Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

Looking for affordable gifts for Christmas this year? Giving homemade gifts is a great way to keep costs low and you can customize your gifts based on who you are making them for. Here are some great ideas and some of the homemade gifts that I have given in the past.

Tie Fleece Blankets, you can also alter the directions to make scarves.
No sew fleece blankets
Tie fleece blankets


Movie Night, fill a decorated basket with:
Coffee mugs (you can buy plain mugs and decorate for a personal touch)
Gourmet Coffee, Cocoa, Apple Cider, Tea, etc.
Bags of microwave popcorn
Dipped spoons
Family video set to music, includes videos and photos
Chocolate dipped spoons
Movie Maker


Mix in a jar: Cookie, Cocoa, Soup, and more variations just check out the listed links
Mix in a jar recipes
More recipes in a jar (type in desired recipe)
Nestle recipes in a jar with printable gift tags


Homemade Spa Kit
Pick a theme, Asian would include items such as:
Green tea soaps
Bath tea packets
Sea salts
Soy based candles
Homemade soaps, candles, lotions, and more


Turn a family photo into a puzzle
Custom puzzles


Vanilla lover gift basket
I blogged about this in a previous post, here it is again:

Vanilla Extract
16 oz. Vodka (not the cheap stuff)
6 Vanilla Beans

A good rule of thumb is 1 vanilla bean for every 3/4 c Vodka. Use cleaned, clear glass, container (canning jar works well). Split vanilla beans length wise, leave a small bit still attached on one end. Pour vodka into container and add beans, push the beans down so vodka completely covers them. Seal tightly and let sit out of light and heat. Lightly shake container daily to help develop. Using clear glass allows you to see the color/flavor develop. After minimum 2 months the extract will have a nice amber color. Pour vodka into small gift jars with a bean or two in each container. By adding the bean to the gift jars, the flavor will continue to develop, you can continue to add small amounts of vodka to the extract and the bean will keep working (not forever, obviously).

To decrease bitterness, add 1 Tbsp. of vanilla syrup into final mix to sweeten.

**A great gift idea for anyone that loves Vanilla would be a gift basket with a bottle of vanilla extract, a bottle of vanilla simple syrup, and a decorative glass jar with vanilla sugar.**


Vanilla Simple Syrup
1 Quart Water
3 C Granulated Sugar
2 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract

Combine water and sugar in large pot, stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Cool, add in vanilla extract.


Vanilla Sugar
4 C Granulated Sugar
1 Vanilla Bean

Split bean length wise, leave a small bit attached on one end. Put sugar and vanilla bean in sealed container, stir occasionally. Will take 5-7 weeks for vanilla flavor to develop in sugar.