I love this idea! Because the wrapping is part of the present – which I think is genius! Long after Christmas Day these gift bags can be used to store all sorts of trinkets. That’s why I chose a non Christmasy fabric. If you want to go festive (but still useable year round) you could use a tartan, which is very festive. Or stick with plain red or green or a simple print like polka dots. There have been some lovely fabrics printed with gold around lately and that could be fun too. Or make it really special with sequin fabric! You can up the festive factor by dressing your giftbag with Christmassy decorations that can be removed.
Of course you could fill these gift bags with anything!! But if you want to keep a handmade vibe going, I have lots of ideas for you.
FOOD GIFTS – L to R, top to bottom
- Easy Coconut Ice – I could eat this traditional treat all day!
- Brownies – either all made up or in a jar to make later. The link has some free Christmas labels you can print!
- Chocolate Crackles – trust me, these are not just for kids!
- Lemon Curd – I can’t make enough of this! Everyone wants a jar…
- Speedy Tomato Relish – this is one of my most viewed posts ever because it is so easy and delicious
- Dried Apricot Jam (or Any Jam) – because homemade jam is everything.
- Cranberry & Almond Bark – If I make this, it’s gone in minutes! Plus it’s very festive.
- Ranch Dressing or Dip Mix – You could also make some nice BBQ spice mixes
- Nutella & Peanut Cookies – A Mr Ask special.
My local cheapy shop always has little cellophane bags that you could put these things in but a snap lock will do just fine! Since I know just how easy it is to run out of time when you are hand making gifts! Why not take the pressure off and buy a box of cookie mix and some fun mix ins? Open the box and take out the cookie mix, just put that straight in the gift bag. Put some mix ins into a small snap lock and add them too. Type up the baking instructions and print them out. You can decorate the instructions with some cute washi tape or stickers. Cute, quick and easy! Not to bad on the budget either…
HAIR & BEAUTY GIFTS – L to R, top to bottom
Good Morning Body Polish – A beautiful coffee and mint solid body scrub
Shea & Olive Oil Body Butter – Super easy, no heat recipe that is crowd pleaser
Shrink Plastic Brooches – So fun to make (and a nice therapeutic exercise for adults) for kids too!
Fruits & Flowers Hair Pieces – If you have a retro girl in your life, this would be perfect. I wear mine all the time!
Knot Hair Bows – A great beginner sewing project that doesn’t need a machine – cute too!
Essential Oil Bath Salts – I have made more than 20 batches to keep with demand! Quick & easy.
Vintage Inspired Hair Pins – I show just one but this an easy craft that is super wearable.
Creaseless Hair Ties – Dead easy, budget friendly yet sweet and useful – Perfect!
DIY Facepowder – A DIY you don’t want to miss and it uses stuff you can get at the supermarket.
I really could go on about the DIY’s you could make and put in a gift bag! I get pretty excited about making things. If you want even more ideas, head over to last years handmade gift round up. But remember, the bag is part of the gift! You don’t need to work your fingers to the bone filling these gift bags up. If you have lots of people to gift, buy value gift sets of things like lip balm and hand cream, then you can split them up among your bags. People should feel blessed to receive a sweet handmade gift bag. I wanted to know if people would be happy to get a homemade gift bag and what they might keep in it later, so I asked around. Everyone wanted one! People said they would use theirs for make up, others said stuff in their handbag, some said special lingerie and other still said buttons. Now lets make!!!
For 8 bags you’ll need:
1 m exterior fabric
1 m lining fabric
6-8 m ribbon
With the fabric on the fold, mark out eight 8″ x 9″ rectangles on both the fabric and the lining and cut them out.
Lay two pieces of fabric right sides together. If your fabric has a direction like mine does, make sure they are both right way up! Pin if you like, I didn’t bother. With a 1/4″ seam allowance, sew down one side and along the bottom and back up the other side. Trim the corners. Turn right side out and gently poke out the corners and press seam allowances flat.
Lay two lining pieces right sides together.With a 1/4″ seam allowance, sew down one side and along the bottom and back up the other side. But this time leave a 1-2″ gap in the bottom as a turning gap. Trim the corners and press seam allowances flat.
With the lining still inside out but the main piece right side out, put the main piece inside the lining. Align the seams and ensure the seam allowances are opened flat. Pin if you want, again I didn’t. Sew around the top.
Turn right side out, through the hole in the lining. Topstitch the hole in the lining closed. Settle the lining into the outer and press around the top edge. Align the bag so that you are sewing 1″ down from the top edge. Sew through both layers and back stitch over each seam.
Sew a second row of stitches a half inch down from there. Again back stitching over the seams. Unpick the exterior fabric between the stitch lines only to create a channel.
Cut two pieces of ribbon for each bag, I just eyeballed it. You can melt the ribbon with a flame to seal the end or use a dab of frey check. Thread a ribbon through each channel and tie them together. I used a loop turner to make things easier. And you are done!
These gift bags are great, really easy and quick! I found that I could get 8 bags out of a metre of fabric but you could change up the sizes to get more or less. The sizing is up to you. If you make yours taller, you may want to leave a larger gap before the drawstring. And if you want to use wider ribbon, you’ll need to make the channel wider. Vary things to suit yourself. When Christmas is over and things have settled, I think I’m going to make a bunch of these. Then I’m ready for any gifting occasion that comes my way!
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