There’s always something special about the love, effort, and time that go into homemade Christmas gifts. Well, what babysitter, teacher, grandma, or auntie can’t put some DIY spa treatments to good use?
Especially when you’ve got little ones who want to be generous but are short on cash, DIY is a fun, thoughtful way to go. In an ideal world, though, DIY gifts should also be something the recipient can actually USE. DIY spa treatments are easy to make and fit the bill.
Kimmie and I first learned how to make bath salts, sugar scrub, and lip balm last spring at a STEM day for Girl Scouts at our local science museum. With the holidays approaching, it’s occurred to us that these recipes would make super Christmas gift ideas.
So with that in mind, here’s a fun morning of DIY spa treatments you can make for holiday gifting! (Be sure to make some extras to keep and enjoy when you’re done!)
Homemade Christmas Gifts: DIY Spa Treatments
1) Homemade Lip Balm
Who doesn’t get chapped lips in winter? Winter’s cooler, drier air can really do a number on our lips. But slathering on some of this lip balm before bed (or whenever you need it) will help keep your lips soft and moisturized!
- 4 tsp. coconut oil, melted in a microwave-safe bowl
- 3 tsp. petroleum jelly
- 1 packet flavored drink mix (like Kool-Aid)
- a small jar with a tight-fitting lid for storing
In a small bowl, combine all three ingredients thoroughly with a spoon, before the coconut oil cools and solidifies. Once cooled, store in a small airtight jar. To use, dab a small amount on your lips and spread evenly with your finger.
2) DIY Sugar Scrub
This is a perfect recipe for winter gift-giving because it helps battle that dry winter skin. And the best part is you probably already have everything you need to make it!
All you need for this easy gift is
- white granulated sugar
- your favorite liquid dish soap in your preferred scent (preferably a moisturizing variety)
- a small bowl to mix it in
- a wide-mouth jar to store it in
In a small bowl, mix equal amounts of sugar and dish soap thoroughly. If the final product seems too liquid, you can mix in more sugar as needed. Too granular? Add a little more dish soap and mix thoroughly.
Store in an airtight wide-mouth jar, and use a small dab whenever you wash your hands. The soap will clean your hands, the sugar will help scrub off the dead skin cells, and your hands will feel softer and smoother.
Another idea you can try is running some plain uncooked oats (either quick-cooking or old-fashioned is fine) through the blender. Once they’re ground into a fine powder, stir some of the powder into your hand scrub. Oatmeal is renowned for its ability to lock in moisture, so this can give your scrub an extra moisturizing boost.
3. DIY Bath Salts
With the craziness of the holiday season, who couldn’t use a good excuse to relax for awhile? A gift of homemade bath salts may be just the excuse someone needs to block off a little “me time” for a relaxing soak. And this super-easy DIY gift is so easy to mix up for even the littlest hands!
All you’ll need is
- 1 cup sea salt (coarse kosher salt will work and is less expensive) or pure rock salt
- 1 cup Epsom salt
- 2 Tbsp. baking soda
Mix all three ingredients thoroughly in a large heavy-duty zip-top bag. For fun, you can also add a few drops each of
- essential oils or extracts, and
- food coloring,
so your bath salts have a nice scent and color. My personal favorite is lavender for its ability to promote quality sleep.
4. Packaging your DIY spa treatments:
- Unless you regularly save glass jars to reuse, you’ll probably want to buy some clear matching jars to package your homemade goodies into 2-4 oz jars are perfect for lip gloss; 4-8 oz jars are great for sugar scrub; and for bath salts, you can do anything from 4 oz (1-2 baths’ worth) to 16 oz (4-8 baths’ worth).
- If you’re reusing jars, be sure to leave enough time to prepare them for use. You’ll need to carefully clean off the old labels, either with Goo-Gone or by soaking in hot water. (Be careful not to scratch the glass when scrubbing off labels!)
- If the jars have time/date/lot codes stamped on them, moisten a paper towel with rubbing alcohol and rub until the ink disappears.
- For recycled jars with ugly lids, you can either paint the lids (spray paint is quick and fast!), or cover them with a circle of colored card stock or a small circle of pretty fabric.
- Be sure to label all your products clearly. The first time we made these for gift-giving, I used some decorative removable sticky labels that I already had; but since the jar was smaller, for the lip balm I used my label maker.
Want to download your very own copy of these pretty printable labels? Then just ✅click here!
5. Making your baskets:
For gift-giving, all you’ll need is a nice gift bag or basket, some filler, and some pretty ribbon.
- If you’re using fabric to cover jar lids, secure the fabric with a rubber band, and cover the band with a festive ribbon.
- I have good luck finding empty baskets at thrift stores and secondhand craft stores for practically nothing. In a pinch, you could even use a plastic bin from the dollar store, or a gift bag.
RELATED POST: Why Baskets Rock
- I got the ribbon, sparkly filler, and basket I used for this basket from our local secondhand crafting supply store for less than $2 total.
That’s it!
Wasn’t that easy?
Have fun making these super-easy homemade Christmas gifts with your littles this weekend, and enjoy trying them out yourself after the holidays are behind you!
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I love DIY beauty products and it’s so thoughtful to give them in a gift basket. I would be so excited to receive something like that!
Nothing better than homemade gifts, it shows care care and love and kids especially have fun making them.
My thoughts exactly!
Wow I love these DIY gift ideas! I appreciate home made gifts too and these are much needed with the dry winter months. My hands and lips are chapped now.
I know exactly what you mean!
This looks awesome! I love spa treatments and this is a great DIY one!
Have fun making/enjoying them, then! 🙂
Thanks for sharing these! We are a crafty family and my daughter will love making these with me.
There’s something special about holiday-season crafting with your kiddos, isn’t there? 🙂
I’ve never tried to make beauty products from scratch. This looks like a fun project and thoughtful gifts!
They have been very well received every time we’ve gifted them, and the girls have SO much fun making them!
This is very creative, Flossie. I am saving your post to share with my older daughter, she likes to craft and DIY projects.
Oh, I am sure she will have fun with these, then! 🙂
These are all such great ideas! I love making and giving homemade gifts when I have the time!!
So do we! It does take a little planning ahead, but the girls SO enjoy being able to help with the making!
Very interesting! These are helpful hacks that make nice gifts. Home-made and personalized spa products are a lovely idea.
We think so, too! 🙂
These are very thoughtful and amazing gifts for a friend or loved one. I like how it’s personal and made with love!
So do we (and the recipients too!).
These are great ideas. I’ve made sugar scrubs to gift during Christmas. People loved them!
They are great self-care gifts for sure!
I’ve been looking for some good ideas like this. These are terrific gift ideas.
So glad you like them!
How cute are these homemade spa treatment ideas! I like that you’ve added them to your bathroom. They’d be great to include in this year’s holiday baskets. We’re focusing on self-care.
Then these go perfectly with you theme for the year!
I love the scrubs. I love the fact that you can change the smell or variety in a pack personable for someone.
So do we! It was fun for the girls to figure out what scents to make for my mama, vs. for me, etc. 🙂
I love making homemade Christmas gifts. I’m going to try a few of these recipes this CHristmas!
Do! They’re so fun AND easy!
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This is SO COOL! How fun! (And I love that they’re pretty simple, too.) Thanks for sharing these great ideas at #heartanddsoullinkup
You are so welcome! 🙂
I have all the ingredients for the lip balms. I bet my girls would love to make some for friends this year.
YES! Awesome idea!!!
I love gifts that are homemade. These would be so perfect for the women that I need to gift!
Aww, so glad you like them! 🙂
I might make these for myself :-p Such cool ideas!
Glad you like them! 🙂
This is such a cool idea. I would have never thought to do DIY spa products for gifts. Very economical.
Glad you liked them! 🙂
THis is a great idea! I would make these if I had the time. Personally, I would be happy to receive this as well.
Haha, me too! (FWIW, once you have all the supplies, the actual mixing takes maybe an hour for all three of these, so depending on how many people you’re making them for, add on maybe 1-2 more hours tops for packaging everything up…)
DIY is so much fun, I like this idea for Christmas, they would be perfect for someone I know, thank you for sharing!
You’re so welcome!
I love the idea of homemade gifts. This spa treatment gift looks great! The best part is, it’s all fairly easy to make. I know a few ladies who would love to get something like this.
You’re welcome, then! 😉
I always wanted to do this! I’ve made my own DIY Lush-inspired Bath Bombs before for my kids but I think I’ll do it for more people this year!
Bath bombs are one we haven’t tried yet, but I’ve been collecting recipes, so one of these days, we’ll give them a try, too! 🙂
I have totally done these over the years. I’ve been to one gift exchange that was a DIY only and it was a blast.
Oh, what a neat idea for a gift swap! Love it!
Homemade gifts are always nice to both give and receive. Love the idea of pamper treats xx
Me too! 🙂
Great gift ideas! I love homemade gifts, they are s special to receive!
I totally agree! Esp when they’re something that people can definitely use!
We have been making all of these DIY spa treatment for gifts the past few years. Everyone in our family loves them very much!
Aren’t they the best? 🙂
I love to pamper myself and all of these would be great gifts. I love that you add Kool-Aid to the mix. That always made me laugh.
I know! It’s the perfect thing for non-toxic flavor/coloring! 🙂
These make amazing gifts! I personally would love to receive this!
Me too! My girls are so excited to be gifting some of them!
This is such a great idea for a Christmas gift! I’ve made a homemade sugar scrub before and loved it, but keep forgetting to make more. I also have those small jars with the black lids that you link to that I bought for travel and they are great!
I know, aren’t those little jars just great? Love them for travel as well! 🙂