Twelve Christmas Gift Ideas

“For it is in giving that we receive.”

St. Francis of Assisi

Twelve Christmas Gift Ideas. 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 disappear anymore. The hard truth is 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 celebrates the ultimate gift of life in Christ and should absolutely be a season of celebration. When you have the Lord as the foundation of your life and submit yourself to His will, you will discover new life and peace in knowing 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 many ways to uplift someone is to give meaningful gifts. Meaningful gifts can look different to people, but generally, 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 felt strongly led by the Holy Spirit to buy the book for her. It was expensive; however, I happened to have a coupon for 40% off. I’ll never forget how her face lit up when I handed her the book. 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, though, because it was expensive.

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 love giving gifts in general, so my office is already covered in gift projects. I wanted to share Twelve Christmas Gift Ideas that I am making or buying this year. Perhaps they will spur your creative thinking, too. I have tried to put links where relevant. Also, these are my opinions, with no affiliations or money 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 give and receive, you can read how to make dried flower notecards here, or use traditional rubber stamps as shown below. These vintage rubber stamps have a sweet cottage scene and a bouquet of roses for making lovely cards. I used distress oxide ink in Victorian velvet and bundled sage. Another idea for homemade cards is to use clip art. Creative Market is a great source of clip art at reasonable prices.

4. Salad bowl set. This isn’t a handmade gift, but it is fun to put together for someone who likes salads. I ordered this beautiful salad bowl with matching serving pieces on Amazon. Also, these spice mixes (no affiliation), along with some white wine vinegar and olive oil, pair well with this bowl.

More ideas…

5. A cute basket of socks. Who wouldn’t love a basket of pretty socks? Find these baskets here and socks here, and give someone warm, cute-looking feet for Christmas.

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.

7. Homemade bath tea. Make a hot bath a soothing herbal one for someone by giving them this 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. Add 1/2 cup dried chamomile and 1/2 cup dried lavender to the salts. Scoop 1/4 cup into large bath tea bags and then 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 an amazing way to record the things God does in our lives! I ordered these craft journals to personalize for gifts and included these pretty green toile pens! If you have extra wallpaper lying around, use it to cover a journal. For example, the blush toile wallpaper I used below. Additionally, you can also use this method to decorate a journal with dried flowers.

9. Handmade lotion bars. A classic skincare item for chapped hands. Plus, it’s non-greasy! 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. Wrap 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.

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

And the last two….

11. Handmade warming pillow. This is a favorite around here, and the warmth lasts about 45 min.-1 hour! Take a 15-inch-wide by 16-inch-long piece of fabric and fold in half with the wrong sides facing out. Sew the 2 sides shut, leaving one 8-inch end 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. A holiday sweater. Make a plain sweater something special by sewing little satin bows on it. First, I made the bows and stitched them on the sweater by hand. Tie the bows, keeping the knot loose enough for stitching. Additionally, make sure the stitch goes through enough of the knot that the bow won’t come untied. And lastly, dab the ribbon ends with clear nail polish to keep them from fraying.

Have a merry season!

Twelve Christmas Gift Ideas