How to Ensemble the Perfect Stocking Stuffer Gift Bag
The holidays always make me feel conflicted.
Do I make handmade gifts? Do I buy gifts? Who do I give gifts to? Who do I not give gifts to? Should I keep it within my immediate family? Do I give some gifts to friends to? How much money do I spend on each person? If I give so-and-so a gift, does that I mean I have to give bla-and-bla a gift too?
Please tell me I’m not the only one!
The reality is that I don’t have tons of money to spend on buying gifts for everyone. I am not going to put myself and my family in debt over giving gifts and I’m sure my loved ones wouldn’t want me to do so either. Especially now that both Scott and I have agreed to keep our Christmas giving very minimal and make memories that go beyond piles of presents.
That being said, I still feel the urge to splurge on gifts (Remember? I’m conflicted). It’s easy to want to shower our loved ones with gifts — everyone loves opening up a gift of something that they really want. It’s especially hard when you have kids and you grew up having piles of presents. However, the reality is that we really don’t need much and the value of gifts are lessened when there are so many that you forget what the first gift you opened was.
So, the solution I bring to us today is to make a small little stocking stuffer gift bag with a collection of handmade gifts and gifts that were handmade by someone else. Not only does this gift bag screams love because it is made up entirely of thoughtful gifts, it can be customized to whatever your budget is and whoever you’re giving it to.
It could have a tiny bit of a start up cost if you don’t have the raw ingredients you need to make the products but, the good thing is that once you have all the raw ingredients, you can make a boat load of small gifts for the people in your life. By choosing products to make from scratch that don’t cost a lot and make a large batch, you can really save money in volume.
This post is specifically for the women in your life, but at the bottom of this post right before the printable DIY tutorial, I’ve included gift ideas for men and kids that would fit perfectly in a small muslin bag.
Also, please keep in mind that although this post is labeled “stocking stuffer gift bag,” there is no reason you couldn’t give these as actual gifts.
How to ensemble the perfect stocking stuffer gift bag
First, you’ll want to make a list of the people you want to make a stocking stuffer gift bag for. That way, you’ll know how many gift bags you need and it will also help you determine what “ingredients” you’ll stuff it with and how it relates to your budget.
You can also think of a “theme” that you want to revolve your gift bag around. For my gift bag, I wanted to pamper the women in my life because what woman doesn’t need more pampering — especially with chemical-free products!
Next, you’ll want to determine what it is exactly you want to put into the gift bag and if you’ll need to make anything from scratch.
For my gift bag, I wanted to combine it with things that I made from scratch like homemade chocolate almonds in christmas tree molds, calming lotion bars, and roll-on essential oil blends. For more ideas on homemade beauty products to make from scratch, check out DIY Organic Beauty Recipes (right now it’s 50% off until the end of Cyber Monday).
I also wanted to support small businesses I love so I included a lip lotion from Scratch Mommy Skincare (Jess is one of my best friends and I LOVE her lip lotion) and a handmade soap bar from Live Pure Soaps (my sister-in-law literally makes the best handmade soaps ever… and they’re absolutely beautiful).
Then, you’ll want to gather any ingredients you need to make the products from scratch, plus the things you’ll need to actually make the gift bag itself.
I purchased 5×7 muslin bags and they are the perfect size to put what I need in there. I also bought some red and white twine, a christmas stamp, small clear baggies, and a black fabric ink stamper. You want to make sure it’s for fabric so the stamp stays on and doesn’t smudge.
Once you have all your ingredients together, you can put a desired stamp on the front of your muslin bag and get to making your desired homemade gifts.
After you get all your homemade products made, you’ll want to bag them up accordingly (I put chocolate covered almond christmas trees and lotion bars in clear baggies with red and white twine to tie it).
After everything is ready to go, all you need to do is put each item in the gift bag and then close it up. I chose to add red and white twine to close the gift bag to give a bit more of a Christmas-ey feel to it.
You could add some red tissue paper inside the gift bag to give it a little more of a “plump” look and a personalized name tag.
I think whoever you give these gift bags to will love it and really appreciate all the time and effort you put into making them. Plus, you can keep some of the stuff you made to pamper YOURSELF! 🙂
Stocking stuffer gift ideas for women
- Rose lip balm
- Organic facial powder
- Lotion bars
- Essential oil diffuser locket necklace
- Goji cranberry truffles
- 3 ingredient chapped lip remedy
- Chai tea (caffeine-free)
- Unbleached tea bags
- Calendula infused and naturally tinted lip balm
- Clay pendant diffuser necklace (I think little girls would also love this)
- Seasoning and herb ornaments (just pick a small ornament to go in the bag)
- Small beeswax candles in silicone molds
- Homemade french onion dip or taco seasoning
- 27 crunchy stocking stuffer gift ideas
- All-natural belly butter
- Anything small from DIY Organic Beauty Recipes ebook
Stocking stuffer gift ideas for men
- Manly essential oil beard blends
- Wooden bottle opener
- Altoids tin refilled with manly stuff
- Small sampler bag of homemade roasted coffee
- Dry rub mix for grilling
- Small bottle of naturally healing aftershave spray
- Peppermint body soap from Live Pure Soaps
- Kitty balm (like Tiger Balm) for sore muscles
Stocking stuffer gift ideas for kids
- Sensory play dough
- Chocolate covered almonds in christmas tree shapes
- Homemade crayons in christmas tree molds
- 5 strand braided headbands
- Felt hair clips
- 23 earth-friendly stocking stuffer gifts for kids
- 4 easy origami toys from one piece of paper
- Muslin bags (I chose these 5x7 bags because I think it's a very versatile size)
- Red and white twine, optional
- Clear white baggies to put food/lotion bars in (I got mine at Michael's)
- Fabric black ink pad, optional and make sure it's big enough to accommodate whatever stamp you choose
- You favorite holiday-themed stamp, optional
- Homemade calming lotion bars (get the tutorial here)
- Homemade chocolate covered almond christmas trees (get tutorial here)
- Roll-on essential oil blends/perfume (get tutorial here)
- Scratch Mommy Skincare lip lotion (It's my favorite lip lotion ever and you can view other Scratch Mommy Skincare products here)
- Handmade soap bar (I've been using Live Pure Soaps for about 3 months now and I am in love. My sister-in-law makes these soaps and they really are some of the best soaps I've ever used)
- Make all your homemade gifts; order/purchase your favorite handmade products
- Prepare your gift bag by stamping on the desired christmas/winter wonderland stamp. If using more than one stamp, practice on a piece of paper first so you can make sure you design is the way you want
- Package your homemade gifts accordingly (I put food and lotion bars in little clear plastic baggies and tied them off with my twine)
- Place all "ingredients" into your muslin bag and tie it off. Add festive ribbon to give it a little more of a color pop. Add tissue paper to "stuff" the bag a little more if you want.
- Attach a homemade or store bought tag to the bag with a little message (or include a hand written message inside the bag letting your loved ones know what's in there, how to use it, and why you picked it)
These look great. O my goodness, so much love tied up in the little bags. A wonderful gift. The swirly soaps are really fun! 🙂
The swirly soaps are my fav. They seriously are the best handmade soaps I’ve ever used. And smell really lovely.
Very nice job!!! Thanks for the ideas Loriel!
You are very welcome!
What a lovely gift bag, I know I would be tickled to receive something so lovely! It’s always a dilemma for me too, I want to make everybody I know homemade gifts as a sign of affection but how to balance it with time and money and simplicity?
I agree. That’s why it’s important to pick things that make a lot and don’t cost a lot to make plus including some already made things from companies you love. I love that this stocking gift bag can really work with whatever budget you have.
Thanks for linking to my Manly Essential Oil Beard Blend post Loriel! I really appreciate it!
You’re welcome. 🙂