Ten Easy-to-Make Homemade Gifts

Whenever we can, we like to make, rather than purchase, gifts for co-op teachers, Sunday school teachers, piano teachers, neighbors, family, etc. Over the years, we have

Our top ten favorite EASY to make gifts are...

1. Homemade bread - Pictured above are loaves of pumpkin bread wrapped in a simple brown lunch bag with a wide ribbon and decorative tag. {Other bread varieties we have made and given are apple bread and banana bread.}

2. Chocolate covered pretzels - The ones pictured above were made with pretzel rods dipped in melted chocolate and covered in rainbow sprinkles. These rods fit nicely in a larger, clear candy bag, and look adorable with a simple ribbon and tag attached to the top. In the following picture, smaller square shaped pretzels were dipped in white chocolate and then dipped into regular chocolate for a dynamic half and half appearance. You can see them toward the right wrapped in a small clear candy bag.

3. Peppermint bark candy - Not only are these candies delicious, they are super easy to make. All you need is crushed peppermint candy, white chocolate, and regular chocolate. You can purchase busted peppermint candies, or make your own by crushing candy canes. Melt the white chocolate and add the crushed peppermint candy. Pour into molds. Allow to cool somewhat. Melt regular chocolate and pour on top of the white chocolate/peppermint mixture.  Allow to cool completely before removing from mold. The final product is pictured to the left in the picture above.

 

4. Chocolate and peanut butter combinations like microwave fudge, which is pictured above, or buckeyes. {A special thank you to Mary for mentioning this particular buckeye recipe, which we have been using ever since.} The fudge or buckeyes look fabulous in a clear, disposable plastic container which can easily be wrapped with a ribbon and tag.

 

5. Cinnamon ornaments are easy to make and smell terrific. We use equal parts of cinnamon and applesauce with a good squeeze of white glue added into the mixture. Roll the 'dough' out to about a 1/4 inch thickness and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Use a straw to make the hole. Allow ornaments to dry completely. This usually takes a day or so and makes your home smell amazing. Once dry, put a ribbon through the hole to hang them. Ornaments can be given plain or decorated with squeezable glitter or coated with glue and glitter for an overall glimmering appearance.

6. Art work like origami, cut paper, or art projects can be wonderful gifts. Our children have even given art projects they completed for a class. {I took a picture of it first to include in their annual portfolio.}

7. Molded crayons might just be one of my personal favorites. By taking all the old small crayons, melting them, and creating them into beautiful usable works of art, an adorable homemade gift for young children emerges. To make the tree shaped crayons, we used an old candy mold, placed broken crayons inside it, then placed the entire mold onto a rack in a cooling oven for ten minutes. {The oven had been heated to 300 degrees, but was then turned off.} After ten minutes in the oven, we removed the mold, allowed it to cool, and then carefully removed our new crayons.

8. Hand written letters or a few lines of poetry make incredibly personal gifts. Alternatively, homemade stationary can be just as nice. If your child like to take pictures, then their digital pictures can be used to create a collage for the top of the page. Simply add a sentimental thought or phrase right below the collage. Then print the stationary onto paper of your choice. Pictured above is marble-like paper, but any paper, even resume paper, could be used.

9. Felt napkin holders are an extremely easy fabric gift to fashion and look nice. We used felt and traced a tree shape. After trees were cut out, my daughters sewed buttons on each one. The middle button affixes the tree to a strap. On the other side, my daughters sewed one more button to attach both sides of the ring around a napkin.

10. Photographs displayed in a frame, photo album, or recorded on a CD are fun and easy to do with so many digital editing programs available. Use pictures of your children or pictures your children have taken. Either way, recipients will love them. Pictured above are pictures I took and gave to my parents and brother as gifts, proving you are never too old to give your parents a homemade gift!


As with any listing, you can change these ideas, making them harder or easier to to do, or combining a few and creating something entirely different. Either way, homemade gifts are fun to create and give any time of the year.