25 Easy Homemade Gifts for the Not-So-Crafty

Last Updated on January 16, 2023

Looking for thoughtful homemade gift ideas that won’t break the bank? These *incredibly* easy homemade gifts are sure to please, even if you’re not in the least bit crafty!

EASY HOMEMADE GIFTS ANYONE CAN MAKE

I love the idea of giving homemade gifts for Christmas, birthdays, and other holidays. But I can’t always find the time. And, ummmm….. confession time: I’m not exactly crafty.

As in: Can’t sew, don’t knit, no eye for design. At. All. Set me in front of a bunch of craft supplies and I panic.

Is that you, too? Even if it’s not, you might find these easier projects helpful when you’re short on time at this busy season of the year.

25+ EASY HOMEMADE GIFTS TO THE RESCUE!

I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling somewhat inadequate when someone has hand-knitted a scarf or sewn little dresses for your kids’ dolls.

These easy homemade gifts are for the craft-challenged or time-strapped among us who want to show that we care enough to make gifts for those special people in our lives but simply lack the skills or space in our schedules to attempt some of the more complicated projects in our Pinterest feeds.

Whether it’s a homemade treat or some DIY spa supplies, here a bunch of quick and easy homemade gift ideas to try this season. 

If you’re looking for gifts that require a bit more skill, here’s a big bunch of handmade gift ideas you can buy online from actually crafty people.

EASY HOMEMADE GIFTS FOR BATH & BODY

♦ Bath salts are a super-simple and quick homemade gift idea. DIY bath salts are ridiculously easy — just oils and epsom salt and you’re good to go!

♦ I love this recipe for holiday-scented pine bath salts from Learning and Yearning.

♦ You can add some additional benefits for skin with this goat’s milk bath soak recipe from The Artisan Life or this luscious-sounding herbal buttermilk bath soak from Nitty Gritty Life.

♦ Sugar scrubs similarly just require some quick and easy mixing of ingredients. Here are the deets on the simplest way to make homemade sugar scrub. This chai spice sugar scrub from The Pistachio Project smells amazing and makes skin feel wonderful! Or check out this brown sugar lip scrub from Oh, The Things We’ll Make. If it’s feet that need the TLC, change the oils and make this DIY natural foot scrub from Permacrafters.

♦  Melt and pour soap is a snap, and there are no end of cool add-ins to make your homemade soap feel special. You can use used coffee grounds to make exfoliating soaps with the added antioxidants of coffee, or add your favorite essential oils to make soothing or invigorating soaps with scents like lavender and peppermint. If you grow lavender, you can add buds and leaves for a special touch. Here’s more on ways to use lavender leaves.

Here’s a beginner’s guide to using essential oils if you’re not sure how to use them.

♦ Bath bombs take a little more effort, but they can be a fun project and are bound to impress. With just a few more ingredients, you can make your own fizzy bath bombs (instructions from Mindful Momma) or these adorable gingerbread bath bombsor gorgeeous rose cardamom bath bombs from The Pistachio Project. Simple Pure Beauty has some great ideas for coloring your bath bombs with natural ingredients.

Jamie at The Herbal Spoon wrote an e-book on homemade gifts of bodycare you can make. Check it out here.

I also love Jan Berry’s (aka The Nerdy Farm Wife) books on making your own soaps, cleaners, scrubs and more. Check out her books on Bookshop or Amazon.

♦ This DIY aromatherapy rice bag from the Pistachio Project does take a tiny bit of sewing, but nothing requiring advanced skills. (Like even I could do it!) Or try this cute DIY heating pack made from socks from Permacrafters.

♦ These adorable herbal dream pillows from Kathy at Homespun Seasonal Living are similar in design, but are filled with sleep-inducing herbs. What a lovely way to help someone drift off to dreamland, even nicer if you fill it with some of your home-grown herbs!

♦ Love handmade soaps but not ready to get involved with lye? This simple melt-and-pour method for making easy homemade goat milk soap from Boots and Hooves Homestead is for you! You still get to customize scents and use fun molds so you can make eye-catching soaps with gorgeous designs like these. Lots more cool options here.

♦ This DIY cuticle oil from Eco Living Mama is easy to make and perfect for this time of year when skin tends to dry out. And so much safer than chemical-filled off the shelf products!

♦ Homemade lip balms are surprisingly easy homemade gift ideas. Try this natural chocolate mint lip balm from Get Green Be Well for a holiday-themed stocking stuffer or a simple vanilla lip balm. This DIY rose lip balm from Modern Homestead Mama also looks divine.

♦ A DIY lotion bar is a bit more involved, but still totally doable. Check out this lotion bar tutorial from Eco Living Mama.

Related: Gifts for Gardeners

EASY HOMEMADE GIFTS FROM THE KITCHEN

Some sneaky kitchen hacks can make minimal work look like something special. Check out these easy but delectable edible homemade gifts.

EASY HOMEMADE GIFT IDEAS FOR THE CHOCOHOLIC

♦ Homemade cocoa mix tastes so much better (and is so much healthier) than the store-bought stuff. And who wouldn’t be thrilled with a ready-to-go warming drink at this time of year? Anya at Prepare and Nourish has a recipe for superfood hot chocolate mix (pictured above).

♦ If you want to spice things up a little, here’s a Mexican hot cocoa mix from Raia’s Recipes.

♦ These easy homemade chocolates are as simple stirring some dried fruit and nuts into melted chocolate, but SO delicious. They make a fabulous gift, but make sure to keep some for yourself!

♦ These easy almond flour keto shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate are a healthier option than you’ll find on most holiday cookie plates.

♦ I’m looking forward to trying these amazing 3-ingredient healthy chocolate turtles from Natural Green Mom. They look delicious and so easy!

(If you’re curious, here’s why chocolate is good for you!)

EASY HOMEMADE GIFT IDEAS FOR THE TEA AFICIONADO

♦ Mixing herbs for a homemade herbal tea blend is a snap and makes a great gift. I have a cabinet full of a bunch of herbs for sleep, which I mix and put in a pretty jar with printed instructions on how to use it. Here are several herbal tea recipes to try for quick, easy, and inexpensive gifts. You can label herbs for relaxation “relaxing blend” or “sleep tight” and specify the herb-to-water ratio and steep time.

♦ Even some beautiful hibiscus tea in a pretty jar is an unusual gift that many tea drinkers won’t have tried before. Pair it with an infuser pot, cup, or tea ball. You could do multiple jars and fill another with chamomile flowers and a third with lemon balm, elderberries, or nettle leaf. I like these attractive but affordable jars.

If you plan ahead, you can forage some ingredients for your herbal teas, like elderflower and others flowers you can eat.

♦ Or mix an immune boosting chai tea blend using instructions from Recipes to Nourish.

EASY HOMEMADE GIFT IDEAS FOR THE FOODIE

♦ You can also buy spices in bulk and mix them for delicious gourmet gifts. Try mixing up your own Italian blend, taco seasoning, or spice rub. Here’s a great deal on a spice jar set that comes with its own labels.

♦ If you can toss chickpeas with some spices and turn on your oven, these crunchy and addictive roasted chickpeas are an easy win!

♦ A big jar of seasoned zucchini chips is colorful, delicious and healthy!

♦ Though they take some advance planning, homemade extracts and vinegars still have minimal hands-on time. Just make sure to get them done a few weeks ahead in the case of the vinegar. In the case of the extracts, if you can get them soaking months ahead, great, but if not, just put a date on the label for when it will be ready.

♦ Homemade vanilla extract is as easy as adding some alcohol to vanilla beans and waiting (instructions from Little Sprouts Learning). Or try some more unusual homemade chocolate extract!

♦ Or if you grow your own mint, you could make your own mint extract using herbs from your garden. I have a ton of chocolate mint and am looking forward to trying this recipe for easy chocolate mint extract from Commonsense Home. (You can also use regular mint if that’s what you have.)

♦ Learning and Yearning also has instructions making your own extracts using almonds, chocolate, and citrus rinds. Anyone interested in zero waste will love that citrus peels infuse the extract — perfect for root to stem eaters. Here are loads more ingenious uses for orange peels.

♦ You can also infuse vinegars with herbs from your garden, like lemon balm, basil, or rosemary. Here are instructions for how to make herbal vinegar from Traditional Cooking School. Or try this infused vinegar recipe using fruit from Attainable Sustainable. Here’s how to make vinegar from scratch using apple scraps or leftover wine.

♦ Preserved lemons are another specialty cooking product that is absurdly easy to make. Lemons, salt, and time — and voilà! A fancy gift for the foodie in your life!

♦ Fruits you dried yourself, on their own or mixed together, packed in a pretty glass jar are another super-easy homemade gift. Try dried orange slices, dried apples, dried peaches or nectarines, or incredible chewy dried bananas. So simple, but such delicious gifts!

Related: Eco Friendly Gifts

EASY HOMEMADE GIFTS FOR THE HOME

♦ Here are some unique ways to turn a simple canning jar into a Christmas present from Learning and Yearning. I want to try making the sewing kit!

♦ These DIY beeswax wraps from Mindful Momma are so cool! Perfect for anyone trying to give up plastic wrap!

♦ I love all the ways Oh The Things We’ll Make can turn a t-shirt into a bag, including no-sew options!

♦ DIY potpourri looks gorgeous and smells wonderful. Instructions from Compost and Cava.

♦ If you’re reading this at holiday time, it’s too late to grow your own luffas, but file that idea away till summer and check out the amazing things you can do with this funky gourd from Little Sprouts Learning. My seeds didn’t come up this year, but I’m trying again these next season! You could also buy a luffa and make one of these cool luffa soaps.

I can’t wait to try some of these easy homemade gift ideas and see the smiles (looks of astonishment?) on everyone’s faces.

How about you? What are your favorite easy homemade gifts?

Pin to save these easy homemade gift ideas for later!

Photo credits: Daria-Yakovleva, Personal Creations, The Pistachio Project, Prepare and Nourish, Bru-nO, Oh the Things We’ll Make, rawpixel