Homesteading Gift Ideas
Word Association game time! When thinking about homesteading gift ideas , words that come to mind are homemade, wood, paint, nails, material, yarn, repurposing, and practical. What do YOU picture?
If you are looking for gift ideas for a homesteader loved one, OR if you are looking for non homemade gift ideas, then going a more practical route may be a great place to start. I would suggest clicking the link “Gift Ideas For Homesteaders” and check it out.
If you are looking for homemade homesteading gift ideas then continue on here!
*Disclaimer- This post may contain Google Ads for which I earn a small commission.
While these will work for any occasion, we just passed Christmas so that is what is fresh on my brain to share. Christmas on the homestead wouldn’t be complete without a good amount of homemade gifts.
Homemade gifts have your fingerprints of love covering each one and wrapped in positive, caring, happy thoughts for those you are making for. Here are some homesteading gift ideas , that I hope could inspire you, and start those creative gift giving juices flowing.
Start early on your homesteading gift ideas ….trust me!
Each year I say that I’m going to start making homemade gifts early and then, yet again, this year paint was still drying on Christmas Eve night. EEEK!
While I DID manage to get a fair amount made in time, most were completed under great pressure and added unnecessary stress to myself and the entire family. My energy was taken off of their needs and gift making messes added to the chaos of the home, which took away from the great intensions that I had.
All because I crammed too much into too short of an amount of time.
This coming year I plan on doing “The Twelve Months of Christmas Gift Making”. I hope to really space out my time, energy, and resources throughout the year to maximize on the true enjoyment I get when making a homemade gift for someone.
Ok! On to some homesteading gift ideas !!
Crocheted/Knitted Gift
While there are so many free patterns online, this year I ended up buying a pattern off of Etsy’s KnotYourselfOut shop (not an affiliate link, I’m just a fan!) to make a Pocket Shawl for my sister-in-law.
She isn’t the “shawl wearing type”, however I view it as a “Sophisticated Snuggy” and could picture her wrapped up in it, on the couch, with a good book.
Instead of having to take it off when she needs to get up, like with a blanket, she could stay wrapped up and put the book in her oversized pocket.
Plus, it takes more time and care than making a scarf, but not as time consuming as a full on afghan…SCORE!
If you knit or crochet then consider making a hat, scarf, shawl, or afghan. How about a Crocheted Basket?!
If you are new to these skills, or just want a super quick project, then what about crocheted dishcloths, pot scrubbers, or facecloths?!?! I will soon have “How To” links for these, but until then Google could be your best source of free patterns.
String Art
This year, the kids and I really got into the fun of String Art. It’s SOOOO easy that kids of almost all ages could absolutely be involved, in some capacity, with the making process.
It’s basically just a board with nails outlining a shape, image, or word and filled in with crisscrossing string.
For detailed instructions check out “How to Make String Art” . This project is especially perfect if you have leftover pieces of wood laying around!
While the instructions seem long, they aren’t complicated. For young children, you could always pre-pound the nails and just have them do the string part in a very simple shape, if you want.
Apocalypse Garden Kit ….OR perhaps “Garden Gift Basket” if you would like to rename it something more positive
OK I’m not trying to be negative, but keep in mind this is being written in the years 2020/21… Not only did we see toilet paper shortages and cleared food shelves, but there were also seed shortages.
Seed companies not only gave warnings to expect seed shortages to effect Spring 2021 plantings as well, but they also encouraged us to save seeds from heirloom plants that we were growing.
I took that warning seriously and divided up fun varieties of seeds between myself, my brother-in-law, and nephew.
Check out “Homemade Garden Gift Basket” for more ideas of what you could add to one.
Not only is this great for your homesteading gift ideas but also for an Easter gift, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Housewarming, Teacher’s gift, Birthday, Christmas etc…
Home Canning Gift Basket
For my other sister-in-law, I put together a basket with some things that I preserved this year.
Mix it up! It could be stereotypical canning goods like salsa, sauce, pickled veggies, and jellies (Don’t forget the Cowboy Candy!!!), but also throw in some dehydrated items or infusions as well.
When she lived with us, I couldn’t keep lemons in the house because she was always using them in her drinks. So in her basket, I dehydrated lemon slices for her to always have some on hand.
It hasn’t even been a month yet, and she dropped off bags of lemons and limes for me to make more for her!
Add in a bag of tortilla chips, a box of crackers, or pasta to make the basket full and complete.
Sugar Scrub
ETREMELY simple…You (or one of your homesteading children!) could bang out a ton of these within literally minutes!
Give the gift of pampering, as your loved one could use this to exfoliate and smooth their hands, legs, or feet.
Use simple jelly jars or get a bit fancier. I picked up these hinged jars at The Christmas Tree Shop. I’ve also seen similar at even the Dollar Tree.
Your fragrance options are limitless. They could include a relaxing Lavender, a floral Rose, invigorating Peppermint, warming holiday combo of Orange/Cinnamon/Clove and more.
Use your favorite essential oils!
Check out the DIY Sugar Scrub Recipe that we used!
Bird Seed Ornaments
These are always fun to make with the kids (Toddlers especially love it!) . They could easily become a simple homemade touch and perfect addition to any gift.
Every year we gift my father-in-law a bird feeder. This year the kids and I made these Bird Seed Ornaments for him, as an added gift.
They are great for someone who has everything and doesn’t want just added stuff laying around the house. Also great to gift your chickens or someone who has chickens even! You could really get creative with different ribbons, cookie cutter shapes, and seed types.
Refurbish and bring new life to something old and previously loved
A friend of mine gave me her daughter’s colorfully loved wooden dollhouse and furniture. Her daughter had painted and drew all over it with paint, marker, nail polish, and crayon.
I have always wanted Troy & I to make our Abby a wooden dollhouse but haven’t had the time to even start planning one out. THIS WAS PERFECT!
We sanded it down and painted it. Troy added pretty thin molding, mosaic tiles to the roof, and carpeting, linoleum, and contact paper to the floors. In the end, the contact paper lifted right up, two days before Christmas, so I pulled it out and painted those sections of the floor instead. Another great reason why you shouldn’t wait until the last minute to do homemade gifts! You just never know what may go wrong or need to be changed.
In the end it, was a beautiful transformation and something more special to give our daughter than a store bought one.
A few years ago, Troy turned pallets that he had gotten from work into beautiful American flags, for his dad and sister.
One hangs on the front of his Dad’s garage. The other, his sister added rod iron legs to and turned it into a side table.
Pallet craft ideas are ENDLESS and often incredible. So, if you have access to pallets they could make some pretty wonderful homesteading gift ideas for sure!
Mason jar gifts
Nothing says “homesteading” more than a plain old Mason jar. While not technically “homemade”, it instantly gives that look.
We have all seen cookie mixes layered in a jar as gift ideas, however, you could put literally ANYTHING in a Mason jar to get that same “homesteady” feel.
Use any size jar, add some material or decorations around the lid and it could transform the look and feel of the gift immediately.
Come up with a theme and fill it as if it were a mini gift bag…
Pampering theme? Add a single use face mask, a bath bomb, bottle of nail polish, nail file, pumice stone, lotion etc…
Have someone who likes their drinks in the family? Add nips.
For a Camper? Make a survival kit! Matches, mini flashlight, folded poncho, a protein bar.
Seeds for a gardener? Essential Oils? So many possibilities!
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