DIY Gift Ideas for the Holiday Season

The holiday season is here, and it’s time to get into the spirit of giving! When it comes to giving, there’s something extra special about creating homemade gifts. The thought, time, and effort of making a DIY gift lets the recipient know how much you care.

These DIY gift ideas will get your creativity flowing! Each of the ideas below is perfect for making during a crafternoon together with your child. Let them help as you make winter slime, stuffed toys, a gingerbread village, and more. Not only will you be creating gifts to give away, but you’ll both receive the gift of time spent together.

Inspired by some of your favorite PBS KIDS shows, these handmade gift ideas are fun to make and lovely to receive. Whether your list is filled with grandparents, teachers, children, or friends, there’s something for everyone!

Around our home, making and playing with slime is a favorite activity for kids and grownups. There’s just something fun about getting a little messy! Have your child help add ingredients, mix, and package up a batch of Winter Slime, just like Rosie does for her Slime Shop! You can even add special mix-ins like glitter or beads to customize it for different people.

We can’t keep enough bookmarks in our home, so when our kids want to give a DIY gift, a bookmark is one of their first ideas! Making bookmarks is a wonderful way to involve children in helping to create handmade gifts. Try making bunny bookmarks from Elinor Wonders Why or easy pipe cleaner flower bookmarks. They’ll love feeling involved in making gifts for the people they love. And if your list includes young readers, you could even use these booklists to choose a book that’s just right for them.

I treasure the family time we spend in the kitchen. It’s magical to see my children learn as they mix batter or watch cupcakes bake. Baking with children allows them to learn skills like measuring, pouring, and mixing. Your favorite family recipe can become the perfect homemade gift with just a little packaging! Bake a batch of Winter Wonderland Cookies (or a recipe you love), place them in a box or bag, and add a simple bow. These little packages are perfect DIY gift ideas for neighbors or teachers.

Printable gifts take a major load off your shoulders when it comes to homemade gift-giving! For a perfect Hanukkah gift, download a 3D Dreidel printable and let your child color or decorate it. Then, show your child the magic of making a 3D Dreidel from a sheet of paper, just like Einstein showed Peg. Pair the handmade dreidel with a book that celebrates Hanukkah for a lovely gift.

The one true way to my daughter’s heart is a stuffed toy. Big or small, silly or sweet, they just make her happy. She would be so delighted to receive adorable handmade stuffed toys like these, inspired by Nature Cat! I’m sure she would be just as excited to make them for a friend, too. These stuffed toys are a great way to use fabric or felt scraps that you may already have.

Look no further than your recycling bin for a handmade gift idea that will make somebody smile! Collect small cardboard boxes and let your children’s creativity loose to create this charming gingerbread village. They can use crayons or markers to color houses on each box and combine them to make a unique village. This DIY gift idea would look particularly festive on a mantel or in a classroom. Your child will be so excited that they helped create holiday decorations that they may want to make more!