Holiday

33 homemade gifts you still have time to DIY this season

Homemade candles, totes, clothes, soaps and so many more stunning suggestions they’ll absolutely love.

Homemade candles, totes, clothes, soaps and so many more stunning suggestions they’ll absolutely love

triptych, left to right: a fabric bookmark on the corner of a book; a pink glass candle; a denim tote bag hanging on a wall.
(Photo, left and right: Sara SJ Kim, middle: Michael Kai Young)

There's something incredibly special about giving someone a gift you actually made yourself. Plus, you get to enjoy the fun and pride that come from creating rather than buying. As you scroll through this list of 33 DIY projects from our archives, rest assured that your giftees would truly appreciate something handmade by you this holiday season.

If you've got access to a sewing machine, you'll find some great projects to try, such as a denim tote bag made of old jeans, and a fabric bookmark. These are great options if you're looking to make a batch of presents. Maybe you have a giftee who adores candles? We have three very original ideas, including one that repurposes old vessels. You'll also find great instructions for crafting scrunchies, beaded bracelets, shower bundles of seasonal greenery, plant stands, aftershave and a myriad of other projects. Match them to the tastes of the people you're thinking of and the time you have available.

In honour of the season, we've also included some festive ornaments, adorable stockings made from old sweaters, and homemade cookie containers for presenting your baked goods in an extra special way. Bookmark your favourites, gather your supplies, and get to the merriment of making.  

Sleep mask

Three fabric sleep masks sitting on a grey background. Text on screen says "Let's sew a sleep mask."
(Photography by Sara SJ Kim)

A homemade candle (using an old vessel)

10 lit candles in different sizes and different colour glass vessels, sitting on a pale pink surface with a pale pink fabric background behind it.
(Photography by Michael Kai Young)

A denim maxi skirt

a woman standing in a hallway looking out a window. she's wearing a white t-shirt and a denim maxi skirt. text on image says "let's transform old jeans to maxi skirt".
(Photography by Sara SJ Kim)

An aromatic shower bouquet 

two illustrations on a white background. left: a bouquet of eucalyptus, juniper branches and other fragrant greenery in brown paper wrapping. right: a claw-foot tub with bubbles in it. water is flowing from a shower head. a bundle of greenery is wrapped around the top of the shower head.
(Illustration: Katie Flohr)

Scrunchies

2 photos of withwendy wearing a blue sweater and a stack of scrunchies in a pony tail on top of her head.
(Credit: withwendy)

Homemade cookie containers 

2 side-by-side images of homemade cookie containers
(Photography by withwendy)

DIY beaded curtain 

A window with a beaded curtain on it with blue sky in the background. The words "DIY beaded curtain" are in the middle of the image.
(Credit: withwendy)

Friendship bracelets

left: overhead shot of bracelet making supplies. right: a hand making a peace sign, with a beaded bracelet that says 'peace' around the wrist.
(Photography by withwendy)

A denim tote bag

A denim tote hands are holding up in a hallway. Text on screen says "let's sew an upcycled denim tote."
(Photography by Sara SJ Kim)

Little world ornaments

Canadian YouTuber ALB holding a homemade Christmas tree ball that is painted light green and has mini deer and trees inside.

Holiday stockings

One large, white fabric holiday stocking and a mini festive green holiday stocking sitting on a grey background. Text on screen says "Let's sew holiday stockings."
(Photography by Sara SJ Kim)

Quartz-inspired soaps

a hand holding 2 pink, gemstone-shaped soaps
(Photography by Lady Hayes)

Homemade belly oil, nipple butter and solid perfume

left: a hand holding a small bottle of beauty oil; right: a hand with a small jar of body butter in it.
(Photography by withwendy)

No-sew table runner

A dinner table set with a white tablerunner that has a fringe detail and floral appliqué patches on it.
(Photography by Wade Muir)

A fabric bookmark

Overhead shot of two hands adding a fabric bookmark to the corner of an open book. Text on screen says "let's sew a fabric bookmark."
(Photography by Sara SJ Kim)

A small, medium or large dried floral arrangement

three images of floral arrangements. left to right: a small, medium and large bright floral arrangement with dried florals
(Photo: Mariah Hamilton; styling: Abigail Ballanger)

Stockings 

A fireplace mantel with three knitted stockings hanging from it.
(Photography by Lady Hayes)

DIY swan dish 

Left: a swan-shaped dish; right: withwendy holding the dish and smiling to camera
(Credit: withwendy)

DIY tie dye

left: a woman wearing a tie dye sweatsuit; right: overhead shot of tie dye masks
(Source, left: mashaapparel.com; right: Instagram/@wildflowerdyes)

Floral taper candles

A row of tall, skinny, taper candles in various ornate candle holders. To the left is a close up of the middle candle that is light green with five little flowers decorated on it (three flowers are orange, one is blue and the other is white).
(Photography by Michael Kai Young)

A double loop headband 

Overhead shot of a floral and striped cloth headband laying on a white surface. Text on screen says "How to sew a double loop headband".
(Photography by Sara SJ Kim)

Mid-century modern wooden plant stand

A cactus in a white plant pot sitting in a wooden plant stand.
(Photography by Lady Hayes)

A dog candle  

a small, white dog-shaped candle sits on a pink pedestal, with pink tennis balls sitting around it, in front of a pink background. two small white dogs wearing pink sweaters are behind the candle.
(Photography by Michael Kai Young)

Embellished denim jacket

onlinekyne wearing an embellished denim jacket
(Photography by onlinekyne)

Stuffed animal bookends

A wild holiday wreath

Artist Lauren Wilson hanging a wreath on a wall.
(Photography by Tom Wood)

Custom shaving cream and aftershave

left: a shaving brush on a sink; right: 2 small mason jars stacked and tied with a bow.
(Photography by withwendy)

Marbled jewelry dishes

Overhead shot of 2 marbled trinket dishes with jewelry in them.

Marble hydro dipping plant pots

Steven Sabados in his studio holding a pink hydrangea in a pink, marbled plant pot.

A beach cover-up 

a woman shown from the nose down, wearing a blue striped beach cover-up dress with ties around the waist. text on screen says "let's sew a beach cover-up dress"
(Photography by Sara SJ Kim)

Custom, large-scale wall tapestry

left: hands making a large, woven tapestry. right: withwendy standing in front of the woven tapestry.
(Credit: withwendy)

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