15 Delightful Christmas Gifts That Come From the Heart - Not a Shopping Cart (2024)

Inside: Even if you’re not terribly crafty, you can make these heartfelt homemade Christmas gifts, ranging from useful to creative—but they’re all meaningful.

With two weeks until Christmas, we’ve got plenty of ideas for presents to get our kids.

Ideas for what we can get them, ideas we’ve given to grandparents – so many ideas we’ve already got enough for next Christmas. And the list? All store-bought. No heartfelt homemade Christmas gifts to speak of. Oops.

Then this morning while I was putting away our 6-year-old’s laundry, I noticed Christmas presents from last year neatly stacked in the corner of her closet. They haven’t been touched since last December.

Not because she didn’t enjoy last year’s presents. She did.

It’s just too much for a kid. And I know that because a few weeks ago, and told me. She said when she goes into her room, she doesn’t know what to play with because there’s too much to choose from.

What’s the point of spending all this time and money on buying more and more stuff, only to have it sit in a closet for a year (or more) until we get fed up with the clutter and donate it all to charity?

Call me Scrooge if you want, but the whole situation has me craving something a little more meaningful this holiday season. And as it turns out, I’m not alone in yearning for a yuletide from yesteryear. 84 percent of Americans said they would prefer aless materialistic holiday season. And 81 percent of adultsappreciate when someone makes a donationto a charity in their name instead of a giving a physical gift.

But Here’s the Problem

When I search Pinterest for “DIY Christmas gifts,” I’m confronted with a harsh reality.

You, too, can make this precious personalized coffee mug for your loved one! All you need is a Sharpie, some glitter, and the penmanship of a professional wedding invitation calligrapher.

No?

Okay, how about this cozy blanket you can knit in 45 minutes using only your arms?

But I can barely walk 20 yards without tripping over my own feet. Hand-eye coordination (or arm-eye coordination as the case may be) is not my friend.

All these adorable, handmade holiday gifts are beyond me. My crafting ability lies somewhere between lighting a candle and successfully cutting coupons – and you’d be surprised by how often I find myself cutting right into the barcode.

Related: 30 Holiday Activities for Your Advent Calendar {Printable}

30 Heartfelt Handmade Christmas Gifts Anyone Can DIY

So I decided to put together a list of the best heartfelt homemade Christmas gifts for the not-so-crafty among us. (Hi, that’s me!)

Here are the most meaningful DIY Christmas gift ideas for you, my non-crafty brethren. You can handle every gift on this list, I promise. No mod podge required! Plus, the majority of these ideas are super frugal, so they’ll work if you’re on a tight budget.

But the best part? Your loved ones will adore these meaningful gifts that came straight from the heart, not a shopping cart.

DIY Gifts for Everyone

Here are heartfelt homemade Christmas gifts that work no matter the recipient. Whether you need DIY Christmas gifts for mom, grandparents, or your hairdresser—this list has you covered:

1. Write a letter. One of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received was a simple letter from a friend, telling me that she appreciated me and why. Get some nice festive paper like this adorable snowman letterhead^†, grab a pen, and write from the heart. Or if you’re feeling super creative, write a poem.

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

2. Bake something yummy. Homemade cookies, bread, salsa, pasta sauce – whatever your specialty is, it will taste better than store-bought versions that sit on the shelf for days or weeks. Check out my Dessert First board on Pinterestherefor ideas. Too much? Keep it simple and buy abrownie mix.
3. Make them an insider. Cover the membership fee for your loved one at a local performing arts theater. Most theaters will give their members perks like free tickets or priority seating.
4. Put together an album. Pick out a few of your favorite photos of your friend or family member, get them printed, and throw them together in a photo album. (One you get at a store, not some vintage children’s book you’ve upcycled into a disgustingly cute photo album.This oneis pretty and looks kinda fancy without being expensive.)
5. Give clippings. Just snip them from your favorite house or garden plants.
6. Teach them something. Offer to teach a skill you have, like a foreign language, playing an instrument, orhandling temper tantrums like a ninja mom.
7. Make an emergency kit. Your loved one can keep this handy kit in the car in case they break down. Add a blanket, these magical hand warmers, and maybe an LED flashlight. For bonus points, include supplies to help get the car back in running order, like a gas can or jumper cables.
8. Compile a cookbook. Print copies of your family’s favorite recipes and arrange them in a binder.
9. Make a donation in their honor. Think of a cause that’s important to your loved one, then make a donation in their name to a charity that works on that issue. Many nonprofit organizations will even send a holiday card or another gift with a special message to the gift recipient for you. Or check out these free cards that saya donation has been made in your name, but not in a boring way. They’re guaranteed to put a smile on your loved one’s face.
10. Give your time. Make a coupon or certificate for a gift of your time – a night of babysitting or weekend of petsitting, a car wash, a month of cleaning the cat’s litterbox (okay, maybe just one week of that).These couponsare pretty cute, andthese are blankso you can write in your own gift. For kids, try thisfree printable coupon book for kidsI made for my kids – spoiler alert: theylovedit!
11. Share a favorite. Pick a favorite book off your shelf to give – you can check it out from the library if you want to read it again.
12. Protect their mailbox. Take a friend off junk mail lists at41pounds.org.
13. Reminisce. List your 100 best memories of your loved one: “That one time, at band camp…” Download my free printableherefor sharing your favorite memories.
14. Make it useful. Give a gift certificate for something they need anyway, like a haircut.
15. Gift a dance party. Make a playlist of your favorite songs and save them to a USB flash drive. Check out my tutorial onhow to share a playlistfor step-by-step instructions. (If you go this route for a romantic partner, check out75+ of the Best Unknown Love Songs.)
16. Sign them up for a class. Do you have a friend who’s been talking about learning how to sew or the art of canning? Honing their photography skills? Find a class and sign them up! Even better, sign up both of you together so it’s an experience you’ll share. For example, Clickin Moms offers online photography workshops covering everything from a beginner’s guide to using a DSLR to newborn photography to the foundations of composition. (Fancy!)
17. Give an inspiring quote. Search for “quote free printable” and scroll until you find a quotation that reminds you of your loved one. Double-check that the page includes a free printable, then print it and throw it in a frame like this one that’s available in a gabazillion colors. Or if you have the perfect quote in mind, make your own printable quote.
18. Round up your faves. Get a basket, write on a notecard “These are a few of my favorite things,” and go to town filling the basket to share your faves. Your favorite wine, your favorite book or magazine, that peach jam at the farmers’ market that you can’t get enough of, your favorite hand lotion, your favorite fancy candy bar, the shampoo that leaves you feeling like a model.

Related: 10 Unique Stocking Stuffers for Girls That Will Delight Your Kids {Printable}

DIY Gifts for Families

When you need DIY christmas gifts for a family, turn to these meaningful gift ideas:

1. Give dinner. Make your best lasagna, soup, or another dinner you can freeze, and give it to your loved one to use at a later date when they don’t feel like cooking dinner. This works great for families with small children! (Goodness knows my little family resorts to pizza way too often.)
2. Record interviews. Sit down with family members and use an app like Super Notes to record the interview. Ask parents, grandparents, cousins, or aunts and uncles to share memories of the loved one the gift is for. Or they might appreciate a simple effort at recording some of the best stories from your family history. (My 6-year-old is constantly asking for us to tell stories from when we were younger!)
3. Capture a family’s joy together. Purchase a session with a family photographer as a gift to a family in your life. (You can search the CMPro directory here for a photographer.) Or if you’re a skilled photographer yourself, offer to take an afternoon at the park with them to snap a few shots. We had a family session soon after our youngest was born, and I’m so incredibly happy we have a record of that time together as a family!
4. Compile a book. This makes a great gift for grandparents. Get all the kids in your extended family to draw a picture or write a story of their favorite memory of Grandma and/or Grandpa, then take all the creations to an office services store to have them bound into a book. Priceless!
5. Put together a family movie night in a box. Grab your favorite family DVD off your shelf, like Shrek or The Goonies, or give an Amazon gift card for $5 so they can rent one. Then add some popcorn (Parmesan and rosemary?), soda or juice, and a cozy blanket for everyone to snuggle up under. (Note: I’m totally NOT suggesting you make that blanket yourself, but if you’re feeling adventurous maybe try arm-knitting and let me know how it goes?)
6. Get them out of the house. For families with children, a gift membership to achildren’s museumis a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year.

Related: A Sweet Way to Guarantee Your Kid Has an Attitude of Gratitude {Printable}

DIY Gifts for Kids

For more heartfelt homemade Christmas gifts for kids, check outthis list of the most meaningful gifts your kids will treasurefor a long time.

1. Adopt a wild animal. Many zoos or animal sanctuaries offer a program where you can sponsor an animal. This makes a great gift for kids because as a follow-up gift, you can visit the zoo and pretend to find the animal you sponsored. Some zoos will even send you a certificate about the animal you adopted.
2. Make the box the gift. Infants and toddlers don’t need store-bought toys to be happy. In fact, if you watch any kid this age on Christmas morning, you’ll see that they’re more interested in the steady stream of colorful paper to crumple and tear and eat, not to mention the boxes. So many boxes! Just save up a bunch of differently sized cardboard boxes, then sit down together and construct a cardboard city on Christmas morning. When you’re done, the tot will have double the fun pretending to be Godzilla.
3. Put together an art gift basket. Just gather random supplies you already have around the house, like washi tape, festive stickers, and colorful Sharpies, and throw in a brand new sketch book like this mixed media journal. (Check out this former art teacher’s recommendations for what every art gift basket needs!)
4. Make a play dough gift set. Check out the instructions here. You’ll just need homemade dough and accessories like toothpicks and buttons. (If my zero-craftiness self can make homemade dough, you totally can!)
5. Invite the child on a nature walk scavenger hunt. This works great when you need to walk off a big Christmas dinner and the kids are feeling cooped up. Print a scavenger hunt map, add a note explaining that you’ll take the child exploring, and wrap it up.
6. Subscribe the child to a magazine. They’ll love getting mail addressed just to them, and you’ll be building their reading skills too. A few ideas: Highlights, National Geographic Kids, or Cricket.

Want More?

For more heartfelt homemade Christmas gifts, check out The Ultimate (Most Epic!) List of the Best Experience Gift Ideas.

Your Turn

What are the best heartfelt homemade Christmas gifts you’ve ever received? Share in a comment below!