Homemade Holiday Gifts to Make the Season Bright

As the Holiday Season rolls around once more, lights are twinkling and shop windows are filling with boxes and bows. Gift-giving is meant to be an act of sharing love, appreciation, and affection with the important people in our lives – but sometimes holiday shopping can feel frenzied, pressured, and expensive. This year don’t let consumerism and price tags steal the sparkle of the season. Keep reading for ideas that will help you skip the stores and spend a little time at home creating thoughtful and fun homemade gifts for your loved ones. A homemade gift from the heart is often a simple and sweet reminder of what the season is really about. And who knows? Creating homemade gifts could become a time-honored tradition that you and your loved ones look forward to year after a year.

From your kitchen to theirs

Everyone knows that the holiday season is synonymous with cookies and sweet treats. Choose your favorite cookie recipe and bake a few batches to gift to your friends and family. Your time in the kitchen is valuable, and your delicious treat on their counter will be appreciated! Baking the same cookies each year can also start a sweet tradition. There is a plethora of different styled holiday treat boxes and containers to make the gift more festive. Or you can opt for a simple bakery box or large mason jar with a piece of twine or a beautiful ribbon. Add a pine twig, dried orange, cookie cutter, and/or small ornament to the ribbon for aesthetics.

When sharing baked goods, another thoughtful touch is to include your recipe. Whether hand-written or designed using a template on free design sites like canva.com, the recipe card gives the recipient something to hold onto long after the last crumbs have been eaten. If it is a favorite family recipe passed down from generations, a framed recipe could make a wonderful stand-alone present for family members. (Pro hack: Baking cookies and freezing cookies a head of time in the months leading up to Christmas can help space out the work and time spent, especially if you have a long list of recipients to bake for!)

Mason jars filled with pre-measured dry ingredients and a recipe card make a wonderful gift.

A mason jar filled with dry ingredients is another fun gift from the kitchen that uses recipe cards. Choose a favorite recipe, measure the dry ingredients and carefully layer them into a mason jar using a small funnel, then use ribbon or twine to add a tag that instructs the baker to add the remaining ingredients in the recipe, i.e. “Add milk, eggs, and butter,” and include the recipe card.

Mason jars make exceptional receptacles for holiday gifts from your kitchen to theirs – and can be bought in bulk and in a variety of sizes. Some simple and easy gifts to pass along in a mason jar include:

• Homemade hot cocoa mix: combine confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, powdered milk, cornstarch, and salt in a mason jar with a tag that reads, “Add hot water or milk.” Adding a ribbon, marshmallows and a cute wooden spoon is a festive touch.
• Homemade olive oil dipping seasoning: combine (in equal parts) dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, coarse kosher salt, and black pepper. Add half parts of red pepper flakes, dried rosemary, and dried thyme. Mix spices together and fill a small mason or spice jar. Add a ribbon and a pretty tag or label with instructions to mix 1 Tablespoon of the spice mixture with half a cup high-quality, extra-virgin olive oil and let sit in a dish for 15 minutes before dipping bread. This gift can be made more extravagant by including a bottle of olive oil and/or an ornate dipping plate.
• Homemade seasoned salt: combine two parts fine sea salt with one part each of ground black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix spices together and fill a small, traditional spice jar. You can easily find packs of spice jars online, from packs of eight to twenty-eight, to order based on how many gifts you want to make. Some packs even come with blank labels.

*For each of these suggestions, there are a variety of recipes available online, with different sized batches. Choose the one you like best!

A large batch of homemade vanilla extract separated into small bottles makes a great gift for everyone on your list.

Vanilla extract, vanilla sugar, and homemade Limoncello are also a sweet way to share the love. With both of these, you typically need a few weeks to allow the concoction to sit (8 weeks for vanilla extract and 4-6 weeks for Limoncello). If you are planning ahead for next year, start your batch in the early fall. One or two batches can fill several small bottles, enough for each person on your list! Handmade labels or labels designed on free design sites like canva.com add a personal touch to a delicious gift.

Homemade specialty simple syrups and a recipe card for a holiday cocktail make a festive gift for adults – this can stand alone as a gift or be paired with a bottle of spirits or holiday glassware to cheers to the season.

Memories that warm the heart

Gifting a memento of a cherished time together is a heartfelt way to spread joy. Choose a favorite photo to print at a local CVS or order prints from sites like Shutterfly.com. If you enjoy crafting, you can use prints to create custom magnets or coasters. DIY magnet kits are inexpensive and easy to use. Create a set of magnets that capture memories, friends, family, pets, and other favorite photos. For custom coasters, you can purchase plain tiles from a local hardware store and cut to size pieces of adhesive cork to add to the back, buy pre-made plain ceramic coasters from a craft store or on Amazon, or buy bamboo coasters for crafting. Cut your photos to size and add to the coaster using dishwasher-safe Modge Podge, let dry and then coat with acrylic spray sealer or Minwax polycrylic.

If you aren’t the crafty type, you can design and order custom photo magnets, coasters, and other personalized gifts from sites like Shutterfly.com. (Pro tip: If you create a free account on Shutterfly and sign up for their newsletter, you will receive email promotions including freebies that you can design and order while only paying for shipping.)

Another fantastic gift-giving option is writing and decorating a handmade gift card to create a new memory together. Whether it’s a homemade invitation to attend a concert or event, grab a meal at their favorite local restaurant, or go to a movie or play together – it is a gift that will not clutter their home but will make a memory that lasts in their heart.

Making the season merry

Share meaningful memories with mini frame ornaments and favorite photographs.

Gifts that are specific to the holiday season and can be brought out with the décor year after year are a lasting way to remind someone that they are loved. For those who put up a Christmas tree each year, a personalized ornament is a cherished present. You can find small frame ornaments at dollar stores, big box stores, and Amazon to frame favorite photos. Or get a little creative with ornaments that have a frame shape and may already have writing on them. You can glue a photo or paper cut-to-size over the original messaging and add your own favorite quote, message, or drawing.

Re-using ornate gift tags and holiday cards is a creative way to up-cycle. You can put a vintage tag in a small tabletop frame, hanging ornament, or magnet frame or place a beautiful holiday card in a pretty wooden frame for the mantle. The imagery on holiday wrapping paper, bags, tags, and cards is often beautiful enough to re-use and looks like high-end holiday décor without the price tag.

Whatever you choose to make and share with your loved ones – a gift homemade with love will warm their hearts and homes.