Christmas Gifts To Make - Easy Homemade Xmas Present Ideas

If you're looking for ideas for Christmas gifts to make, this article aims to help, by providing suggestions for a variety of homemade Xmas presents, from the simple to the more complex.

Why Make Your Own Christmas Presents?

What's so great about handmade Christmas gifts anyway? People choose to make their own presents for various reasons:

Cost – if you're looking for cheap Christmas presents, then making your own is a great idea, as this is often significantly cheaper than buying pre-made goods, and you can often end up with a much better quality item than you'd get for the same price if you were buying it from a store.

Environmentally friendly – making your own Xmas presents can also be a good way to do your bit for the environment in various ways, as you can choose to use 'green' materials, packaging will usually be significantly reduced, and the gift is more likely to be appreciated and kept by the recipient.

Unique – handmade Christmas presents are by definition one of a kind, which is great for those looking for unique gifts for their loved ones.

Creative – if you enjoy creative activities, Xmas is a great time to put your skills into action and have fun expressing yourself.

Extra-special – a homemade Christmas gift is often perceived to be more meaningful than a store-bought item, so if you want to make the recipient feel special, this is a great way to go about it.

Making your own Christmas presents can be as easy or as complex as you choose. If you're looking for easy homemade gift ideas, the following ideas should be pretty simple and not too time consuming:

Edible Christmas presents
If you like cooking, gifts of food are sure to go down well. Consider both sweet and savory ideas, such as chocolates, biscuits, cakes, and drinks. Gourmet cooks have a great chance to show off here, but you don't have to go that far if you don't want to – anyone who can follow a simple recipe can make something delicious! You could then package your creations in a festive tin or box – or decorate a plain box yourself for an extra-special effect.


Christmas gift baskets
Another easy DIY Christmas present option is to make your own gift basket. Xmas gift baskets are infinitely flexible – you can just buy a nice basket (or decorate your own), and fill it up with any number of items that the recipient might like. Ideas include food, drink, jewelry and trinkets, toiletries and cosmetics and much more. Try adding a sprig of mistletoe or holly for an extra festive touch.

Christmas stockings
Similar to the gift basket idea, you can buy (or make) an Xmas stocking, and fill it with a selection of small gifts – great for children and adults alike!


Dried or silk flower arrangement
Flowers are a popular Christmas gift, but they don't tend to last very long. A creative alternative is to buy some dried, silk or other artificial flowers, and create your own arrangement. You could wrap them in beautifully colored paper, or place them in a vase (which you could also decorate yourself).

Personalized items
If you want a Christmas gift that is tailored to the recipient, but don't want to make something completely from scratch, a personalised present is a good compromise. Visit a print-on-demand site like Zazzle, and you can choose to have your own photos/designs and/or messages printed onto a huge variety of merchandise, such as mugs, t-shirts and other clothing, keyrings, bumper stickers, cards, posters, pet clothing and much more!

Herb/spice samplers
If the person you're giving the gift to is interested in cooking, you could make up a selection of herbs and spices (perhaps focusing on more unusual varieties that they might not have already), and present them in a pretty basket or box. This works well for people who like drinking herbal teas too!

Candles
Candles make another lovely Christmas gift, and are easy to make yourself. You can also purchase candle-making kits to make the process even simpler, and can make Christmas-themed holders to place them in.

Hand painted and decorated items
As well as candles, you might also create other decorative items for the home. For example, you can get plain piggy bank money boxes which are designed to be painted with your own patterns, and you could do something similar with plain vases, crockery, picture frames and other items. As well as painting, you could attach decorative elements such as glitter, shells, sequins, rhinestones etc. to create something truly unique.

The following presents call for more skill, but if you're into an art or craft, Christmas is a great time to get creative and give someone else the benefit of your talent!


Framed painting/drawing
If you like painting or drawing, an original artwork makes an excellent gift.


Framed photo or montage
Similarly, you could frame one of your photos, or create a montage from a selection of photos and/or other images that will be meaningful to the recipient. 


Stuffed animals & other needlework items
Those who are handy with a needle could try making stuffed animals, cushions and similar items.

Jewelry & beaded items
Jewelry is a very common and popular gift, and is often appreciated by men as well as women. Hand-crafted jewelry makes a great alternative to mass-produced items, and can range from a simple elasticated bead bracelet which just about anyone can make, to elaborate wire sculpture or seed-bead weaving.

Knitted or crocheted clothing or homeware
Your recipient might have bad childhood memories of being forced to wear embarrassing hand knitted gifts from well-meaning relatives, but if you know how to knit or crochet, you can show them that today there's a fantastic range of stylish knitting and crochet patterns available, and a cosy sweater will make a great gift for this time of year in many climates. You could also knit or crochet blankets, cushion covers and other items for the home too.

Hand-crafted furniture
If you enjoy woodwork, a piece of hand-made furniture makes a memorable Christmas gift for someone special.

Hopefully this article has given you some ideas about Christmas gifts to make, which are sure to be appreciated on Christmas day!