Struggling for Christmas ideas this year? DIY gifts are a great way to save money, be green, and show some love to others!
I’m not putting the blame on anyone, but this year shipping from online stores seems exceptionally slow.
Even when I’m given a date when something is to ship, it’s often 3-4 days later that it actually does. And then the time it takes it to get here … ay yi yi!
I may find myself actually having to go to a store instead of shopping entirely online this year, as has been my habit. (Which, granted, is probably great for our LOCAL economy, if I can make time to scope out some independent shops!)
But when you’re down the wire, maybe browsing in-store just doesn’t feel like a great use of time. I’d rather be hanging out with my kids watching Christmas movies and baking dairy-free sugar cookies than spending hours wandering around boutiques – especially if my budget is already stretched to the max with inflation and the general “having four kids.”
Why Make Homemade Gifts?
If you’ve ever received a popsicle-stick ornament covered in glitter from a child in your life, you know that handmade gifts are a treasure!
As an adult, the homemade gifts I really appreciate the most, though, are the consumable ones. Something that won’t take up space in my house in the long-run? YES PLEASE!
Your gifts of food can span from the extremely simple, like brownies or crispy nuts, to the more complex, like Irish cream liqueur and vanilla that need to “brew” for a few weeks.
I love that none of these gifts take more than adding a few things to the cart in a normal trip to the grocery store. Most of them can be gifted in a basic Mason jar, too, maybe with a square of pretty fabric between the lid and ring. (Or let your kid go to town with glitter glue and stickers for a “special” touch.)
Food Gifts to Make
- Easy Homemade All-Purpose Spice Mix
- Homemade, Naturally-Sweetened Chocolate Bars
- Real Food Irish Cream Liqueur
- Herb Salt
- Homemade Salad Dressings
- Handcrafted Gluten-Free Flour Blends
- Quicker Homemade Vanilla Extract
- Gluten-Free Sweet and Salty Snack Mix
- Salted Raspberry Honey Candy
- A whole meal, or an IOU for one!
Kids as young as 3 or 4 can help make food gifts and body care gifts, too, if they have measuring and mixing skills! Those are some of the first things we teach in the Kids Cook Real Food eCourse Beginner level. (If you need the perfect last-minute gift for a family, Kids Cook Real Food could be just the thing!)
Good-Smelling Body Care Gifts
Ever popular – especially with teen girls and tired moms who love a soak in the tub – body salts, scrubs, lotions, and washes are fun to make. Work together with your child to mix up some citrus bath salts! You’ll not only have a lovely, consumable gift to give, your child will also get to work on some of those crucial kitchen skills like zesting, measuring, and mixing.
If you already have a whole cabinet of essential oils it’s especially easy to mix up your own bath and body products. Jill at The Prairie Homestead has a great list of gifts to make with essential oils, or try one of these:
- DIY Herbal Bath Crystals, Citrus Bath Salts, and Herbal Body Scrubs
- Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub
- Homemade Baby Body Wash
DIY Cleaning Products
While this might seem like a strange choice for the holidays, if you know someone is trying to “green up” their home, a homemade cleaner with some microfiber cloths might just be the perfect gift! And for a housewarming, bridal shower, or even graduation gift, cleaning supplies are something that come in handy! (Good-smelling ones might even make you want to clean more.)
Need More Baby Steps?
Here at Kitchen Stewardship, we’ve always been all about the baby steps. But if you’re just starting your real food and natural living journey, sifting through all that we’ve shared here over the years can be totally overwhelming.
That’s why we took the best 10 rookie “Monday Missions” that used to post once a week and got them all spruced up to send to your inbox – once a week on Mondays, so you can learn to be a kitchen steward one baby step at a time, in a doable sequence.
Sign up to get weekly challenges and teaching on key topics like meal planning, homemade foods that save the budget (and don’t take too much time), what to cut out of your pantry, and more.
Handmade Gifts for Kids
I’m not saying kids wouldn’t enjoy a homemade treat, like real-food peppermint patties or even applesauce made with love. But if you’re looking for something sweet and with a handmade touch that seems more kid-friendly, here are a couple ideas that are long-lasting, actually fun, and don’t take up a ton of space.
If you’re looking for more ideas, there are a bunch here at the Kids Activities Blog.
DIY Gifts for Christmas
Whether it’s from necessity (those dang shipping times!), frugality, a desire to keeps things simple, or seeking more earth-friendly gifts, making DIY gifts can be fun and fulfilling. It’s spending a little bit of your time to truly bless another human.
Creating something with your hands also gives you a minute during the busy holiday season to focus, settle your mind, and spend some time creating. While you’re mixing up those spices or cooking up homemade playdough, take the time for a few deep breaths, a moment of gratitude, and a release of some of your stress.
