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Now more than ever I feel like people are looking for homemade Christmas gifts that are both fun and easy to make and that people will enjoy receiving. So here are some of my ideas for unique homemade gifts you can make for most everyone on your list.
Homemade Christmas Ornaments
For people who like decorating for Christmas, making holiday ornaments is a lot of fun. Giving holiday ornaments is a way to ensure the people you give them to will think of you every year while they’re decorating the tree.
I love this embroidered Christmas ornament because anyone can do simple stitching, even kids, and if you don’t have iron on transfers you can draw on the fabric (or have kids draw on the fabric) before you/they stitch it up.
Make this one even nicer by stuffing with some dried herbs or potpourri, or dripping a couple of drops of essential oil on it before you gift it.
I’ve done a whole collection of knit Christmas ornaments and crochet Christmas ornaments, but I wanted to in particular mention my knit cord Christmas tree ornament. These are so easy to knit — and you don’t even have to knit them by hand if you like another way to make knit cord — and you can make them in lots of different ways, plain or with beads and other embellishments.
On the crochet side I love a basic crochet ball ornament, which you can make in a solid color, with stripes or other patterns, or color block it to look like a character.
I did that with some of my knitting machine ball ornaments, which show you some of the things you can do. These include a solid ball, stripes, a little stranded colorwork, a Santa and a snowman.
Can’t knit or crochet? Try this finger knit wreath ornament, which is super cute on the tree or to decorate a bag and takes just minutes to make.
If you like to cross stitch (and it’s really easy to learn if you don’t already know how) my little Christmas tree and snowflake ornaments are great options that don’t take a ton of time.
Gift Ideas for the Home
If you need a hostess gift for the holidays or just want to make something fun people can use in their home, these Christmas gift ideas are for you.
A mug rug doesn’t look like much but I love having one on my desk. Maybe throw in a cute mug or some coffee, tea and snacks to help them understand what it is for.
Another great useful idea you can make for a gift any time of year is cloth napkins. Make some with holiday fabric or use whatever you have on hand for this thoughtful and useful gift. You could even throw is some cross stitch napkin rings, too.
Or make the awesome knit linen stitch hot pad, which is both pretty and useful (and pretty easy to make, too!)
If you want to go a little holiday with your gift, try my crocheted Santa hat pillow. This one is surprisingly fast to make and you can make it a conversation started by asking people to guess what the white part is made of (hint: it isn’t yarn).
A little pinch pot made of air dry clay could also be a fun gift idea because everyone needs to store tiny things. You could even fill it with mints or little chocolates or something when you gift it to make it a little more festive. Or make a bigger basket with T-shirt yarn (this one is crocheted) to hold more treats.
Speaking of air dry clay, it takes just a little clay and a little time to make air dry clay diffusers, which are a great gift along with a bottle of yummy essential oils.
Gifts to Make for Readers
You probably know that I read a lot, and I’ve made a lot of things to make my reading life easier or just gift it a homemade touch. Here are my favorite homemade Christmas gifts for readers.
If you know someone has a Kindle you can make them this easy granny square Kindle cover. I love mine because I feel like it helps keep my Kindle from getting scratched up in my bag.
For those who prefer analog reading, a book weight is a great gift. These are super simple to make, you can make it with fabric scraps in just a few minutes. Make it fancier by embroidering the recipient’s name on it if you want.
Bookmarks are of course a great gift for readers as well. I have a cute crochet bookmark made with embroidery floss, easy corner bookmarks to sew and a bonus cat-shaped corner bookmark for the feline enthusiast.
Throw in a gift card to your favorite local bookstore for a gift any reader in your life will be thrilled to receive.
Homemade Christmas Gifts for Teachers
Some teachers love to get gifts from their students and some don’t love the pileup of stuff that comes from it. I used to make my daughter’s teachers knit hearts, and then I would often make something for them to use so it (hopefully) wasn’t hanging out in their house for too long.
I have a rosemary lemon body scrub that I have used as a teacher gift several times. My foot scrub was specifically an end of the year gift but you can use it for homemade Christmas gifts, too.
Homemade soap is a fun option, too. My pumpkin spice soap is good if you need a bunch, or try a melt and pour soap for smaller batches.
Make it a spa day gift with the addition of a crochet waffle stitch washcloth, a set of scrubbies made on a knitting machine or a fun bias knit washcloth, to name a few.
Most teachers I know like coffee so you can gift them a tumbler or a mug with a knit coffee cup cozy (I also have a machine knit version). Or for that teacher who drinks out of Mason jars, try a crocheted jar cozy.
Prefer a gift with a teacher theme? Make this cute cross stitched pencil bookmark.
Gifts for People Who Craft
I love making homemade Christmas gifts for crafty people because they appreciate the time and effort that goes into them. Of course you could knit, crochet, stitch or sew anything for those people and they would love it. But let’s look specifically at gifts to make for people who sew as an example.
I love a good practical gift, and making some needle minders from air dry clay is a great gift option for sewists, cross stitchers and people who do a lot of mending. They’re easy to make, fun to embellish and so delightful to use.
Speaking of places to put your needles, a nine-patch pincushion would also be a fun gift for someone who sews. I keep mine at my desk while the needle minders float around with projects, so there are always needles where I need them.
Crafters of any stripe would appreciate a good project bag. This felted bag is like a big tote bag, perfect for carrying a larger project or some pattern books from the library. The knit zipper bag is great for storing little tools, and this sewn box bottom bag or project bag with zipper would also be great for a crafty person in your life.
Homemade Christmas Gifts for People Who are Always Cold
I had to throw this category in because it’s me. I’m always making things I hope will help me feel a little less miserable when it’s cold out, and these kinds of things make great gifts, too.
Microwavable hand warmers are quick and easy to sew and super useful to slip into your pockets when it’s cold outside.
If you really want to keep them warm, stitch up this giant sherpa and plaid scarf. It’s almost too big but it always makes me happy when I wear it.
Speaking of scarves, I also have no-sew fleece scarves, a whole collection of knit scarves, a loop scarf and a pocket scarf for a knitting machine (among others) and a super cozy crochet scarf made with blanket yarn.
Fingerless gloves are a favorite homemade Christmas gift of mine to give because they don’t have to fit perfectly but most people have pretty standard hand sizes so you’re not exactly guessing if you don’t want to measure the person’s hand. I have a knit pattern that’s worked flat and one in the round and they’re super basic so you can add stripes, embroidery or fancy yarn if you like.
Or how about a hat? Heads are somewhat uniform is size and if you make something like my fisherman’s rib hat, it’s really stretchy so it should fit a variety of heads. Or crochet a messy bun hat or headband to keep ears warm without covering the whole head.
The twisted headband made on a knitting machine is also a great option because it’s wide and easily covers the ears (and a lot of the head, too!).
You could also try this great knit winter kerchief, which takes just a skein of yarn and is warm like a hat without being, you know, a hat.
More Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas
Looking for even more ideas? You got em!
I hope this inspires you to make some homemade Christmas gifts this year or to hold these ideas for homemade gifts throughout the year.
