Neighbor Gifts: Ultimate Guide to Christmas
Many items on my list of gifts for neighbors are homemade because of cost-effectiveness, but also because homemade gifts seem more from-the-heart. However, keeping in mind the hectic pace of the season, I’ve also included some non-homemade gifts! Either way, I hope you’ll find some great ideas here that you can use to bless your neighbors!
Twenty-Five Neighbor Gifts for the Holidays:
1) Personalized coffee cup.
Buy a plain white mug at your local dollar store, and have the kids decorate it with a black Sharpie, then bake. That’s a one-of-a-kind gift with plenty of love.
2) Pretty soaps.
If you’re feeling really crafty, you can make your own yummy-smelling soaps; how about these key lime bath bombs?! For an even easier option, buy handmade soaps (I’ve bought them at our local farmer’s market), or not-handmade-but-still-pretty soaps at places like Target.
3) Washcloth Reindeer.
Fill a washcloth with bath goodies (like the soaps above), and tie up in an adorable Christmas-themed package that’s part of the gift. See a tutorial here.
4) Homemade handwarmers.
Make these handwarmers in a heart shape to show your neighborly love! Or these too-cute owl handwarmers! I really like the idea of making them out of fleece because it’s cozy but also super easy to sew.
5) Tile coasters.
Ceramic tiles, Modgepodge, scrapbook paper, and felt are all you need to make these cute custom tile coasters.
6) Mason Jar Sewing Kit.
Not only cute but useful, too: make a mason jar sewing kit.
7) Teacup candles.
My tea addiction may sway me here, but these teacup candles might be my FAVORITE on this list!
8) Movie night gift basket.
Movie ticket gift card (or a family-friendly movies
9) Cozy toes gift.
A pair of slipper socks and a matching bottle of nail polish in a cute little gift bag is all it takes to make a nice little gift bag. Add a mini lotion and it’s even better.
10) Snowman Kit.
This might be better if you don’t live in Georgia since snowman-worthy snow is rare here, but it’s a super-cute idea. A felt hat, a scarf, and some cute accessories mean all your neighbors need for an awesome snowman is a good snow! Make your own — or buy one
11) Homemade Keychains.
Use fabric scraps to make a keychain for your neighbor!
12) Potted plant.
A little greenery to last past the Christmas tree — and indoor plants help clean the air so they’re good for your neighbor’s health, too!
13) Kindle cover.
I want one for myself! I might have to make one for my mom. A custom-made kindle cover is a fabulous gift for a neighbor who loves her kindle
14) DIY Birdnest Necklace.
I saw these last year and planned to make a few but that never happened. Maybe this year. Great gift for neighbors or friends of any age. Make this DIY birdnest necklace.
15) Chore Coupons.
Have older neighbors without kids to help around the house? Make homemade coupons for things like raking the yard or other “honey-do” type services they might appreciate.
16) Bath salt scrub.
There are roughly a bajillion versions of bath salt scrub recipes online, so pick your favorite. Basically, combine 2 cups Epsom salts with 1 cup coconut or olive oil, add a few drops of an essential oil for fragrance, then package it up pretty. These lavender essential oil bath salts sound heavenly.
Food-related Neighbor Gifts:
17) Merry KISSmas whisk.
Fill a whisk with Hershey kisses and attach a tag that says, “We WHISK you a Merry KISSmas!”
18) Tin of homemade cookies.
This tends to be my go-to neighbor gift. I usually make an assortment of cookies on one big baking day, and then just put a few of each in each little tin.
19) Chocolate-covered Marshmallow Reindeer.
Too cute — but not too hard to make: chocolate-covered marshmallow reindeer.
21) Santa hat Party Mix.
Making the hats red seems like a little bit of a pain, but it makes this Santa hat party mix SO much more festive! You could make a big batch of this stuff and package it up for your closest neighbors.
19) Coffee sleeve.
Make these from felt, from old sweaters, or even new Christmas socks! Try this felt coffee sleeve tutorial.
20) Hot chocolate kit.
Cocoa and mini marshmallows in a mason jar or mug. Try this delightfully fancy (but still easy!) idea for a hot cocoa kit.
23) Homemade vanilla.
I’ve never made my own vanilla, but it’s worth trying because these would make such elegant gifts! There are also notes in this tutorial about where to buy pretty bottles, plus free printable labels.
24) Oreo Snowmen.
Oreo snowmen are another cute AND yummy gift!
25) Homemade dog treats.
Make goodies for your canine neighbors, especially if you have a neighbor like ours who looooves her doggie. Try one of these dog-friendly recipes. Or give a dogbone-shaped cookie cutter
This post is a part of iHomeschool Network’s 25 Days of Christmas Ultimate Blog Hop. Click the calendar to see other Ultimate Christmas links!
Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »
These are great! I’ll have to try the party mix with the gaggle of young adults and preteens that are always strewn about my basement floor. Pinning your list now!
Great ideas!!! I think I’ll try the vanilla and maybe the coasters. Thank you<3
Wonderful and FUN ideas! Thank you. Pinning!
This is a great list of gift ideas! I have always wanted to try making vanilla, someday I will do it! We “Whisk” you a Merry Kiss-mas – too cute!!
Yes we tend to go for the homemade cookies. We put them in holiday cellophane paper though. I send the tins to family out of state. This post though is tempting me to do something a little different this year. Thanks for putting it together.
great list – pinned it!
Wow! These are terrific!
These are not only great ideas, but many of them my kids will love helping make. Thanks for the great ideas can’t wait to make our own washcloth reindeer.
love the bath salts scrub. Anything having to do with spa treatments is always a win with me.
One tip for the decorated mugs – don’t put any Sharpie near where your mouth would go, because it doesn’t always 100% bake on permanently. We made these at my friend’s birthday party and some of us put pen on the inside of the mug, and it came off in our first cup of tea… Oops! Some lovely ideas here 🙂
Thanks, that’s good to know!! 😉
#10 I live in North Georgia and gave my Great nieces and nephews snow man kits for Christmas one year and their parents said they loved them even though they had to wait until the next year to get to use them. I also included a small box of homemade fudge with each one.
[…] neighbors: Do you buy gifts for your neighbors? Sometimes I do, other times we just make a bunch of cookies and a homemade card. If you’re […]