Handmade gifts are the way to go! Show some love this Christmas by gifting friends and family a beautiful and thoughtful DIY Christmas gift basket. 
I’m super excited this year because I’m whipping up not only one Christmas gift basket, but several! I’ve always loved making and receiving homemade gifts. I know not everyone does, but it’s something I’ve always appreciated and typically use more than store bought gifts!
Over the past couple of years I have enjoyed making things with my hands whether that be skin care products, simple recipes or small handcrafted projects. I’m delighted to be able to put some of what I’ve learned to use by gifting them to some of my favorite people.
These DIY Christmas gift baskets are relatively inexpensive to make, pretty simple and I’ll even make it easier for you by including recipes, free printables and links to everything I’m using!
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DIY Christmas Gift Basket Video
Decorating The Basket
Decorating the basket is pretty easy and all you’ll need is red satin ribbon, hot glue and a Merry Christmas label.
I started off by cutting two slits into the sides of my label and wrapped the ribbon around the perimeter of my basket. Next you’ll need to loop the ribbon through the label and tie in the back. I found it easier to stay on by adding some hot glue behind the label as well as a bit throughout the rest of the basket.
I also added a bit of hot glue to one end of my basket handle and wrapped the ribbon around and secured with more glue on the other side.
Bulking The Basket
If you have a pretty deep basket or would like your items inside to “pop” a bit more then I’d add something to the bottom as a filler. You can use tissue paper if you’d like but I just used what I had on hand which was a brown paper grocery sack and kraft paper.
Basket Alternative
If you’d like a cheaper alternative to a gift basket then you can use gift sacks. I purchased some simple brown paper gift bags off of Amazon that will work really well for this! If you have several people you are making these for it may be more frugal to go with the gift bag route.
You could simply add the “Merry Christmas” label to the front of the gift bag and salt dough ornaments double as adorable gift tags!
Shop Basket Decor and Gift Bags
The Basket (similar to what I’m using)
Free Printable Labels
A DIY Christmas gift basket wouldn’t be complete without personalized labels! I’ve done all the work for you so all you have to do is print them. I’m using black and white but for those of you who would like a bit more color to your basket I have also made these in red and green as well.
I’ve added the printables to my Online Subscriber Library where you’ll be able to view all my free resources on one page!
If you have label paper then that would be the quickest route to go. I did not have any on hand so what I did was print on cardstock paper and used clear packing tape to attach my labels.
World’s Best No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
My Papa David makes the World’s Best No Bake Oatmeal Cookies so of course I had to include them in my DIY Christmas Gift Basket! It just wouldn’t be the same without those cookies.
I packaged them in these brown bakery bags I found off of Amazon and added my “Handmade With Love” label on the front and the ingredients on the back. I like to include what’s in everything just in case someone has an allergy!
World's Best No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups Quaker one minute oats
- 2 cups Jiff extra crunchy peanut butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 stick Blue Bonnet Butter
Instructions
- Combine the oats and peanut butter in a large bowl.
- In a medium sauce pan combine sugar, cocoa, milk and butter over high heat.
- Once the mixture begins to boil time for one minute.
- Add the cocoa mixture to the oats and peanut butter and stir until well combined.
- Using a medium sized cookie scoop, drop individual cookies onto parchment or wax paper. If you don't have a cookie scoop then a large spoon works too.
- Allow cookies to set up and then transfer into an airtight container.
Notes
Shop What You’ll Need For The World’s Best No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
3 DIY Christmas Ornaments
This year I decided to make my own DIY Christmas Ornaments for the Christmas tree and I thought they would make really cute fillers for these baskets.
How To Make Simple Pinecone Ornaments
1.) Make a simple bow out of the red satin ribbon and hot glue it to the front of the pinecone.
2.) Add a loop to the back with twine and secure with hot glue.
The dried orange slices are probably my favorite addition to the tree this year. They add such a natural look to the tree and is so different than what you’d normally expect to see.
How To Make Dried Orange Slice Ornaments
1.) Slice oranges thinly.
2.) Add dried cloves around the center of the slice. (optional)
3.) Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for roughly 2 hours or until dried.
How To Make Salt Dough Ornaments
Simple Salt Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Add the water to the dry ingredients and combine.
- Knead the dough with your hands until well formed.
- Sprinkle a cutting board with flour and lay out your dough.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until 1/4-1/2 inch thick. It will depend on personal preference to how you'd like the ornaments to look.
- Cut out with cookie cutters and poke a hole through the top of each for your string. You can use a toothpick, skewer or a straw.
- Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about 2 hours.
- Paint, seal with modge podge, or leave as it!
Notes
Shop What You Need for DIY Christmas Ornaments
Natural Hemp Cord (similar to what I’m using.)
Peppermint Sugar Scrub
Sugar scrubs are such a classic DIY gift idea but for a good reason! They are super exfoliating for the skin, smell delicious and its so incredibly easy to make.
I done a post recently on Apple Cider Sugar Scrub and the peppermint works about the same way. This time I used all white sugar, fractionated coconut oil and substituted with peppermint essential oil of course. Also, I cut my normal recipe in half so you all would know exactly how much fits into these 4 oz mason jars! Every drop went inside and it fit perfectly.
How To Make Peppermint Sugar Scrub
1.) Mix 1/2 cup of white sugar with 1/4 cup of fractionated coconut oil.
2.) Add 10-15 drops of peppermint essential oil.
3.) Mix together thoroughly and store in 4 oz mason jars.
For added touches what I done was wrap red and white stripped twine around the lid and tied into a bow. For a rustic appeal to the top I grabbed a bit of burlap fabric and cut out a circle the size of my lid.
Shop What You Need For Peppermint Sugar Scrub
4 oz Ball Mason Jar (similar to what I’m using. These are quilted.)
Lavender Lotion Bar
Lavender lotion bars are probably my favorite addition to this gift basket! I found the most adorable flower silicon molds and knew immediately what I wanted to make with them. Of course you can also do something Christmas themed such as a star or a snowman but I couldn’t pass up the flowers.
I am seriously on a roll because not only did I find the perfect molds but also these 4 oz aluminum tins off of Amazon! Finish off the look with crinkled kraft paper and a label on top.
Click HERE for the full recipe and blog post all about these lotion bars!
How To Make Lavender Lotion Bars
1.) Measure out equal parts of shea butter, unrefined coconut oil and beeswax. (I did 1/2 cup of each)
2.) Using a double boiler (or making your own) melt all ingredients together over the stove.
3.) Let mixture cool slightly and then add 15-20 drops of Lavender essential oil.
4.) Stir and add to your molds.
5.) Once cooled, pop out your lotion bars and rub on the skin!
Shop What You Need For Lotion Bars
Silicon Flower Mold (similar to what I’m using)
Tutorials and Recipe Links
World’s Best No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
Lavender Lotion Bars (coming next week!)
Do You Make Handmade Christmas Gifts?
Let me know in the comments if you make your own gifts for Christmas and what you make! I always love a new idea.
Pin It For Later
As usual, I am looking for last minute budget friendly gifts. I love the gift basket idea!! I was at a thrift store yesterday and seen some baskets for 25cents each. Hoping to score a few of those today! Thanks!!
Thanks, Miranda! I didn’t even think to try thrift shopping for cheaper baskets. Totally doing that next time!