No-Sew Gifts to Make this Holiday Season

I’ve realized that I hate sewing gifts for Christmas. I very much dislike using my precious sewing time making things for other people, but I do enjoy giving handmade gifts. This year, I’ve put together a list of my favourite DIY gifts that involve no sewing.

Beeswax wraps. These have been on my list before, but they’re staying there because they’re such a quick and easy gift. This year, I’m making Christmas-themed ones with scraps from last year’s holiday sewing. These are an especially great gift if you tuck a freshly baked good inside. My fave local no-waste store, NU Grocery, generously gifted me a kit to show you how to make them plus three more to give to friends through instagram. Check out my post for how to enter the draw!
Candles. Who doesn’t like cozy candles for the holidays? I like to re-use old candle jars because they’re always pretty and I know they can take the heat. Pour boiling water into your nearly empty candle and wait for the wax that floats to the top to cool. It’s a super easy way to get the last bits out of there. My buddies at Nu gave me some candle kits to give to you, too! Head to instagram to see how to enter.
DIY beauty products. This is actually an idea I stole from my husband. Last year, he gifted me French green clay, shea butter and coconut oil so I could make my own masks and balms. You can also make a super easy body scrub with raw sugar, coconut oil and a drop or two of your fave essential oil for a nice scent.
Boot balm. I discovered this one by accident. If you melt one part beeswax with one part shea butter, you can make a great conditioning balm for leather. It cleans salt stains while protecting your boots.
DIY tootsie rolls. My mom LOVES tootsie rolls and I discovered a few years ago that they are super easy to make. I like these for sweet stocking stuffers with less wrappers.
Holiday napkins and tea towels. I’ve found a few tutorials online to make natural fabric paint . I want to try painting some cute little Christmas trees on napkins for a festive table scape. You can totally use linen scraps for this!
Hot chocolate mix. I discovered how easy it is to make hot chocolate mix when my nephew was really struggling with dairy. All you need is cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Add sprinkles, chocolate chips or marshmallows to make it look festive.
Wrapping paper. We save any kind of brown paper that comes in packages and decorate to make it festive. My kids are big fans of a good ol’ potato stamp. Christmas trees are really easy to carve into a potato, but if that wont work for you, use a halved potato to stamp circles and then use a marker to draw hooks for a Christmas ornament pattern.
Pressed flower bookmarks. We did these one year for our teachers and I’m dying to do it again.
Skinny scrunchies. I know this is technically a sewing project BUT a super quick one. I know we’re all into scrunchies right now, but I find the typical size isn’t great for buns. I really want to try re-creating some like this.