We’re very lucky; we live in the kind of neighbourhood that shares everything from snow shovels to baby sitting responsibilities to holiday cheer. That’s why we want to make sure we showed the friends we have on our street how much we care about them this season! We’ve been trying to think of what we might give them that’s reasonable and affordable but also displays how much we care and we’ve finally decided that making them a cute little Christmas favour is definitely the best way to go.
Just in case you’d love to make your neighbours some kind of adorable DIY Christmas gift this holiday season too, here are 15 of the best ideas that we’ve come across so far in our search for inspiration!
1. Clementine Christmas wreath
Everyone loves Christmas oranges and our house is no exception! We loved the idea of giving them as gifts (especially since they’re healthy and great for fending off winter colds) but we wanted to make sure they were displayed with enough holiday cheer. That’s where Omiyage Blogs‘s Christmas orange wreath idea saved the day!
2. “Snowed on” kit
Do you come from a place that gets just about buried with snow every winter, so you know your neighbours will be spending a lot of their holiday time inside enjoying some downtime? Then maybe they’d appreciate some homemade snacks! We love the way Tater Tots and Jell-O got crafty with their presentation by turning their cookies into a sort of treat chain letter all up and down the block.
3. Cozy DIY hand warmers
What if you’d rather make them something that they can actually keep using over and over again throughout the winter season? Well, if they’re the kinds of people who spend a lot of time outside then we think they’ll get a lot of use out of something like these fantastic homemade hand warmers outlined step by step on Tip Junkie! We’ve tried these before and they’re actually a lot of fun to make.
4. Snowman soup (AKA hot cocoa)
We’ve always loved the idea of giving ingredient kits as gifts. We enjoy the idea that we’ve provided them with all these need to have fun making something delicious, so all they need to do is put it together nice and simply! That’s why we loved these “snowman soup” kits from Gingersnap Crafts that have everything your neighbours will need to make delicious cocoa.
5. Stovetop simmer spices kit
We’ve always been huge fans of that traditional “Christmas smell” that we’ve all come to know and love so well, so we’ll take any opportunity we can to share that bit of tradition with those around us too! Atkinsons Drive is here to help with that by showing you what to put inside a “simmer kit” with instructions for your neighbours to introduce them to the magic of winter time simmer pots for fragrance and relaxation.
6. Personalized holiday hand soap
Just in case you’re pressed for time and you only really have the spare day to embellish something pre-made rather than making it from scratch, here’s an idea that your neighbours will actually appreciate a lot because it’s useful! Check out how Schlosser Designs made these adorable Christmas quote hand soaps in surprisingly few simple steps.
7. Hand stamped spoon and cookie mix
If you’re going to give the friends on your block a kit full of goodies, would you rather add another homemade element to really amp the gift up rather than just putting some ingredients in a bag? In that case, we’d definitely suggest taking a look at how The Idea Room customized an adorable candy cane inspired mixing spoon to make its accompanying cookies with!
8. Frozen cookie dough
Are you actually aware that your neighbours still work during the holidays, so you know they’ll probably be too busy to be mixing up things like bags of cookie ingredients, even though you’d still love to share the cheer of a warm holiday cookie? Well, you can take them a batch and hope that they have time to eat them before they get stale or you can make the dough yourself and deliver it as a convenient, pre-rolled frozen pack that they can just pop in the oven any time, just like Written on The Walls did!
9. Dinner in a mug
Here’s another great gift that will really help out your neighbours who stay really busy working all holiday season! Creative Capital B suggests giving them a lovely customized Christmas mug filled with a package of instant (but good tasting) soup and a roll of quick-baed croissants. They’ll have one less meal to worry about between family time and overtime shifts!
10. Nacho ordinary neighbours
What if you’re totally interested in making your neighbours a food based gift but you’re also intent on taking the presentation to the next level in really simple ways because you like to make your friends laugh with jokes and word play? Then you just might be the perfect person to make something like this nacho gaga gift outlined step by step on All Things Thrifty.
11. Snow ice cream kit
Eating ice cream in the winter might sound crazy where we live, but not everyone spends their Christmases in a frozen wonderland like we do! We love the way Snap Creativity helped their neighbours have a white Christmas despite the lack of snow where they’re from by putting together an entire snow themed ice cream kit, providing everything they’d need to make their ice cream cones look like miniature blizzards (except for the ice cream itself, of course).
12. The Giving Plate
Just in case you’re the kind of gift giver that loves concepts and warm feelings even more than you like things, here’s a cute neighbour gift idea that keeps on going around the block, down the street, and to who knows where! Check out how Fabulessly Frugal customized a plate by hand to become a “giving platter” and started a chain of appreciation on Christmas eve.
13. Piece on Earth puzzle gift
Just in case you’re still not over the amusing word play ideas, here’s another Christmas gift for neighbours who do have a bit of downtime, especially if they have kids! How Does She suggest putting together a cute card and presentation that plays on the puzzle pieces you’ll include as a gift for each person. Bonus points if you can find holiday puzzles or ones themed after things they really love!
14. Reindeer root beer
While we’re talking about simple crafty customization that will make something your neighbours already like a little more holiday cheery, here’s an adorable idea from Brimful Curiosities! They show you how to use pipe cleaners, pom poms, and googly eyes to transform regular glass bottles or root beer into a six pack of funny little reindeer.
