21 easy last-minute DIY Christmas gifts

Get crafty and make these gorgeous holiday gifts

Nothing makes a loved one feel special quite like a homemade holiday gift. Not only is it a thoughtful option, but at what can be an expensive time of year, they're usually thrifty, too. From DIY decorations to personalized planters and stylish macramé makes, these easy-to-make festive presents for the home are sure to be a big hit.

Click or scroll through for last-minute ideas...

Mini cactus planters

These mini pentagonal pots are the perfect gift for plant lovers. You can pick up similar mache planters from hobby stores or use terracotta or concrete versions.

Start by painting the outside of the pots with chalk paint. Once dry, use a fine brush and gilding wax to highlight the edges – a metallic paint or pen would also work well.

It’s a good idea to protect the outside with clear varnish or wax before planting a mini cactus or succulent. If your planter is made from papier-mache, use a separate container inside to avoid water damage.

Decorative snowman sticks

These adorable snowman sticks are easy to create and make sweet gifts when added to a plant pot or bouquet. All you need are wooden beads in three sizes, one for the head and two for the body.

Draw eyes, a carrot nose, a dotted smile, and buttons using pens. Glue the beads to a wooden stick and finish with a scarf made from baker’s twine tied in a neat bow around the snowman's neck.

Festive nut vases

Nuts are not only a tasty festive snack, but can also be used to make these cute vases. Use a hot glue gun to stick a selection of large nuts together to build up a tapered tower – walnuts, Brazil nuts, and hazelnuts still in their shells work well.

Once dry, decorate with mini pinecones, pearls, and sprigs of pine. Finally, pop in a test tube or flower tube filled with water and place a cut poinsettia inside.

Icy ombré soaps

These eye-catching, icy blue ombré soaps will add a festive touch to your recipients' bathrooms. They're simple to make using a melt-and-pour soap base kit and a few drops of specialist soap colors.

You can even customise the scent by adding in ginger, sandalwood, or patchouli fragrances. Visit Hobbycraft for the full soap-making tutorial. 

Painted jar vases

Turn everyday glass vessels into unique vases with a wash of rustic color. Make sure your jar is empty and dry. Place it lip-side down on a piece of cardboard or newspaper.

Spray your preferred paint color onto your jar, ensuring you start at the top and work your way downward. For the full tutorial, visit Kilner.

Personalized trinket tray

Personalized gifts show you really care, and this trinket tray can be whipped up in an evening. To give yourself a head start, buy a star-shaped papier-mache or cardboard tray, then brush on acrylic craft paint and leave it to dry completely.

On a piece of paper, practice your lettering or design until you’re happy with how it looks. Copy this onto your tray lightly in pencil, then go over it in a metallic pen. To finish, add some embellishments like dots and stars around the name or word.

Hobbycraft has a free template for the calligraphy and all the materials you need.

Poinsettia planters

Poinsettias are a symbol of Christmas, so what better plant to gift at this special time of year? Make your gift personal by decorating the plant pots with foraged woodland foliage such as dried leaves and bark.

Vintage-style bird feeder

Bird lovers will be delighted by this vintage bird feeder that makes a gorgeous backyard upcycling idea. Use an old cup and saucer from the back of the cupboard or a charity shop. Stick the cup to the saucer with super glue, and once secure, fasten it with twine or ribbon to allow the recipient to hang it from a hook or tree. Gift the DIY bird feeder with a packet of bird feed. 

Scandi Christmas trees

Add some seasonal decorations to the present pile this year for a low-cost and eco-friendly stocking filler. These also make great gifts to send by post as they can be disassembled and laid flat.

To make, draw two same-sized triangles on sheets of thin plywood and cut them out using a craft knife or fine saw. Sand the edges smooth. Draw a line down the middle of both triangles and mark the center.

Cut along the lines, halfway down on one triangle and halfway up the other. Paint the shapes any way you like, then slot them together to create 3-D Christmas trees.

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Woodland jar terrariums

Gift the biophilic trend to your green-fingered friends with a woodland terrarium. You will need a glass terrarium or a large glass vase, moss, moss branches, pinecones, Christmas tree trimmings, and a few decorations.

Start with the compost and moss, then add in your pinecones and moss branches to create depth within your terrarium. Faux eucalyptus injects an extra pop of color.

Scented room sprays

Here's an easy stocking filler house-proud friends will adore. In clean, empty pump spray bottles, add lavender, lemon or orange peel, or rosemary essential oils to a solution of distilled water. Add an emulsifier to make sure they mix – this can be alcohol, sea salt, or witch hazel.

Cozy floor cushions

A teenager will love lounging on this beautiful bean bag chair. Its large size means it'll be an impressive package to open on the day, but it's super simple to make. 

Plus, this Hobbycraft tutorial shows how to make it with a separate inner lining, which means you can make new outer covers for the bean bag as often as you like.

Stunning stationery hangers

These delightful office organizers are a great way to show off your favorite fabric prints. The stylish stationery storage and dazzling display boards will brighten any home office.

Visit the Hobbycraft tutorial page to choose the one you want to make – or do them all!

Personalized foiled bookmark

If you happen to have a Cricut machine to hand, then you could whip up some pretty foiled bookmarks for all your friends. Easy to customize, you can cut them into any shape you like, then use a foil transfer kit to create a pattern or personalized design.

Magical macramé decorations

The creative experts at Hobbycraft have teamed up with macramé pro Isabella Strambio to show us how to create beautiful bespoke decorations for our nearest and dearest.

The perfect gift for friends and family, or even for yourself, these pretty tactile baubles are surprisingly easy to make. Head over to Hobbycraft HQ for the full, step-by-step tutorial.

Teacup candles

Give pieces of vintage crockery a new purpose by transforming them into pretty teacup candles. Every antique shop and flea market is filled with mismatched cups and saucers, so converting them into charming candles for the tabletop is inexpensive and easy with a candle-making kit. 

One person's trash is another's treasure, and there are plenty more upcycling ideas out there to transform your old stuff into something amazing. Find the full tutorial at Hobbycraft.

Lemon salt scrub

Mix up a homemade hand scrub that loved ones can keep by the sink; a great gift for gardeners. Mix coarse sea salt and natural oils (such as coconut or almond), and add lemon zest with a few drops of lemon juice.

Transfer the mixture into a mason jar and tie a ribbon around the neck in the same colors as their kitchen scheme. 

Say it with words

Keep spirits high with inspirational metallic wall art. With a gold leaf pen, trace a favorite quote onto the glass of a photo frame and, hey presto, you have a picture-perfect typographic frame that will look stylish and opulent on a wall or shelf.

Follow the step-by-step guide from Rust-Oleum.

Decorate a letter

Decorative letters are perfect for a quick crafty gift that always adds a personal touch. Whether it's a decoupage cardboard word to personalize a living room or a pretty rustic letter for hanging jewelry in the bedroom, typography is a quick win for homemade gifting. Most craft stores will sell stencils or even ready-made wooden cutouts that you can personalize.

Check out the full tutorial at Hobbycraft.

Color-blocked vases

Have fun sprucing up basic ceramic vases with a stylish minimal pattern. Choose two accent shades and paint sections of block color diagonally to turn them into beautiful and bespoke vases.

Pencil out the design and use masking tape to get crisp lines, letting each layer of paint fully dry before adding the next. How's that for a DIY hack! 

DIY mercury mirror tray

This brilliant craft video by vlogger Dainty Diaries shows you how to give plain glass objects a mercury mirror effect that you can use to glam up any number of items to gift.

Using a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar, a can of Rust-Oleum mirror spray paint and a rag, you can easily customize a star-shaped trinket tray or tealight holder.

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