4 Homemade Christmas Gifts to make this season

This year, why not skip the last-minute shopping trip and give those closest to you a meaningful Christmas gift? We've rounded up some of the best homemade Christmas presents we found online to bring you our top picks, with one special ingredient: glass. Read our article and discover 8 fun and easy Christmas gift ideas you can make at home.

The most wonderful time of the year is coming up, and with it comes the frantic search for the perfect Christmas present. No matter how many times we’ve been through it, at the end of each year we scratch our heads for days trying to find something special. Still, most likely we end up in the same store as last year. Since Santa Claus and his elves are also busy finding and wrapping Xmas gifts for children all over the world, we are left with this daunting task on our own. But this year, we have got you covered.

If you’re truly looking for that special something, we can assure you that the best thing you can offer to someone you love is your time and dedication. Whether you’re crafty or not, we’ve compiled 4 easy DIY Christmas gifts you can make with your old glass jars. So, unleash your inner artist and read on to discover the best homemade gifts to add to your Christmas list.

Homemade Christmas gifts in glass

1. DIY Christmas Candy Jar

Credit: Made to be momma blog

In case you’re looking for something sweet, you can try making this mason candy jar. All you need is a large glass container and different coloured candies (you can also replace the treats in the jars with your preferred candy). Since glass is one of the best materials for preserving flavour, you can be sure that your candy will taste just as good as the day you opened it.

Here’s what you need to make this homemade Christmas treat jar:

• Large glass container
• Black ribbon
• Gold glitter foam (you can also use regular cardboard and decorate it with a gold glitter pen)
• Hot glue
• Scissors
• Red candy (for example, gummy bears, M&Ms, or Skittles)

Instructions: wrap the black ribbon around the jar and attach it with hot glue. Cut a square out of gold glitter foam, cut out the centre and glue it to the black ribbon. Fill the container with red candy and close the lid.

Thanks to Made to be momma blog for this yummy homemade Christmas gift – a great idea for the little ones.

2. Wine Lovers Basket gift

This is a homemade Christmas gift that will amaze even the most demanding sommeliers and wine connoisseurs in your family. Not only is this DIY easy to make, but it’s also very customizable. You can change the snacks, the accessories and even the wines – the only limit is your imagination.

With glass, you can be sure that the fine wine you choose will be safely protected and taste as originally intended. Thanks to its inert and hermetic properties, glass is still the best packaging material for storing wine – and 94% of people agree. What’s more? The unique design of glass bottles enhances the experience and adds a sense of luxury and aesthetics to your wine tasting evening with friends.
Now that you know the best material for your wine, all that is left is to assemble your gift basket.

And this is what you’ll need:

• Basket: Your basket can be a cardboard box you no longer need, a wicker basket, or another box you have lying around at home.
• Wine bottles: When it comes to wine, you have hundreds of options to choose from. Whether it’s red, rosé, white or sparkling, just make sure the wine selection matches the food you will include in the basket.
• Gourmet snacks: Go with non-perishable snacks or food packaged in glass, to ensure they’re shelf-safe and can last for a long time. Some examples are cheese, chocolate, crackers, jam, cured meats or nuts.
• Accessories: Now you just need to add some accessories to your basket to get a complete wine set. There are some great options like glasses, corkscrews, cheese boards, wine stoppers and others that you might like.

And that’s it! You can add some fillers, such as shredded filler pieces from previous orders, tea towels or cloth napkins to fill the empty space and ensure that your basket stands securely. If you want to make it extra Christmassy, you can add Santa and snowman ornaments.

Thanks to Market view Liquor for this great homemade Christmas gift idea!

3. Tea-time in a glass jar

Credit: Stone Gable Blog

Whether it’s with ginger, chamomile, or lemon, we all have a friend or relative who’s a true tea lover. And this Christmas, you can cross those boring socks off the list because you’re bringing them a “tea-time” experience in a glass jar.

Here’s what you’ll need for this DIY Christmas jar

• Large glass container with lid
• Ribbon
• Tea bags with different flavours
• Bags of vanilla or brown sugar
• Cookies (top tip: try adding themed cookies or gingerbread)
• Truffles
• Honey

Instructions: first, wrap a ribbon around the opening of the jar and tie it with a bow. Fill the glass container with the various treats and add small Christmas decorations. If you have an extra-large jar, you can also try adding more items to this tea kit – such as a wooden honey dipper, tea infusers or tea bag squeezer. Close the container with a lid, and that’s it!

Now all you’ve to do is wait for the unwrapping day, to see their reaction when they open the jar and find everything they need for the perfect brew. Not only is it a flavourful gift, but it’s also a sustainable one because they can reuse or recycle the glass jar when they’re done.

Thanks to Stone Gable Blog for this great homemade Christmas gift idea!

4. Easy Homemade coconut lotion

If you’re looking for a beauty care gift, we have the perfect suggestion for you: an easy homemade coconut lotion. Anyone can use it, and it’s the perfect gift for your friend or partner’s sustainable skin care routine.

When it comes to beauty products, whether you buy them at the store or make your own at home, it is important to consider the packaging. There is growing concern about certain packaging materials leaching harmful chemicals into products, which is even more worrying when these are used on our skin. Not only is glass natural and made from sustainably sourced ingredients, it’s also a virtually inert and chemical-free material. This makes glass healthy by nature and a reliable option for storing your skin care products.

Now that you know how to store your homemade lotion, here are the other ingredients you’ll need to make it:

• Vegetable glycerine
• Coconut oil
• Choose 2-3 of your favourite scented oils (such as sweet almond oil and argan oil)
• Your favourite jar

Instructions: simply heat the coconut oil (1 cup) in bain-marie until completely melted. Let it cool and then mix it with the sweet almond oil (2 tbsp) and the argan oil (2 tbsp) and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Whisk until you get a thick cream and finally add the glycerine (1 tbsp). Pour the cream into the container and store it in a cool and dry place. To make it extra Christmassy, you can tie a red ribbon around the jar and add a label with a heart-warming message.

What homemade Christmas gifts are you planning to make this year? If you’re more interested in DIY Christmas decorations or gardening and terrariums, you can also take a look at our blog. To make sure you don’t miss out on all the creative ways you can repurpose your old glass containers (of course, recycling is always a great option too), you can follow our blog and our social media channels – @friendsofglass on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.