. The lid gets red glitter and one of her free printable labels. Fill it with candy instead if you're short on time. The painted jar is the part people keep.
46. Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
Nana's hot chocolate mix is powdered milk, powdered coffee creamer, unsweetened cocoa and powdered sugar stirred together in a big bowl, and it keeps all season in an airtight container. She bags single servings with a handful of mini marshmallows, staples a bright printable label across the top and tucks a candy cane in the bag. One batch fills a couple dozen bags, so it covers the bus driver, the mail carrier and the whole classroom. Add water or hot milk and stir.
47. Snowman Sugar Scrub Jar
Jessica's peppermint sugar scrub is white, which is the whole idea, because the jar becomes a snowman. Sugar, coconut oil and peppermint oil get stirred together and packed into a pint mason jar, three black buttons glue down the front for his coat, and a strip of red felt tied around the neck of the jar is his scarf. Her printable snowman tag hangs from baker's twine. The peppermint cools the skin and smells like Christmas. Make the scrub in one bowl and dress six jars.
48. Beaded Wire Earrings
Kandice bends these from two gauges of jewelry wire and a handful of beads. Heavy 18 gauge wire forms a geometric frame, a diamond or a kite shape, then thin 26 gauge wire wraps back and forth across the frame threading rows of teal crystal beads, lime seed beads and bronze beads along the way, so the frame fills with diagonal stripes of color. A loop at the top takes an earring hook. Pliers, wire and beads are the whole kit, and a new pair costs about a dollar.
49. Woodburned Name Banner
Becky's name banner is the personalized gift for a kid's room, and it uses no woodburning tool at all. Wood pennant blanks get a coat of stain, then a reusable silkscreen letter stencil goes on each one and a thin layer of woodburning paste gets squeegeed through it. A heat gun or a low oven darkens the paste into crisp burned letters. String the pennants on twine and hang them over a bed or a party table. Spell the name, a nickname or Merry Christmas.
50. Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce
Ginnie's caramel skips the scary part. Instead of cooking white sugar until it colors, a stick of butter and light brown sugar melt together, heavy cream goes in and it simmers into a silky sauce with a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt. No thermometer, no watching for the exact shade of amber. It pours into half pint jars and keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Tie a plaid dish towel around the jar and give it with a pint of good vanilla ice cream.
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