Our tree is up, our decorations are out, and the Christmas music is on! As a family, we look forward all year to Christmas for so many reasons. It’s a time of celebration for us, a time of thanksgiving for our blessings, and a time of giving.
And speaking of giving, I love making and giving away beautiful homemade gifts. But there is a wide variance of worth of homemade gifts. My criteria for homemade gifts:
- Something the recipient would like
- Something that isn’t completely contrary to my lifestyle decisions (that is, I’d feel sheepish giving away GMO-laden cheap candy after blogging about the evils of them)
- And something that is tasty, useful, or adds value to the recipients life.
What homemade gifts fit the criteria depends entirely on who I am giving gifts to, but here are some delicious and useful ideas that meet this criterion for many! And look for even more upcoming ideas soon! (You can sign up for my RSS fed to make sure you don’t miss any).
All of these bundles of ideas can also be separated out into individual gifts as well. For example, a popular singular gift that we’ve given as a hostess gift is a jar of Candied Citrus Peel (they are really quite incredible!). Choose to give away just one jar of something or a basket brimming with treats! Both have been popular in my experience.
I’ve also included items that you can add to the basket that are store-bought, and, because we don’t always have time for homemade everything ,“cheater” options of organic/healthy store-bought options. I’ve included affiliate links below, when applicable. Thanks for supporting this blog!
Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix, Marshmallows and More
Homemade hot cocoa mix is a yummy and useable gift that is popular to give and receive, but most recipes use a lot of ingredients that are unfortunate. Plus, I try to use Fair Trade Chocolate because of the problems in the chocolate industry (including unfair wages, child labor, and even slavery). To make it extra special, give along with homemade marshmallows!
Hot Cocoa Basket Ideas
- Homemade Dairy Free Hot Cocoa Mix
- Fluffy Honey Sweetened Homemade Marshmallows (also look for updated tips here)
Add Ons:
- Lead Free Mug
- ISI Whipped Cream Dispenser (Learn how to make dairy free coconut based whipped cream here)
Cheater Options:
Christmas Candy Plate (made with unrefined sweeteners and natural ingredients!)
I have had so much fun making candies using natural, unrefined ingredients and giving them to family and friends. There are so many beautiful candies you can make. Pick one, or pick 6!
Recipes for DIY Healthier Candies:
- Almond Roca (made with maple syrup)
- Salted Honey Pecan Brittle
- Delicious Simple DIY Truffles
- Old Fashioned Caramel Corn
- Scrumptious Candied Citrus Peel (We LOVE these)
- Chocolate Covered Snowballs
- Nutterfingers
- Nature’s Candy Bar
- Chili Spiked Dark Chocolate with Mango
- Cracker Toffee (easiest candy ever!)
- Fig and Walnut White Chocolate
To Give in:
Homemade Ice Cream Gift Basket
I know it’s winter, but who doesn’t like ice cream year round? It’s one of my most favorite treats, and I am certainly not alone in that. What about giving a basket full of scrumptious ice cream toppings? You can even include cartons of homemade ice cream (or organic store-bought) for a beautiful gift.
Topping Recipes:
- Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
- Easy Caramel Sauce
- Vanilla Cinnamon Candied Nuts
Ice cream recipes:
- Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Sauce
- Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream
- Mexican Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Mint Chip Chocolate Ice Cream
Add Ons:
- Ice Cream Cartons for Giving Homemade Ice Cream
- Organic Gluten Free Dye Free Sprinkles
- Gluten Free Organic Ice Cream Cones
Cheater Options:
- Organic Chocolate Syrup
- Store bought ice cream
For the Kids: Playdough Gift Set
My girls love homemade playdough! To make it especially winter appropriate, try out the glitter dough, keep it “white” or un-dyed, and then add silver glitter! So pretty. Above left, you see our “Elsa” inspired playdough from the movie Frozen (White, with light blue glitter). It is especially fun to make a couple different color combinations. If you do want to dye it, check out the suggestions in the below links for natural dye options.
Recipes:
Add Ons:
- Wooden Playdough Tool Set (This is a cheater option, as it also contains playdough!)
- Wooden Child’s Rolling pin
Spa Night or Beauty Basket
Beauty products are popular to give as gifts. They are easy to make, easy to use, and smell wonderful too. I don’t have a lot of recipes on this site (yet) for beauty products, but one great resource for homemade beauty products using superior ingredients is Mommypotomus’s book: DIY Organic Beauty Recipes eBook
Recipe:
- I am pretty much in love with this Vanilla Lavender Scrub. It makes your skin smooth, soft, and smells great too.
Add Ons:
You can give it along with the other items listed on the spa night post – Epsom salts, beeswax candles, lavender essential oil, and honey for a face mask.
Tea Lovers Gift Basket
I love tea, so I have given tea gifts a lot. One year I made up a bunch of chai concentrate steeping bags and gave them away with directions for use to a wide variety of my friends and acquaintances. So fun! But you can also give a basket with several different delicious options. Below are some beautiful, DIY tea blends that are super fast and easy to put together. If you have a local store that carries herbs and spices in bulk, this is a cinch to make. (Mountain Rose Herbs also carries all of these ingredients).
Recipes for DIY Tea Blends:
- Chai Concentrate (I gave these in small steeping bags)
- Rosehip and Hibiscus Tea (So good for you as well as delicious)
- Blooming Rooibos Tea Blend (Beautiful edible blossoms flavor this)
- Peppermint Nettle (Refreshing!)
To give in:
Add ons:
Cheater Options:
- Buy bulk tea blends from Mountain Rose Herbs and separate out into tins/bags for giving.
Those are some of my ideas! I’d love to hear yours!
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Wonderful list. Thank you. Pinned 🙂
Thanks, Janet!
This was SUCH a help! I love how you broke each idea down with add-ons, containers, and such. I WILL be giving some of these. Thank you.
Yay! So glad it was helpful! Thanks for the comment and letting me know. 🙂
I absolutely love this list! I can’t wait to try many of these recipes, especially the Almond Roca. It seems that most “healthy” or “natural” food blogs don’t include indulgent foods like some of these which I find frustrating. I don’t consume candy on a regular basis but if I do I want to make sure it is of the highest quality and devoid of food additives.
So glad that it is helpful, Jill! I have been pleasantly surprised how wonderful homemade candy can be when made with unrefined and healthier ingredients.
Just wanted to say that I make your Vanilla Cinnamon Candied Nuts every year now to give out in quart jars to friends and family and they are always a huge hit.
Megan,
Oh, nice! So glad you guys are getting good use out of that recipe. 🙂 Thanks so much for letting me know!
Thank You for mentioning this… so I can go check it out!
If someone gave me dessert tea gift basket, I would be a HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY girl!
Wow! Very delightful handmade Christmas gift ideas that are really unique. You’ve explained everything in a very elaborate manner. Kudos to you, Kimi!
I can’t wait for Christmas to try this “easiest candy ever” (that word caught my eye because I love simple but delicious!). Now I need not pressure my brain to thinking what to give for Easter. Add on: Egg-shaped box (any DIY tutorial for this one?)
Thank You for this list and the conviction that goes along with your choices ! I appreciate your making the Christmas Holiday even more enjoyable with your DIY ideas!
Thanks so much Jodi!