Take the stress out of gift giving with easy and affordable handmade Christmas treat gifts that are sure to bring joy to everyone on your list.
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Food Gifts for Christmas
If you’re like me, you love to give those you care about something that comes from the heart, or in this case your hands. I know when my kids come home from preschool with a handmade gift, it just melts my heart! So much better than anything else I could ask for.
It can, however, be hard to find exactly what to make, which is why I have rounded up my favorite food gifts for Christmas that can be made in less than 1 hour and typically for less than $10. Now you can treat everyone on your list to a little something made just for them.
If, however, you don’t have time to bake or make something edible, you can always make a quick batch of my Christmas stovetop potpourri that is guaranteed to spread holiday cheer.
What Makes a Great Homemade Gift
Some of the best homemade gifts are made from the simplest ingredients, like grinch cookies or candied pecans. Here are the things I like to consider when I am choosing what to make for someone.
- The gift receiver. This is pretty straightforward, but knowing if you are making this for a casual acquaintance or a beloved family member helps a lot. That way you can personalize it to their tastes, dislikes, or even allergies.
- Time it takes. We all know how valuable time is during the holidays, so it is important to know how long something will take to make. I typically like to take the time something makes and divide it by how many gifts it will make. It will surprise you how much time you can actually save by making a batch of one thing.
- Cost to make. Again, the holidays can end up costing a lot, so it is nice to save wherever we can. Just like I do for the time it takes, I like to divide the amount it costs to make an item by how many gifts I can get out of it. Most things end up being less than $10 per gift.
Homemade Cookie and Bar Gifts
The holidays are tailor-made for sweet things, and there is nothing like a box of freshly-made cookies or bars to brighten someone’s day.
- Chocolate Covered Christmas Oreos. These are as cute as a button and come together in minutes.
- Peppermint Brownie Mix for Jar. I love this gift because it can be made whenever someone needs a little love. Plus, it comes with free printable downloads to make wrapping even easier.
- Christmas Sugar Cookies. Who doesn’t love a delightfully decorated and delicious sugar cookie? They are a classic for a reason.
- Cookie Mix in a Jar. This is my fan-favorite M&M Christmas cookie recipe in a jar and it comes with free printable downloads, as well.
- Chocolate Mint Cookies. Mint chips and chocolate cookies come together to create the ultimate holiday treat.
- Mini Cookie Snow Globes. These are almost too cute to eat. Almost.
- Ginger Molasses Cookies. These are the flavors of the season and they smell amazing while baking. A little extra treat for the baker.
- Gingerbread Man Cookies. Soft and chewy and oh-so-adorable, these cookies are made for the holidays.
- Cornflake Wreaths. In just a few minutes, you will have a Christmas gift that tastes just as good as it looks.
- M&M Cookie Bars. These bars are a hearty and welcome treat for the busy holiday season.
- Grinch Cookies. Even the most scroogiest will smile when they taste of these easy cake-mix cookies.
Homemade Snack Gifts
From breads to dips, these holiday snack gifts are perfect for when someone needs a pick-me-up between all the Christmas activities.
- Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Bread. This festive loaf is a favorite for busy mornings.
- Peppermint Bark Popcorn. Pair this with a favorite holiday film and you have the gift of the season.
- Sweet and Savory Compound Butter with Free Printable. I love a good compound butter, and there are quite a few to choose from. Wrap it with a freshly baked loaf of bread to make someone’s day.
- Candied Pecans. There is nothing like sweet and nutty when you’re in need of a little snack, and this one delivers big.
- Christmas Reindeer Chow. Not only is this pretty to look at, it tastes just as good. Plus, it is always a hit with the kids.
- Homemade Salsa. I love to make a batch of this and pair it with my favorite tortilla chips as a gift for those I might not know as well.
Homemade Candy Gifts
There are all types of candies and some can take awhile to make, but not these ones. They are super simple and come together quickly. Plus, they look like they took a long time.
- Christmas Oreo Balls. Just 3 ingredients to make the prettiest and sweetest little gift.
- Christmas Crack. This cracker candy toffee is highly addictive and is made from just a few ingredients. It is one of my family favorites.
- Christmas Pretzel Hugs. It doesn’t get easier than this, folks. It takes very little time to make something really delicious.
- Peanut Butter Fudge. This no-bake dessert takes 5 ingredients and less than 10 minutes to make.
- Homemade Snickers. How can you say no to homemade candy bars filled with layers of chocolate, nougat and caramel? You can’t.
- Peppermint Bark. This candy cane topped chocolate bark is so pretty and easy to make.
- Sugar Cookie Truffles. It only takes 4 ingredients to make to make these fun take on the holiday classic cookie.
- Cream Cheese Mints. These colorful and sweet mints are simple to make but will make a nice impression.
- Rolo Peppermint Reindeer. The kids will love these adorable reindeer-shaped treats.
- Easy Hot Fudge. I love to gift a jar of this along with a carton of ice cream or Peppermint Brownie Mix for Jar.
Which one are you excited to try?
Categorized as: Christmas, Gifts, Recipe Roundup
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is also the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook. Here you will find easy family-friendly recipes for every occasion.
Thanks for sharing such amazing gift ideas. Well this Christmas season I spent so much time in thinking about gifts but I couldn’t think of anything different. Then I decided to give Himalayan salt lamps as a gift to my loved ones. These lamps are so unique and beautiful. I just love them for myself so I thought that it would be a great thing to give to my loved ones. I got them from ittefaqco.
What a neat gift for your loved ones!
Wowww, these are amazing. I want someone to give me all of these this everything. I only like getting gifts, deciding gifts for others is hell of a task.
As it is difficult to decide gifts for Christmas I face lots of problems every year. Last year I gifted salt lamps to some of my friends and they loved it. They can be considered a great, unique gift. I have three salt lamps at my home and I adore them. I bought my salt lamps from Saltean. You can check their website, if you want.
I’m so glad you like these ideas. Thanks for your comment Betty! :)
Fabulous Gift Ideas!! For Every Festival.
Wow!!! what an exhaustive list of handmade gift ideas. I really appreciate your efforts and like all the ideas that you have suggested. I am going to try some for sure. Keep on posting :-) :-)
Thank you! Definitely a list to keep you busy! :)
So many great ideas!! Need to get started on some of them.
Great christmas gifts ideas! I wanted to share my idea too, every special occassion, I am giving out LED candles to my officemates. And they loved it.
I like hot chocolate. Hope someone give it for me in Christmas. :)
Thanks Jamielyn for putting together this incredible list.
Very helpful!
These are just awesome. I’ve already downloaded a few printables and gotten some great ideas. Thanks for putting it together & sharing it with us.
Wow, I love so many of these! Great list and so many of them are perfect for quick but thoughtful gifts. We’re moving in a couple of weeks and the holidays are sneaking up on me! I’m excited to try a few of these!
Those are all so fun!! Thanks for including my Instagram coasters!!Great list and so many of them are perfect for quick but thoughtful gifts. We’re moving in a couple of weeks and the holidays are sneaking up on me! I’m excited to try a few of these!
Great gift ideas! Thank you so much for sharing :-)
Hello Jamielyn,
Thanks for the great gift idea collection and wonderful work. I would like to suggest everyone to read these ideas atleast once before going for gifts.
I love your blog! A very fun blog!
These are all such awesome ideas! Thanks!
These ideas are great, I have to try them!
Wow, I love so many of these! Great list and so many of them are perfect for quick but thoughtful gifts. We’re moving in a couple of weeks and the holidays are sneaking up on me! I’m excited to try a few of these!
Love this article! Great post.. Thank you very much. This article gives me a lot of inspirations!