How to Make Holiday Gifts

Save some money by making holiday gifts instead of buying them. Hometalk has everything you need to make the perfect holiday gift for any holiday. Get tips and tricks from our instructional videos, or browse a slideshow for new ideas. Take a moment to look through our top, best, and newest holiday gift projects. We're happy to help.

Glitter Gem Stone Soap DIY

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How to Make Holiday Gifts

Make herb-infused olive oil: Add 3-4 drops of essential oils like basil, oregano, tarragon, thyme, dill, rosemary, lemongrass, marjoram, or lemon to 8oz of olive oil.
Make playdough for the kids: Mix 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1 cup of water in a bowl and set aside for a few minutes. Separate into sections and add food coloring.
Make beard oil for him: Mix ½ oz of jojoba oil and ½ oz almond oil in a serum bottle. Add 4 drops of cypress oil and pine essential oil. Close and shake well.
Make bath bombs for her: Mix 1 cup of baking soda, ½ cup citric acid, and 5 drops of essential oils. Pack into a silicone mold. Release the mix and dry overnight.
How to make Easter eggs: Melt cooking chocolate in a pan. Pour the melted chocolate into the mold, cool overnight, pop out, and serve!

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Top Projects for Holiday Gifts

Here we've collected the top DIY holiday gift projects. Don't miss them.

Recycled Valentine's Day Giant Kisses

Throwing a Valentine Shindig? Here is a cute and super cheap option for decor that doubles as party favors! Using some recycled materials, you can make some fake hershey kisses that are full of sweet fun! These make for an adorable valentine garland and can also be passed out to guests, since they are filled with sweet treats!SUPPLIES: -Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil -Several Old Soda Bottles with a "kiss" shaped top -Scissors -Valentine Ribbons -Twine -Candy

Amanda C, Hometalk Team

Christmas DIY: Birch Tree Wine Glasses

We’re excited to bring you a Holiday DIY as versatile as it is charming! Debbie of My Patch of Blue Sky textures and paints an ordinary wine glass and adds an elegant twist for a stylish holiday table setting. Once the holidays are over, you can use the conversation piece again and again for gatherings large and small! Let’s see how she did it.

Modern Masters

Potato Print Tea Towels

If you're looking for the perfect handmade gift this holiday season (or for any occasion) these stamped tea towels make the perfect gift! The best part? They are budget-friendly and are made using a potato stamp! We're also sharing a fool-proof method to create the perfect stamp pattern in your potato. Bye-bye carving! We want to help you DIY, so some of the materials in this post are linked to sellers. Just so you know, Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.

Julien K., Hometalk Team

Light Up Cinder Block Present

Make your own inexpensive, and fully customizable, DIY outdoor present perfect for lighting up the porch, using cinder blocks, ribbon, paint, lights and glue. They stand up well to cold and wet weathers. Here is a step by step tutorial, lets get started!

Shelly L Nemeth

Got Bags? Let’s Make Something Useful!!

Everyone has lots & lots of plastic bags and doesn’t it seem like they magically multiply? If you’ve got too many plastic bags, here’s the perfect solution.

Alicia W

From The Recycle Bin To The Christmas Tree...

Pop Bottle Snow Globes..

Mickey Baron

How To Make A Dome Out Of A Soda Bottle

I saw this cute Dollar Tree project and decided I wanted to make one. The items that did not come from the Dollar Tree were the bottle brush trees, powder snow, figurine, spray paint and the plastic ornament I used for the topper. Those items were from left over craft projects.

Sarah M

Heirloom Recipe Dish Towel

Take an family recipe and preserve the memory and handwriting on a dish towel. I made these for my aunts and uncles using my grandparent's recipes. You can see more of my crazy creations here

Chas' Crazy Creations

Ladder Stocking Hanger

I have never had a fireplace which means I have never had a mantle to hang my pretty little stockings by ! I have had wood burning stoves growing up, but that doesn't really work. I certainly don't have a fireplace in the apartment I am renting now and have been hanging my stockings on the windows with suction cups, guaranteeing they will fall a million times, for years! With this ladder stocking hanger my holiday socks will fall no more! Grab an old wooden ladder, some lights and garland and get ready for quite the rustic holiday charm!

Amanda C, Hometalk Team

Christmas Gift Fridge Magnet - Photo Transfer

Ok, the Christmas has passed and I’m sharing with you our Christmas gifts for grandparents, fridge magnet, which is also a tutorial how to transfer a photo onto a slice of wood. Giving such a creative handmade gift is something that your parents will surely enjoy. When grandparents are asked can’t go wrong gifting a photo, especially when it’s as unique as this. ❤❤❤ It ends up to be one of the easiest and quickest gifts ever to make. The photo transferred so cleanly and colorfully. This is one of the easiest projects I’ve made and it turned out even better than I was expecting. Transferring any photos from paper to another surface is so much fun. All you’ll need is some transfer potch.

Inaablue

Recycled Valentine's Day Giant Kisses

Amanda C, Hometalk Team

Christmas DIY: Birch Tree Wine Glasses

Modern Masters

Potato Print Tea Towels

Julien K., Hometalk Team

Light Up Cinder Block Present

Shelly L Nemeth

Got Bags? Let’s Make Something Useful!!

Everyone has lots & lots of plastic bags and doesn’t it seem like they magically multiply? If you’ve got too many plastic bags, here’s the perfect solution.

Alicia W

From The Recycle Bin To The Christmas Tree...

Pop Bottle Snow Globes..

Mickey Baron

How To Make A Dome Out Of A Soda Bottle

Sarah M

Heirloom Recipe Dish Towel

Take an family recipe and preserve the memory and handwriting on a dish towel. I made these for my aunts and uncles using my grandparent's recipes. You can see more of my crazy creations here

Chas' Crazy Creations

Ladder Stocking Hanger

Amanda C, Hometalk Team

Christmas Gift Fridge Magnet - Photo Transfer

Inaablue

DIY Holiday Gift Videos

Check out our collection of videos on how to make holiday gifts yourself.

How to Tie a Bow Like a Pro

Do you love the way those beautiful full bows looks but don’t have any idea how to make them? Here you go.

Alicia W

Make Your Own Gift Bags

I'm sure gift giving is on the minds of of lots of people about now, and I've got an easy and fun tutorial today on how you can make your own unique and inexpensive gift bags.

To Work With My Hands

DIY: Personalized Air Freshener Gift for Under $5

Just in time for Christmas! This little personalized stocking stuffer is sure to bring a smile to your BFF, sister, daughter, mother, co-worker, sorority sister….your options are limitless! Give a gift this holiday season with memories and meaning!

Miss PlanIt

Hometalkers' Favorite DIY Holiday Gift Projects

Here are the best projects to get you started making holiday gifts yourself.

Fleece Hats and Holiday Sleeves For Your Candy Bars

In my previous candy sleeve tutorial, I covered how to wrap candy boxes to make a festive holiday gift. This tutorial is just a slightly different alternative for your candy treat and this one has a cute fleece hat. I used card stock because I have a surplus of Christmas card stock. You can use gift wrap, scrapbook paper, tissue paper and more. This is a great scrap-buster project. Change the paper and this works for Valentine's Day and Easter, as well. I also saw that instead of candy bars, people put the wrap around packages of microwave popcorn. Use your imagination and go wild, if you like. **As I was putting together the stockings on Christmas Eve, I made a mental note to snag the pom poms and fleece hats before they disappear in the wrapping paper when everything is opened. That made me realize how many years that you can get out of these little decorations. They might even last long for my kids to show their kids. I sure hope so... Happy Holidays and I hope some of my crafts can be family traditions at your house, too.**

Stacy Davis

Essential Oil Melts

I don't know about you, but I'm riding the essential oil train. I got a diffuser for christmas, and now I'm hooked. I decided to venture further and experiment with melts. Melts are great alternatives to candles. They can be melted over a candle or a hot bulb. We want to help you DIY, so some of the materials in this post are linked to sellers. Just so you know, Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.

Kara S.

Wrap Your Presents With Just One Piece of Tape

Am I the first one to admit I have been wrapping presents wrong my entire life? I found this video explaining a Japanese wrapping trick that's absolutely brilliant! And with a little improvement on their trick, I figured out how to wrap my presents in about 30 seconds using one piece of tape, and I also created a pocket to put the card into. It sounds more complicated than it is, though I'll admit I had to do it a few times before I could do it super fast. But now that I know how to do it, I will be wrapping presents like this for the rest of my life. Step 1: Gather Your Materials

Shawna Bailey

Salt & Pepper Shaker Ornaments

I had a few salt and pepper shakers laying around and I was challenged to make ornaments out of them. I came up with a few fun ideas to share with you. You can see more of my crazy creations here

Chas' Crazy Creations

Eco Friendly Gift Wrapping

I was presented a new challenge of creating Eco friendly gift wrap. I loved this challenge and once my mind started spinning there are so many different options and possibilities! Here are a few ways on how to wrap a present without wasting paper. You can see more of my crazy creations here

Chas' Crazy Creations

Essential Oils Shower Bombs

I love essential oils. I use them in diffusers, I use them to clean. And I use them in the shower.These shower bombs are the bomb! Using only 3 ingredients, and a small amount of hands on time, before you know it, your whole house will smell splendid!

Cyndi Valerino

Fleece Hats and Holiday Sleeves For Your Candy Bars

Stacy Davis

Essential Oil Melts

Kara S.

Wrap Your Presents With Just One Piece of Tape

Shawna Bailey

Salt & Pepper Shaker Ornaments

I had a few salt and pepper shakers laying around and I was challenged to make ornaments out of them. I came up with a few fun ideas to share with you. You can see more of my crazy creations here

Chas' Crazy Creations

Eco Friendly Gift Wrapping

Chas' Crazy Creations

Essential Oils Shower Bombs

Cyndi Valerino

Popular Holiday Gift Making Discussions

Here you'll find popular discussions on how to make holiday gits yourself.

How to DIY a College survival kit?

/> Stacy

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What gift/project can I make using essential oils?

/> Mary

I have several bottles of essential oils and am looking for an inexpensive gift project to use them before they go bad. Any suggestions?

What gift/project can I make using essential oils?

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How can I make art and crafts for mother’s day?

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What crafts can I make using grey goose bottles?

/> Jennifer

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New Holiday Gift Making Projects

The new holiday gift projects you don't want to miss. Check it out.

Creative Way to Present a Gift Using A Bag and Tissue

With Halloween just a day away and the holidays approaching there will be many opportunities for goodies and gift giving. Today I have a tutorial that will show you a creative way to present a gift. It's a twist on using a gift bag and tissue.

Tarnished Royalty

Make your own chalkboard tags/ labels

Small Home/ Small Budget Solutions Series: Solution #1 Label your baskets and bins with chalkboard tags. This tutorial shows you how to make chalkboard tags using Chalkboard Contact Paper. These labels are easy to make, durable and it's simple to change out the writing with use of a chalkboard pen. I've included links to where to buy the supplies if you can't find them in the craft store.

Tricia @ Simplicity In The South

Joy Tag With a Cool Metal Foil Technique

You'll want to make a stop at the Hardware Store for this one. The "Joy" used on this tag was made using the foil tape found in the hardware store. You know the kind the heating and cooling guys use to seal ductwork.

Sue's Creative Workshop

DIY Wood Gift Bag For Mason Jar Gift For Teachers

Every Christmas, my kids and I get excited to put together gifts for their teachers. We try and come up with creative ways to show them how much we appreciate all that they do. This year, we made them a DIY Wood Gift Bag that would hold a Mason jar full of gifts for them.

Lindsay Eidahl

Transform Plain Paper Bags Into Funky and Unique Party Bags.

instead of buying into the run of the mill party decorations for kids, why not design and make your own....First up : Party bags!! use this easy printing technique to create your own design party bags....

Juneolsen

DIY holiday waterless diorama-style snow globes

It's easy to make some really cute holiday decor with cleaned out glass jars and some bits and pieces from the dollar store and the craft store.You'll need:Glass jars,tacky white craft glue,faux snow,glitter, mini figurines, mini faux trees and other embellishments of choice.This is a great snowy day craft to do with the family and a great way to recycle that old salsa jar!