September 11, 2026

30+ Handmade Gifts | Ideas for Christmas or All Year Round

Nicole DIY christmas crafts, diy, gifts, handmade, thrifted 6 Comments

I love to make gifts for people! Do you? The only problem with hand making gifts is that you have to do a lot of planning ahead…which is why people used to practice “Christmas in July”…or Christmas in September, this year as the case may be! I also love to thrift shop for gifts, which can also take a long time to find the right items, so I’ve already begun planning and preparing for my Christmas gift giving this year.

So, it is time to share this post of 30+ handmade, personalized and thrifted gift ideas with you all, in time for you to begin planning your handmade gifts for this year too. I will link to any tutorials for any of the items I have shared before on the blog.

From Your Kitchen/ Consumables:

Food is always a good choice since it’s consumable, so it’s perfect for people who don’t want a lot of “stuff”. Check to make sure that your recipient doesn’t have allergies first! At this time of the year, it’s perfect to start thinking ahead whether there are any preserves you could make with produce from your garden such as…

1.) Pickles

2.) Jams, jellies and fruit syrups

3.) Herbal tea blends, such as peppermint; maybe paired with a tea infuser or a tea cup?

Baked goods are always a hit…

4.) Pair homemade cookies or cakes with a thrifted dish to make it extra special. Making something that freezes well is also nice. I made my dad a bunch of mini blueberry pies to put in the freezer and they lasted him a few months.

5.) Homemade hot cocoa or mocha mix paired with a nice thrifted mug

6.) Truffles or chocolates are such a nice treat! My favourite recipe is this one by Sally’s Baking Addiction.

7.) If you aren’t able to give baked goods, how about the ingredients for the recipient to bake it themselves? One year I gave a jar of homemade cranberry pie filling and a pastry mix paired with a tart pan for a DIY gift. Write out the recipe on a pretty printable recipe card, such as these.

8.) Balm/ body butter- not something to eat, but definitely still consumable! See my tutorial here. 

9.) Candles poured into a thrifted teacup, votive or tin

10.) Press flowers from your garden to decorate taper candles

Gifts to Sew:

11.) Tote bags are so useful. Add some embroidery or quilt one for a fancier book bag. Here’s my tutorial for this upcycled tote. 

12.) Zippered pouches, use up some fun fabric scraps, add some cute embroidery to a plain fabric and tie a ribbon on the zipper pull. For men, make them a toiletries/ shaving case.

13.) Felted slippers made out of old wool sweaters. Find my tutorial here.

14.) Mittens – also made out of old wool sweaters. Find my tutorial here.

15.) A beret- also made out of old wool sweaters. Find my tutorial here. 

16.) Games such as a tic tac toe game with felted shapes or beanbag toss

17.) Kids are fun to sew for: clothes, bibs, hats, bonnets, headbands, booties etc.

18.) Corner embroidered felt bookmarks

19.) Quilted potholders

20.) Quilted coasters

21.) Aprons- my new favourite is the crossover style

Gifts to Craft:

22.) Journals or sketchbooks decoupaged with fabric or paper covers. A ribbon tie adds such a pretty touch!

23.) Covered button magnets made out of fabric scraps

24.) Create a wooden wallhanging with their favourite hymn, or use another piece of clip art and decoupage it to create personalized wall decor

25.) Covered button rings made out of fabric scraps

26.) Miniature embroidered necklace pendant

27.) A miniature of their favourite book. If you add a ribbon to hang it from, it can be an adorable Christmas tree ornament, but it could also be displayed year round. This mini Pride & Prejudice I made last year is probably my favourite thing I’ve ever crafted.

28.) Christmas ornaments of all different shapes and sizes. These are also fun to top a gift with in place of a bow.

29.) An advent calendar filled with homemade goodies. This one is made of paper origami boxes, but there are so many other types of calendars to make.

Gifts to Thrift Paired with Handmade Items: 

30.) A travel cutlery set paired with a napkin that ties and can be reused over and over again.

31.) Artwork (either made by you or another artist) in a thrifted frame. I like to get greeting cards for a more cost effective option. Paint the frame or cover the mat with fabric for a fun twist. (Artwork pictured above by Jenni Haikonen, Terre Pigment Studio and Oh Jess Marie, and me)

32.) A book in a “pretty” edition, paired with a coordinating bookmark (there are so many easy bookmarks to DIY! Pressed flowers, papercrafted, ribbon with charms, painted, embroidered felt….

33.) Their favourite book paired with custom bookplates. (Also, don’t forget to check the thrift stores for books.) And you can always wrap the books like this, tucking a bag of tea, a bookmark or other goodies into the pockets.

34.) Thrifted kitchen items (I often see new-in-package items) such as baking dishes, serving ware, cookbooks etc, paired with a handmade apron, potholders or dishcloths. Arrange the items in a thrifted basket, bowl or platter, or wrap it all up with a tea towel for the finishing touch!

35.) Handmade zippered pencil case with their favourite craft supplies inside it.

36.) Propagate a cutting or divide a favourite plant and put it into a thrifted pot or a mismatched teacup.

And Gifts For Those Who Have Everything:

37.) A cheerful bouquet of flowers from your garden (maybe not possible in December if you’re in the cold North, but perfect for other occasions!)

38.) A donation to a charity they like, but give them a custom “certificate”. You can also do this with “coupons” for an experience gift (or like I did, inserted an image of butter tarts which I was going to bake at a later date). I used some free vintage Victorian Santa clip art and inserted images of the gifts into the illustrations.

And don’t forget to finish your present off with an upcycled greeting card tag or decoupage a gift box with pretty fabric so they can keep and use it afterwards!

Well, I hope there was something in this list that sparked your creativity. Now, excuse me, I’ve got to go… I think it’s time to do some crafting!