27+ Best DIY Gift Ideas: Mason Jar Gifts, Food, Self Care & More

Last Updated on November 19, 2024

Are you looking for fun and easy DIY gift ideas? You’ve come to the right place! This guide is loaded with over 27 unique, thoughtful, eco-friendly, and creative homemade gifts for Christmas, birthdays, or any other special occasion.

From mason jar gifts and tasty snacks to natural skincare recipes and craft projects, these DIY holiday gifts are some of my favorite things to make and share with family, friends, coworkers and neighbors. Come explore DIY gift ideas for every person and every budget!

This post includes:

• Mason jar gift ideas like homemade stovetop potpourri, herbal salts, loose leaf tea, chex mix and more.
• Fun food gifts and recipes for sourdough granola, cookies, sweet and salty roasted mixed nuts, breads, fruit leather, elderberry syrup, fire cider, and edible gift basket ideas.
• DIY self care gifts and tutorials for lip balm, salves, herbal bath salts, lotion bars, homemade soap, bath bombs, and other natural body care.
• Sustainable craft gift ideas including DIY beeswax wraps, rice heating pads, stamped kitchen towels, blown egg ornaments, pressed flower candle lanterns, and more.

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Tips for Packaging Mason Jar Gifts

Many of the DIY gift ideas in this guide are perfect to package in mason jars, including mixed nuts, bath salts, stovetop potpourri, tea, and more. You can use flip-top jars, regular pint jar, or half-pint jars. I especially love quilted jelly jars. Or, choose something like these mid-sized 12-ounce jar with a pretty gold lid or these unique 8 oz jars with bamboo lids.

Then get creative and adorn the jar with jute twine, ribbon, bows, and other festive additions. I love to tuck in a sprig of fresh rosemary too. Finally, add an optional gift tag, sticker or label. We use a variety of things like these cute kraft paper tags, jar sticker labels, or these 2″ round printable stickers for the top of the lid or face of the jar.

Now please enjoy this list of my favorite fun DIY gift ideas!

27+ HOMEMADE HOLIDAY GIFTS

1) DIY Lip Balm

Pucker up! Follow our easy homemade lip balm recipe and learn how to make natural lip balm. It’s fun and easy to do, requires only a few ingredients, and just one batch can create many DIY gifts at once – perfect for friends, teacher gifts, stocking stuffers, and more. Made with organic cocoa butter, our lip balm recipe is highly moisturizing and smells so good, you almost want to eat it!

2) Sweet and Salty Mixed Nuts

These sweet and salty rosemary roasted mixed nuts are one of my favorite easy mason jar gifts to give! Everyone loves them. The recipe is simple to make, and absolutely delicious. It’s also easy to make a large batch to create many homemade holiday gifts at once, and the nuts stay nice and crunchy for many weeks. Add some twine and a sprig of fresh rosemary to the jar to make it festive. 

3) Natural Bath Salts

Follow our bath salt recipe and learn how to make beautiful natural bath salts using natural ingredients like epsom salt, sea salt, herbs, flowers, and organic essential oils. Bath salt soaks are wonderful for self-care or mason jar gift, helping to alleviate stress, tension, sore muscles, inflammation and more. This DIY gift idea exudes serenity and thoughtfulness!

4) DIY Pressed Flower Candle Lanterns

Come learn how to make beautiful dried flower candle holders using recycled glass jars and pressed flowers, ferns, herbs, or leaves in this simple tutorial. You can use your own dried flowers or buy some online. This creative pressed flower craft is a fun and easy mason jar gift idea, and adds whimsical ambiance to any space!

5) Soothing Body Salves or Balms

Calendula salve, lavender salve, hemp salve, and more… We have a number of body salve recipes that smell wonderful, and are incredibly nourishing for your skin! You can make simple salves with beeswax, oils and essential oils alone, or step it up a notch and use herb-infused oils such as calendula, lavender, rosemary, chamomile, chickweed, comfrey, rose hips, and more. Either way, your friends and family will surely love homemade salves as gifts! Learn the basics of salve and balm-making here.

6) DIY Heating Pad

If you have a sewing machine, it’s quite simple to make a DIY rice heating pad out of organic rice, some spare fabric (even from an old pillow case), and optional essential oils. I love these darn things, and use mine all the time!

This is another one of my go-to DIY holiday gift ideas that I’ve made and shared with a lot of friends and family over the years. In addition to soothing sore muscles and cramps, I love using them to warm up the bed on cold nights! You can freeze them to use as a cold pack too.

See the tutorial here.

7) Stovetop Potpourri  

Also known as simmer pots, stovetop potpourri is a wonderful way to make your home smell amazing without toxic chemicals, and also elevate your mood! All you do is simmer delicious-smelling ingredients in water on the stovetop to release aromatic steam.

It’s easy to create DIY stovetop potpourri gifts in a jar using beautiful natural ingredients like dried orange slices, apples, herbs and spices – adorned with a cute gift tag with instructions. 

See our Holiday Mason Jar Stovetop Potpourri tutorial with a free printable gift tag label, along with our favorite fresh simmer pot recipes here.

8) Homemade Preserves

Who doesn’t love tasty homemade preserves? Peach jam, cowboy candy (candied jalapeños), apple butter, chive blossom vinegar, homemade ketchup, delicious dehydrated apples… share what you have! We love to share the goodies we canned over the harvest season with our friends and family during the holidays. Whether you have a garden or pick up some fresh seasonal produce at the farmer’s market, this is a really thoughtful DIY gift idea.

9) Edible Gift Baskets

If you’re looking for an extra special gift idea, consider putting together a beautiful edible holiday gift basket full of homemade goodies like rosemary roasted nuts, cookies, crackers, granola, and/or fruit preserves alongside a local bottle of wine, honey, balsamic vinegar, chocolate, olives, organic cooking spice blends or other delectable treats.

Package the edibles in cute sustainable wrapping like small paper bags, mason jars or flip-top jars, kraft cookie bags, fabric, or other containers tied with twine. Line the basket with a pretty tea towel, and tuck in sprigs of rosemary, pine, or lavender for a festive pop! Here is a cute basket that comes in 3 different sizes and two colors.

10) Herbal Face and Body Oil (Serum)

It is SO easy to make nourishing herb-infused face and body oil. Simply mix dry herbs and a carrier oil of choice and let them steep! Calendula, chamomile and rose hips are especially fantastic for skin health. Then add the infused oil to dropper bottles with a tag or label as a very special homemade gift.

Learn how to make a simple herb infused oil here. Then read about the benefits, pros and cons, and comedogenic ratings of various carrier oils here – including olive oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, and more. This is my Mom’s favorite thing we always make her!

11) Sourdough Granola

Where are my sourdough bakers at? If you have sourdough starter at home, consider making a batch of this delicious sourdough granola recipe to tuck into jars as an easy DIY gift idea! Our sourdough granola recipe is chunky, crunchy, loaded with nuts and seeds, and can be made with active or discard starter. You can also add dried fruit or chocolate chips after baking! I especially love adding chopped dehydrated apricots.

12) Stamped Kitchen Towels

Fruit and veggie stamped tea towels are one of my favorite creative homemade gifts of all time! These beautiful kitchen towels are useful, unique, easy to make, and a really fun kid-friendly craft project for the whole family. We’ve given fruit and vegetable stamped tea towels to many special people in our lives over the years.

You can make them with a wide variety of fruit and veggies, carve potatoes into different stamp shapes (such as stars or trees) or use leaves or ferns too. See the easy tutorial here.

13) Homemade Chex Mix 

This one is on my personal to-do list… as a gift for myself! Lol. My friend Timothy’s Creole chex mix recipe sounds so dang good. His spin on a classic chex mix is easy to make and customize, would make a delightful edible holiday gift in a mason jar, and is vegan too!

14) Elderberry Syrup

Are you familiar with Elderberry syrup? It’s a delicious natural remedy used to support the immune system and fight cold and flu bugs – perfect for winter time! We love to share jars or small bottles of homemade elderberry syrup with friends and family during the holiday season. See our popular elderberry syrup recipe here. 

My friend Sarah (TC Elderberry, a small woman-owned business) also sells dry DIY elderberry syrup kits – an awesome gift idea, especially paired with a bottle of local honey! Sarah also offers loose-leaf elderberry tea, tinctures, and bottles of fresh organic elderberry syrup. I personally love the “Kicked Up” version. Use code “deannacat” to save 15% at TC Elderberry here.

15) Herbal Seasoning Salt

It’s easy to create your own seasoning salts, and can be a really thoughtful, cheap, and easy DIY gift idea – particularly if you grow and dry your own herbs!

The best herbs to make herbal salt include parsley, rosemary, dill, mint, oregano, sage, thyme, cilantro, or basil, along with other dried seasonings like homemade onion powder, garlic powder (or granulated garlic), dried peppers/chili powder, dried lemon zest or lemon powder, tomato powder or paprika. 

To make herbal seasoning salt gifts, simply mix 2 to 4 tbsp dried herbs of choice for every ½ cup of salt used (sliding scale based on how strong you want the flavor) and then pack it into a jar. Coarse grey sea salt creates really beautiful blends. Whether you’re using homegrown or store-bought, it’s important to use herbs that are 100% dry to prevent the seasoning salt from clumping and maximize shelf life. Use just one type of herb, or mix a few!

16) Fire Cider

Give the gift of health! Fire cider is a tangy natural tonic that can help activate the immune system to prevent or fight off crud. We sip on it all cold season long! Fire cider is made by infusing goodies like ginger, garlic, turmeric, onion, citrus and herbs in apple cider vinegar – along with a little honey to help balance it all out. Since it needs to steep for several weeks before straining and bottling, this will take a little planning in advance. These cute flip-top bottles would be perfect for this DIY gift idea. 

See our Fire Cider recipe here.

17) Loose Leaf Tea Blend in Jar

I love loose leaf tea! Create your own custom tea blends using homegrown dried herbs, or buy a few ingredients in bulk to mix together. Add your homemade tea to mason jars, which makes an especially sweet gift when paired with a jar of local honey plus my favorite stainless steel mug infuser or loose leaf teapot for two. 

Here are a few tasty homemade tea blend ideas. Mix your favorite green tea, black tea, rooibos (non-caffeinated) or any other herbal tea with any of the following:

• Immune Support: Rosehips, dried citrus peels and dried ginger
• Refreshing: any combination of mint, lemon balm, lemongrass, and/or lemon verbena
• Calming: Chamomile, english lavender buds, and shredded coconut –  pairs especially nice with earl grey
• Playful: Rose petals and dried strawberries or cranberries – ideal with green tea
• Just Plain Tasty: Dried apple, cinnamon, and cloves – delicious with rooibos
  

Starwest Botanicals has a great selection of bulk tea and herbs. And if you’re not up for making your own, FarmHouse Teas offers some delicious loose leaf tea blends – including adorable gift packs.

18) DIY Beeswax Wraps

Want to reduce plastic waste in your kitchen – and encourage your friends and family to do the same? Come learn how to make beeswax wraps to store food instead! These creative and easy homemade gifts are reusable, non-toxic, biodegradable, and simple to make. 

19) Rose Lotion Bars

My friend Colleen of Grow Forage Cook Ferment has a tutorial on how to make the sweetest rose lotion bars. The easy recipe uses rose-infused oil and cocoa butter to create luxurious skin-soothing lotion bars. They make a wonderful addition to your DIY bath and beauty products, and are a perfect DIY holiday gift idea!

20) Homemade Baked Goods

I mean, who doesn’t love a good cookie around the holidays? We love to bake and share sourdough treats like our soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies, sourdough discard herb crackers, pumpkin spice bread, salted and spiced chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin-shaped sourdough bread, or even a beautiful plain classic loaf of sourdough.

This DIY gift idea is especially great for neighbors and co-workers, though I’m positive family and friends wouldn’t turn them down either!

21) Fruit Leather in a Jar

Homemade fruit leather is a simple and delicious snack to make – and share! Made without added sugar, homemade fruit leather is also much more nutritious than processed store-bought versions.

To make them, simply blend fresh seasonal fruit with lemon juice (plus a little optional honey if you wish to sweeten them up a bit), spread it out in a thin layer, and then dry it in the oven or food dehydrator. Cut them into small strips, roll ‘em up with parchment paper, and pop them in a mason jar for a cute and tasty food gift. See more details here. 

22) Bath Bombs

Does someone in your life need to unwind? (I think that’s all of us these days!) A hot bath with a nourishing, fizzy bath bomb sounds pretty dang good right about now. My friend Tanya over at Lovely Greens has fantastic and easy-to-follow instructions on how to make homemade bath bombs. The recipe is very flexible and customizable with plenty of ideas for optional add-ins. She also outlines the specifics to create oatmeal rose bath bombs, or pink grapefruit bath bombs. How divine!

23) Sourdough Starter

Do you have a sourdough starter? Consider giving some of it away to spread the love! Put together a little sourdough baking gift set including sourdough starter, tea towels, bread lame, dough scraper, or other basic sourdough supplies tucked inside a banneton or proofing basket.

You can give away wet sourdough starter in a jar, though the recipient will need to be ready to take care of it right away. Or, make things easy by gifting dry sourdough starter – then they can re-activate it whenever they’re ready! Plus, you only need a tablespoon or two of dry starter to get going. Learn the best way to dehydrate sourdough starter here. (Or, snag an organic dry sourdough starter from our shop.)

24) Blown Egg Ornaments 

Learn how to make beautiful blown egg ornaments in this tutorial. This crafty DIY gift idea is especially precious if you have your own backyard chickens (and perhaps easier too, since their shells are nicely hard and thick.) We’ve made a special ornament to commemorate each of our hens. Though you can certainly make them from eggs purchased from the store, farmer’s market, or local farm stand too! 

25) DIY Wine Cork Trivet

This DIY gift idea is perfect for the cook and/or wine lover in your life, and couldn’t be easier to make! All you need is a couple dozen wine corks and a simple pipe clamp to make a unique rustic homemade trivet.

Simply pack the corks into the center of the pipe clamp until they’re squeezed in nice and tight, and gently adjust or tighten the pipe clamp around them if needed. I didn’t need to glue or secure ours any further! 

We used to drink a lot of wine so we saved up our own corks for craft projects over the years. If you don’t have any on hand, try asking your local winery or wine bar if they have extra corks to spare. Or, you can buy inexpensive bulk corks here. A 6 to 8” pipe clamp is ideal; our finished trivet is 7” wide.

26) Homemade Soap

Handmade soap is a wonderful gift idea. However, many soap recipes call for many steps and ingredients – including lye, which can be quite intimidating. The good news is, my friend Stephanie over at Garden Therapy has several beautiful, easy, beginner-friendly homemade soap recipes that don’t require lye! This embossed calendula and sweet orange melt-and-pour soup recipe sounds divine. Her easy honeycomb soap is super adorable too.

27) Homemade Orange, Lemon, or Vanilla Extract 

This is an especially sweet DIY gift idea for the baker or chef in your life. It’s easy to create beautiful flavorful extracts to replace store-bought versions, such as homemade vanilla extract or citrus extract.

To do so, simply add a handful of fresh vanilla beans or organic citrus rinds to a jar or pretty glass bottle, fill it with vodka (rum or brandy works too) and add a pretty label. As it soaks, the flavors will infuse into the alcohol and create easy homemade extract! 

That’s a wrap… for now!

I hope that gave you plenty of inspiration for fun DIY gift ideas for the holiday season and beyond! Let me know in the comments if I missed any of your favorite DIY gifts to share – I’ll continue to add to this list over time. If you found this helpful, please consider pinning or sharing this post. Now go have fun getting creative and crafty!

If you’re looking for more holiday gift ideas, don’t miss our Homestead Gift Guide – full of our favorite and most useful home and garden goods.