20 Handmade Gifts You Can Make from Your Homestead

Do you ever feel frustrated that Christmas is now such a commercialized holiday? It’s no longer about the birth of Jesus Christ and spending time with your family. It’s become a holiday to spend as much money as possible, and it’s time we reclaim Christmas and stop the bleeding of money. This year, try some handmade gifts for your friends and family.

Most homesteaders (or people reading my blog) are the type of people to attempt the DIY. We would rather spend the time than the money.

Honestly, if I spend TIME for your gift, I truly care about you because my time is more precious and limited. Handmade gifts show someone that you care so much that you spent weeks (or months) thinking about the gift you wanted to give them.

So, whether you want some homemade gift ideas for Christmas or birthdays, here are some of my top choices to try this year.

20 Handmade Gifts You Can Make From Your Homestead

Herbal Infused Vinegar

Vinegar preserves herbs similarly to alcohol. Herbal-infused vinegars are excellent when used on salads, marinades, or other dishes. You can be creative and use different herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic, or a blend you like!

Making herb-infused vinegar takes a bit of time. You need a minimum of two weeks for the herbs to infuse the vinegar, but more can result in a stronger flavor.

Learn how to make herbal vinegars here.

Homemade Jams & Jellies

Everyone loves a delicious jam or jelly, and they make an excellent addition to any gift basket. We often gift jelly or jam to our friends and family, but it requires some planning throughout the year. You’ll need to make the jam or jelly ahead of time.

Consider giving your friends a few different jars! I always give a jar of strawberry jam and a jar of mulberry jelly.

Find some more jam or jelly ideas here: 55 Delicious & Unique Jam and Jelly Recipes

Dehydrated Fruit or Fruit Chips

Another idea to include in a basket of handmade gifts is a bag or jar of dehydrated fruit. Not all dehydrated food makes a good gift; most people don’t want to receive a bag of dehydrated tomatoes.

However, a bag of cinnamon apple rings or dried peach slices is a yummy treat for anyone to enjoy.

Try making these: How to Dehydrate Apples: Savor the Flavor of Fall All Year

Flavored Salts

Flavored salts are a favorite in our kitchen and make a fantastic handmade gift. Mix up some of your favorite seasonings with plenty of salt and gift in a small glass jar.

Here are some ideas! Be creative with the amounts of the herbs used in each blend.

Seasoned Salt

Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Cayenne Pepper

Mediterranean Salt Blend

Sea Salt
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme
Oregano
Crushed Chili
Garlic Powder
Orange Peel, Chopped

Rosemary & Lemon Salt Blend

Coarse Salt
Grated Lemon Zest
Dried Rosemary

These are just three ideas. There are SO many creative flavored salt blends to try!

Herbal Tea Blends

One of my favorite handmade gifts is herbal tea blends. We use a lot of herbal teas, especially for herbal remedies. Consider who will receive your gift. Do they have trouble sleeping? Give them a sleepy-time blend. Do they often have colds in the winter? Consider a cough and cold tea blend.

Here is one of our favorite herbal tea blends when we have a wintertime cough.

Equal parts:

Marshmallow root
Thyme
Chamomile

Mix it well into a jar or bag, and they can put 1-2tsp of the mixture in a tea bag.

You can make so many ideas for herbal tea blends at home!

Pickled Veggies

You can pickle almost all veggies. Most people think of cucumbers, but have you tried pickling green beans or cauliflower? Get creative and gift your family and friends some unique pickles they won’t find in the grocery store.

You could try this: Zucchini Bread and Butter Pickles

Bread Mixes in a Jar

Everyone loves homemade bread; it’s a known fact. A lot of people feel intimidated or think they don’t have the time to try it. You can make some bread Mixes in a jar and gift those to your friends!

Here are a few recipes to consider gifting.

Beeswax Candles

Candles are a wonderful idea for handmade gifts! Beeswax is non-toxic and one of the best ingredients to use in candles to avoid toxins throughout your home. It’s easy to scent with various essential oils, AND it’s budget-friendly. When I make candles, I estimate the cost to be $3-4 PER candle. Considering I use natural ingredients, that’s a great price and makes it a practical gift for Christmas or other holidays.

Here is one of my favorite guides: How to Make Beeswax Candles with Essential Oils

Homemade Soap Bars

Who doesn’t love homemade soap? There are a plethora of recipes to try, and you don’t have to mess with lye unless you want to. Melt and pour soaps are all the rage right now, and it’s easy to make in your slow cooker.

Natural Lip Balms

Another awesome idea for a handmade gift is natural lip balms. Have you read the ingredients on some of the lip balms in the stores? Who knows what those things are! Lip balm can be made with only a few ingredients, and you can make enough for gifts AND your family at one time.

Herbal Salves

I love herbal salves. I make various blends for sore muscles, skin irritations, cramps, and more. One of the most popular salves I make is calendula salve, perfect for minor skin wounds and irritations. You start with homemade calendula-infused oil and then make an herbal salve with the infused oil by combining it with beeswax.

Here’s how to make calendula salve.

Homemade Herbal Syrups

Herbal syrups are another popular remedy to give to your family and friends this holiday season. Not to mention, Christmas is in the middle of cold and flu season.

The most popular herbal syrup is elderberry syrup. If you have kids or those with picky taste buds, syrups are a sweet way to get not-so-great tasting herbs into them to kick colds and ailments to the curb.

Learn how to make herbal syrups here.

Homemade Tinctures

Tinctures are my go-to way to take herbs. A tincture is essential an herbal extract using alcohol as the solvent. They have a better shelf life than other herbal remedies, lasting over a year in most cases.

If you want to give tinctures in your handmade Christmas gift basket this year, I suggest starting as soon as possible. I use the folk method of creating a tincture, which means I let my herbs soak for at least 6 to 8 weeks. However, you can try a different method listed here if you have less time.

Try making some echinacea tincture this holiday season.

DIY Essential Oil Blends

If your receipent of the gift is a fan of essential oils (or you love EOs), consider making some DIY essential oil blends for them and make your own rollerballs.

You could make rollerballs of a single essential oil; having some lavender on hand is a great idea. Try some blends too. For example, frankincense and lavender helps to improve sleep. Try some of the blends listed here.

Wool Dryer Balls

One of my first DIY jobs when I was a SAHM of two kids was making wool dryer balls. That was before you could purchase them at nearly any store. I saw a cute set at Aldi recently.

However, just because you can buy them at the store doesn’t mean you can’t make DIY wool dryer balls as one of your handmade gifts this year.

You can make these at home with some wool yarn. Here are easy instructions to follow.

Herbal Dryer Bags

Cotton bags filled with dried lavender for homemade dryer bags.

In recent years, I wanted to ditch the chemicals scents in our home, and one of the first changes I made was removing dryer sheets. I’ve tried DIY dryer sheets before, and they work great! Then, I made the switch to herbal dryer bags as I found more ways to incorporate herbs into our daily life.

While I make my dryer bags with lavender, you could use any herbal blend you like. Our clothes come out smelling lightly scented with lavender. If you incorporate wool dryer balls, then you won’t have to worry about static either!

You can see instructions here: How to Make Reusable Lavender Dryer Bags

Handmade Dishcloths

Last year, I made a stack of crocheted dishcloths for my in-laws for Christmas. They’re one of my go-to handmade gifts. Dishcloths work up quickly; I can make one in a day if I have the time to sit and work. That makes them the perfect item to stash into gift baskets.

Check out some patterns here: 19 Free Crochet Washcloth Patterns

Handmade Oven Mitts or Pot Holders

Another idea are handmade oven mitts or pot holders. You could make these crocheted OR try sewing some oven mitts. You’ll need to make sure you use cotton yarn if crocheting/knitting these because acrylic yarn can melt at high temperatures. When sewing oven mitts, you’ll want to use a heat-appropriate stuffing designed for these projects.

Bath Salts or Herbal Soaks

Who doesn’t love a hot bath after a long day? You can include in your basket of handmade gifts some DIY bath salts or herbal soak satchels.

Bath salts are made with Epsom salt, baking soda, and essential oils. You’ll find dozens of different scents and combinations online.

An herbal bath satchel, sometimes called an herbal bath tea, is different. You’ll use a mixture of Epsom salt and dried herbs to create a blend you like. In the hot bath water, they’ll infuse, similar to a tea but highly diluted, creating a delicious smell and letting you reap some of the herbal benefits.

Homemade Potpourri

I grew up in my grandma’s house, and she ALWAYS had bags of dried potpourri around her house. Potpourri is such a nostalgic item for me. I feel like it’s never sold anymore and people rarely keep it in their house.

If you’re like me and want to bring back potpourri, learn how to make homemade Potpourri. I also like stovetop potpourri, but I always forget to watch it and then it burns on the stove. Yes, I’ve done that before. Some dried potpourri in bowls is more my style, plus it’s adorable decor!

20 Handmade Gifts You Can Make from Your Homestead