100+ Quick & Easy Holiday Homemade Gift Ideas

Need a last-minute gift idea for someone on your list? Short on time and/or funds? Then check out these 100-plus best quick and easy holiday homemade gift ideas!

Need a last-minute holiday gift idea for someone on your list?

Short on time and/or funds?

Then you need some of

The Best Homemade Christmas Gifts that are Fun to Make AND Give:

Time’s running short – Christmas is almost here! But

  • you’re still looking for the perfect “little something” for the neighbors, the neighborhood kids, the aunts and uncles, or that one last person on your Christmas gift list.
  • Or your kiddos’ gift-giving plans are more expansive than their wallets.
  • Or your own finances are tight this season.

Whatever the reason, you’re still scrambling for Christmas gifts that won’t break the bank. That’s why I’ve pulled together this list of over 100 quick and easy homemade gifts. These quick holiday homemade gift ideas are so simple to make, your kids can help. Many of them use inexpensive ingredients that are easy to get, or that you may already have on hand. And they’re as fun to give as to receive!

Imagine how proud your little ones will be to say, “I made it myself!” If you’re ready for some crafting fun, grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit back, and enjoy scrolling through all the clever holiday homemade gifts, perfect for kids and adults alike to gift this holiday season, in this collection!

Many thanks in advance to all the fellow bloggers who generously allowed me to share their ideas, and their photos, in this collection of homemade gift ideas! See a gift you like in the photo collages below? Each photo is numbered to correspond to the post listed below; click on each post link for more photos along with complete step-by-step instructions.

The BEST Easy-To-Make Homemade Gift Ideas, for Christmas and Year-Round:

Food & Drink Homemade Gift Ideas:

Everything Hot Chocolate/Cocoa

The only thing better than a mug of warm hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day, is one that comes from a special homemade cocoa mix! The extra add-ins give your cup of cocoa an extra flavor kick, while reminding you of the love that went into making them! Give these a try:

1) this adorable hot chocolate in a Rudolph-decorated jar, compliments of The Country Chic Cottage;

2-4) three different varieties (original, Mexican, AND Peppermint!) from the Snappy Gourmet;

5) or this super-cute reindeer-themed cocoa mix from the Ottawa Mommy Club.

Mason-Jar Mixes

Mason jar mixes are so fun and easy to assemble. Moreover, they’re a practical gift that helps the recipient whip up something yummy and home-cooked, with minimal time and effort.

6) For a yummy meal-in-a-jar idea, get your kids to help you assemble a batch of French Market Soup Mix, then cook up some for your own family. (It’s naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, and I include vegetarian/vegan options in the recipe.)

And here’s a secret: As long as you have the correct jar size for the contents (preferably wide-mouth for easier filling), you can put the dry ingredients for pretty much any cookie or muffin mix into a jar for an instant gift! Layer the ingredients in the jar, attach a tag with directions (including what additional wet ingredients the recipient will need to add), and decorate as you wish!

For some sample ideas along these lines to get you started, see 7) Hunny I’m Home’s jarred Monster Cookie Mix (gluten-free!).


Fudges and Candies

Homemade fudges and other candies are a classic Christmastime hostess gift. Check out these delectable ideas:

8-11) Dancing in the Rain’s White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge, Swirls of Flavor’s Candy Cane Fudge, The Monday Box’s Quick & Easy Peppermint Fudge, or Vegan Chocolate Fudge from Happy Kitchen;

12-14) Homemade bark ideas, from straight-up chocolate bark (Daisies & Pie), to vegan peppermint bark (Pink Fortitude) – or, for a fun twist, these ridiculously simple peppermint bark cookies (Swirls of Flavor);

15-17) And of course, truffles and peanut butter balls! I LOVE peanut butter balls, and The Rising Spoon has a great recipe for  healthy peanut butter balls that I can’t wait to try! Ditto these sugar-free dark chocolate truffles from Low Carb Yum. Or if you’re looking for something a little different, check out these scrumptious funfetti truffles from The Baller On A Budget.

Gluten-Free Edibles

18-20) Strength and Sunshine has some great recipes for gluten-free yummies, including chocolate covered pretzels and cinnamon-sugar pretzels. There’s even a recipe for festive rolled  gluten-free sugar cookies with sugar-free icing.

21-22) Need a “healthier” idea for that special someone who’s watching what they eat? Try these keto coconut-flour brownies from Low Carb Yum, or these delicious homemade no-bake granola bars from Happy Kitchen. (They’re both gluten-free and vegan, too!)

23-24) And of course, candied nuts are a satisfying snack that’s naturally gluten-free. I love this recipe for Maple Candied Pecans from The Peachee Pear, and this one for caramelized nuts from Rhian’s Recipes.

Other Yummy Munchies

25-26) Hunny I’m Home has the cutest edible snowman-in-a-jar gift idea, as well as a quick and easy s’mores snack mix that you can gift in a jar – to your favorite teacher, or any other special person on your list!

27-28) And who wouldn’t love a jar of homemade Chex Mix to munch on? Well, get this: using your slow cooker for The Holy Mess’s version makes this classic treat super-easy. (She even includes a low-fat variation!)

29-31) Finally, if you want some ways to dress up your mason jars for gifting, check out these jar-painting ideas from Sustain My Craft Habit, or these adorable paint jobs from Happiest Camper Homestead. Or if you prefer, you could use these gorgeous printable gift tags from Bitz & Giggles on your jars.

Beautiful Baskets

32-33) Homemade gift baskets, whether of your own edibles, store-bought yummies, or a mix of the two, are always fun to assemble. For a few ideas to get you started, see this lovely popcorn-themed gift basket idea from Hunny I’m Home, or tips on making the perfect wine gift basket from Simplify Live Love.

Self-Care & Pampering Homemade Gift Ideas:

For the Bath/Shower

I don’t know anyone who’s NOT in need of a little extra pampering and self-care, We all can use reminders and opportunities to take a little downtime for ourselves, and these gift ideas are a perfect reminder to. do so:

34-36) The girls and I love making/gifting these recipes for lip balm, sugar scrub hand soap, and bath salts – just as much as those to whom we’ve gifted them love using them!

37-39) For an exfoliating body scrub that’s more appropriate for the shower, try Little Feet Big Adventures’s invigorating peppermint sugar scrub, Meraki Mother’s relaxing lavender sugar scrub, or This Mama Cooks’s coffee scrub.

40-41) For those who prefer baths, why not make some bath bombs with your kids? These rose gold/rose petal bath bombs from Military Fam of 8 are especially beautiful. And this fresh avocado bath bomb recipe from Happiest Camper Homestead is both skin-nourishing and reinvigorating.

Other Self-Care/Pampering Ideas

42) Those especially prone to chapped lips are sure to appreciate some lavender-vanilla lip scrub from Making Manzanita.

43-45) Whether for the bath/shower or by the sink, homemade soap is something everyone can put to good use! A quick and easy way to give this fun craft a try is with the “upcycled soap” recipe from Craft Invaders. Pumpkin pie spice soap from Country Hill Cottage is perfect for those who love cozy cool-weather scents. And for soap that’s as beautiful as it is calming, try Outnumbered 3-to-1’s gorgeous eucalyptus soap.

46-51) Speaking of cozy scents: When I was young, my mama used to keep some potpourri simmering on the stove throughout the cooler months. What better way to gift that comfort in a jar than with your own homemade potpourri? Country Hill Cottage has six fabulous potpourri blends you can craft and gift.

52-53) And let’s not forget about pampering the spirit, too! These homemade Christmas tree beeswax candles from Mama Likes This are both festive and useful – perfect for getting into the Christmas spirit, and for unwinding during this busy holiday season. Even better, The Rising Spoon’s handmade essential oil diffuser necklace is great fun to craft, AND a great way for recipients to unwind with their favorite scents.

54) Finally, remember that guys can also use some TLC! The bearded men in your life will surely love Happiest Camper Homestead’s homemade beard balm. (More ideas that my hubby, at least, would LOVE are in the very next section.)

Homemade Gift Ideas For Those Who Cook:

For the gourmands and home cooks alike on your list, gifts they can use in the kitchen or at the grill are sure to be a hit. Besides the French Market Soup mix and other jarred mixes I listed above, here are some of my fave DIY gifts for your favorite foodies:

55-56) If you’ve never tried homemade versions of your favorite cooking seasonings, trust me: the homemade ones are way better.  That’s why fans of Taco Tuesdays are sure to appreciate homemade taco seasoning from This Mama Cooks, as well as homemade fajita seasoning from Sonshine Kitchen.

57-58) Along the same lines, Tasty Galaxy’s homemade rotisserie chicken rub is another mix that’s sure to please. It would pair well in a gift basket with some of Sonshine Kitchen’s onion soup mix – perfect for soup, dip, and all those other things that I love to use onion soup mix for!

59-61) Finally, for the baker on your list, how about some homemade pumpkin pie spice from Mean Green Chef, along with some peppermint sugar from Mama Likes to Cook? You could pair them with this cute whisk gift idea from For the Love of Food.

Homemade Gift Ideas Especially for Kids:

What’s more fun for kids than giving their friends presents that they made themselves? These cute ideas are sure to please – or maybe you’ll want to make some for your own kiddos first!

62-63) Not only are these bath fizzies (bath bombs) from Saving Dollars and Sense calming before bed, but they’ve got a hidden “surprise” inside! The same is true for this fun glitter mermaid soap from Glitter On A Dime.

64-65) Little kids love playing with play-dough, and even bigger kids can find kneading dough relaxing. So why not give them one of Parties Made Personal’s homemade play-dough play kit? Or even better for Christmas, give them In The Kids Kitchen’s Christmas play dough gift basket!

66-67) Or if your kids/their friends are more into slime than play-dough these days, they can have fun making and gifting The Soccer Mom Blog’s clever Christmas tree slime kit, or Hunny I’m Home DIY’s slime gift basket for kids.

68-69) Unicorn lovers of all ages will no doubt appreciate this cute unicorn pen holder craft from Busy Mommy Media, as well as this adorable unicorn wall art designed by Craft With Sarah.

70-73) Looking for more practical kids’ gifts? Then check out this great glow-in-the-dark personalized water bottle tutorial from Not Quite SuperMom. Or this easy tartan bow hair clip from Francine’s Place Blog. This bow-style fleece ear warmer featured on Fleece Fun is great for kids and adults alike. And this DIY headband from Happiest Camper Homestead is a great craft to teach your kids about recycling, since it’s made from T-shirt scraps!

74) And finally, this so-cute-and-easy pocket-sized tic-tac-toe game from Life Should Cost Less is portable fun that’s easy to customize for other holidays. (Essie got one with heart-shaped buttons for Valentine’s Day one year!)

Fun & Useful Homemade Gift Ideas:

75) If your home is like ours, you need good strong magnets all over the place – on the fridge, inside the door, on the kids’ memo board, etc. Recently, the girls made some cute magnets (see picture above) by decoupaging magazine pictures onto the back of large glass beads, then gluing strong magnets onto the back of the pictures. It was really that simple!


76-77) For some fun variations on the homemade magnet theme, see these adorable fingerprint magnets from Rhythms of Play, or these cute bottle cap magnets from Titus 2 Homemaker.

78-80) Rock pets and kindness rocks are also cute gifts that kids can give to each other, or to grownups. I made the rock pet in the picture above for Essie a few years ago with just glue and stickers. And the girls used paint pens to put inspirational messages on stones at summer camp. For a more sophisticated variation on this theme, see these beautiful leaf-painted rocks by Country Hill Cottage. All three of these ideas work well as decorations or paperweights.

81-82) Have any gardeners on your list? Artsy Fartsy Mama has a tutorial for gorgeous handpainted galaxy-design flowerpots. Or for another lesson in upcycling, you can repurpose old mugs and similar containers into chic rustic planters with the tutorial from Craft Invaders.

83-84) Another fun way to recycle/upcycle things you no longer use is to make stunning marbled patterns on everyday objects with leftover almost-empty bottles of nail polish. For just two ideas of how to make lovely homemade gifts this way, see Strength and Sunshine’s marbled nail polish mugs, or Country Hill Cottage’s marbled nail polish coasters.

85-88) More upcycling fun: If you have leftover glass jars kicking around, you can repurpose them in all sorts of ways besides the mason-jar gifts listed above. Several perfect-for-gifting ideas from Harassed Mom include sewing kits, pen-and-pencil holders, kitchen-tool holders, and fairy lanterns.

89) And don’t forget your four-legged friends! With some leftover turkey or chicken scraps plus this recipe from Two Healthy Kitchens, you can make homemade dog treats!

Decorative Homemade Gift Ideas:

90-91) Holiday ornaments are a fun and easy gift for even the littlest crafters to make. My girls have been making these paper clip angels for teachers ever since they were in preschool. Preschool is also when they first learned to make cinnamon-applesauce ornaments; Strength and Sunshine has step-by-step instructions for homemade cinnamon ornaments if these are new to you.

92-93) Photo frames are another fun and easy gift for kids to make – perfect for displaying those school photos! A Cowboy’s Life has a simple DIY holiday photo frame that’s great for even the littlest crafters. Another super-easy idea is Soccer Mom Blog’s salt dough photo frame.

94-96) If you know kids anything like mine, they could sit and watch snow globes swirl around for hours. Want to know how to make your own? See The Soccer Mom Blog’s DIY Christmas snow globe, Bits & Giggles’s instructions for an illuminated snow scene in a jar, or the DIY snow globe tutorial at Little Bins for Little Hands.

97-100) And finally, there are so many ways your kids can make simple but display-worthy wall art to give as gifts. My Nourished Home gives step-by-step instructions for a pretty string art Christmas tree craft. For those who love nature, try a 3D wall art piece made out of nature (you know, those pockets full of “things” that kids seem to “collect” all the time) with step-by-step directions from Craft Invaders. Or this super-sweet four seasons thumbprint tree set from Rhythms of Play. Theirs is done on stretched canvas, but I could imagine a similar pattern done on four ceramic tiles. One of my girls made me a ceramic-tile fingerprint flower scene back in preschool (see picture above), and I cherish it to this day.

101) Finally, for a gift to your family that makes a wonderful keepsake, try making a set of memory jars. For instructions on how to make and use this truly thoughtful gift, see Strength and Sunshine’s touching explanation and instructions.

There you have it! – over 100 fun, quick and easy homemade gift ideas! Happy crafting, and giving!

Which of these gifts have you made (or received) before? Which would you most like to make, or to receive? Let us know in the comments!

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35 thoughts on “100+ Quick & Easy Holiday Homemade Gift Ideas”

  1. My children all made homemade gifts for each other. They were so cute scurrying around and whispering the day they made them! I think I’ll save this post though so that next year we can step up our homemade gift game because these idea’s are excellent!

  2. Not only am I a last minute shopper, but I also love the thoughtfulness and personalization of a homemade gift. There are so many great ideas here!

    1. Thank you so much! (And me, too! – lots of fun baking/cooking ahead for the girls and me over the next 2 weeks, followed by lots of fun craft projects 🙂 …)

  3. This list is amazing! I appreciate all the time you spent putting this together. I really appreciate the gluten free treats as many friends and family members are often left out because they can’t eat gluten. I have pinned this and will refer to it often. Thank you for this post!

    1. Aww, you are so welcome! My baby bro has only recently developed gluten tolerance issues, so wanted to cover all the bases 🙂

  4. Hi Flossie – Oh my goodness, I love all of these amazing ideas for homemade holiday gifts. PINNED! Thank you for including my Vegan Peppermint Bark. My heart is full of gratitude. Happy holidays to you! Hugs, Holly

    1. You are so welcome, Holly! (can’t wait to give it a try sometime – it looks so yummy!) We are SO late on our holiday baking this year, haven’t even started yet because our first floor is a construction zone, so I think we’re going to be baking from tomorrow straight through New Year, and I can’t wait to dig into all these yummy recipes! 🙂

  5. I love having great homemade gift ideas in my back pocket. And of course, you know I like gifting food! I was at my son’s elementary school today and happened to be eating lunch with his teacher who tried my homemade treacle fudge that I had with me and she loved it. Guess what she’s getting as part of her gift tomorrow?!

    1. Aww, that is so awesome! (And treacle fudge? #yesplease) I haven’t made my signature fudge yet this year – one of these years I should post the recipe (dark-chocolate-PB!)…

    1. Aren’t they? I can totally see doing this as a craft project sometime when my girls have a sleepover 🙂 #sofun

    1. Totally! And really, as I was sifting through ideas for what to include in this post, a lot of them really ARE easy enough that kids should be able to manage them or at least help with them – and if nothing else, the homemade mixes just involve combining the raw ingredients 🙂 So don’t give up on everything here, even as you keep supporting all the amazing people who share their handiwork on Etsy 🙂

  6. Homemade gifts are so thoughtful and fun to make! When my kids were little we make the mason jar gifts and people seemed to love them. And as a teacher, I always enjoyed receiving homemade gifts too.

    1. Oh, that is so good to know, because we ALWAYS give teachers homemade gifts! I’ve received many pictures over the years of the girls’ homemade ornaments hanging on the teachers’ trees at home 🙂

  7. Food gifts are definitely the easiest in my mind! Making them myself or buying at the store, easy peasy! I have never tried doing a mason jar gift. Don’t think people would appreciate salmon in a jar? lol. ALTHOUGH – I totally would hahahahaha!

    1. Oh, yeah, YOU totally would – when I used to live in MN, they had a kind of sort of pickled fish there called lutefisk (soaked in lye somehow, I think – i confess I never had any) that one could make/jar/gift, I suppose 🙂 And would some of the spice mixes be GiGi-system-approved, at least? 🙂

    1. LOL! Yes, grandparents are total suckers for homemade gifts! The year the girls gave my mama a basket of spa goodies they’d made themselves, you might have thought she’d died and gone to heaven!

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