12 Gift Ideas for Christmas

“For it is in giving that we receive.”

St. Francis of Assisi

12 Gift Ideas for Christmas. November 2025.

The gardening tools had just come out of the shed for Spring, and here we are already in the Christmas season – forsooth! The days in between seem to be nothing at all anymore because of the hard truth that time does go faster the older you get. Consequently, this is when you learn to savor each day and moment of life for the gift it is. Christmas is the celebration of the ultimate gift of life in Christ and should absolutely be a season of celebration. When you have the foundation of the Lord in your life and submit yourself to His will, you will discover new life and peace in the knowledge that we have the great High Priest to take our burdens to. And truly, many are carrying some kind of burden, whether seen or not, making Christmas an opportunity to uplift others in Christ’s name.

One of the many ways of uplifting someone is to give meaningful gifts. Meaningful gifts can look different to people, but generally, it is safe to say they come from the heart, are made with love, or fill a specific need. Years ago, I was in a fabric store when my eyes stopped on a beautiful French sewing book. My mom’s name came to mind, and I was strongly impressed by the Holy Spirit to buy this book for her. It was an expensive book; however, I just happened to have a coupon for 40% off. Never will I forget how her face lit up when I handed the book to her. Unbeknownst to me, she had seen the book recently and kept carrying it around the store because she loved it so much. She didn’t buy it because it was expensive, though.

This story is just one of many reminders of how God uses His people to help bless others in such specific ways. And it brings such joy when those moments do happen. In any case, I also happen to love giving gifts in general, so my office is covered in gift projects already. I did want to share 12 gift ideas for Christmas that I am making or buying for this year. Perhaps it will spur your creative thinking as well. I have tried to put links where relevant. Also, all opinions are my own with no affiliations or monies being received.

Gift Ideas for Christmas. November 2025.

1. Brownie Mix. Ghirardelli’s has such good chocolate, and their sweet ground cocoa has their famous recipe on the back, which I used to make homemade brownie mix gifts using these bags here and labels I made. Furthermore, this is a quick 5-minute project.

2. Lace-trimmed kitchen towels. This is another 5-minute project using crochet lace trim and flour sack towels. Sew a trim of crochet lace to the edges of a plain flour sack towel for some elegance in the kitchen.

3. Handmade notecards. Always lovely to get and give, you can read how to do dried flower notecards here, or you can use traditional rubber stamps as shown below. I found some vintage stamps with a sweet cottage scene and a bouquet of roses to make these lovely cards. I used distress oxide ink in Victorian velvet and bundled sage. Another idea for homemade cards is using clip art, and Creative Market is a great source of clip art at reasonable prices.

4. Salad bowl set. Not a handmade gift, but fun to put together for someone who likes salads. I ordered this beautiful salad bowl with matching serving pieces on Amazon and these spice mixes (no affiliation), as well as some white wine vinegar and olive oil to make this gift.

5. A cute basket of socks. But who wouldn’t love a basket of pretty socks? I got these baskets here and socks here.

6. A basket of used books. Used books are a treasure, and there is nothing wrong with gifting them. So, find some favorites in a thrift store or from your own collection and make a pretty presentation of them.

More ideas…

7. Homemade bath tea. Make a hot bath an herbally soothing one with homemade bath tea. Take 1 pound of European bath salts and sprinkle with 25 drops of lavender essential oil. Stir to combine and let dry for a few hours. To the salts, add 1/2 cup of dried chamomile and 1/2 dried lavender. Scoop 1/4 cup into large bath tea bags. Seal shut with the iron. Here are some bath tea bags similar to what I used here.

8. Personalized prayer journal. Keeping a prayer journal is something I am trying to do more regularly, and it really is amazing to go back and read what God has done in lives! I ordered these craft journals to personalize for gifts and included these pretty green toile pens! I used toile wallpaper on hand to cover the one below. Additionally, you can also use this method here to decorate a journal with dried flowers.

9. Handmade lotion bars. A classic skincare item for chapped hands. Furthermore, this is a non-greasy one as well! To make six lotion bars in a microwavable bowl, combine 4 oz beeswax, 4 oz coconut oil, and 4 oz refined shea butter. (Note: I used refined shea butter to avoid the smell.) Microwave for 3-4 minutes or until melted. Add 2 tsps. Of lavender essential oil and stir. Pour into desired molds. I pour in 2 oz bar sizes and get 6 bars from this batch. When bars are hard and cooled, remove. Wrapped with Saran Wrap and use a hair dryer to “shrink wrap” (just a few seconds). Put in containers and label. Tip: If you don’t have a mold, a clean, regular-sized muffin pan works well for this.

10. Mug with prayer cards and tea. This is a blue toile mug that I adorned with a blue silk bow and some verse cards I made to encourage one.

And the last two….

11. Handmade warming pillow. This is a favorite around here, and the warmth lasts for about 45 min.- 1 hour! Take a 15-inch width by 16-inch length piece of fabric and fold in half with the wrong sides facing out. Sew 2 sides shut, leaving one of the 8-inch sides open. Turn right side out and fill with 2 quarts of uncooked white rice. Tuck in the raw edges of the remaining side and sew shut. I use a zigzag stitch for a good seal. To use the microwave until it is as hot as you like (usually about 5 minutes).

12. Make a plain sweater something special by sewing little satin bows on it. First, I made the bows and then stitched them by hand, making sure that the stitch ensured the bow wouldn’t come untied. Additionally, make sure not to tie the bows “tight” and leave them a bit loose at the knot for easy stitching. I also dabbed the ends of the ribbon with clear nail polish to keep from fraying.

Have a merry season!

12 gift ideas for Christmas