Your thriving flower shrubs, herbs in pots and fruit trees are more than yard decor. They’re excellent materials for your thoughtful garden gift ideas this holiday season, too. The best presents to give, after all, are those that are grown and made by your hand!
Gifts for the Tummy
If you’re a fantastic gardener and cook rolled into one, then making garden gift ideas in your kitchen will be effortless. I know everyone would appreciate a jar of jam or fruit preserve. But here are a few other gift options to match your family and friends’ more discerning taste.
- Flavoured vodkas
No Christmas or New Year celebration is complete without refreshing drinks and cocktails. So, send your circle of party enthusiasts with bottles of infused vodka. Use fruits in season for flavouring, or make one with red chillies for a little zing!
- Herb-infused oil, vinegar or sugar
Savoury herbs like thyme, rosemary and basil work for infused vinegar and oils. Sugar, on the other hand, goes well with sweet herbs and spices like vanilla beans, mint and cinnamon. You can include simple recipes as gift tags, too, so your recipients can use their homemade condiments right away.
- Homemade butter, dressing or sauce
Here’s a delicious gift for people planning to spend the festive season cooking some steaks and doing some outdoor grilling. If you’ve been preserving herbs by freezing or drying, you can add them to store-bought butter then wrap it in wax paper. For fresh herbs, why not make a bottle of chimichurri, salsa or pesto sauce?
Gifts for Home Cooks
For friends who love working in the kitchen, these practical gift ideas will help them save money on groceries. It will keep their favourite spot at home smelling fresh, too.
- Herb pots
If you’ve been busy all year propagating your herb garden through cuttings, then you have plenty of seedlings to give as gifts. All you need are some pots, garden soil and a bow for wrapping. A vertical pallet garden is also a perfect gift for beginner gardeners.
- Tomato sauce garden
Another way to impress a food lover is by creating a gift hamper with potted ingredients for making fabulous sauces. Tomato sauce is versatile, so why not find a crate and fill it with cherry tomato, basil, rosemary and thyme in small pots? Make sure to add plant markers and a note on how to care for their new tomato sauce garden.
- Stovetop potpourri
Who needs commercial air fresheners when you can make them yourself? Gather some oranges or apples from your garden, a handful of cranberries, sprigs of rosemary and dried cloves or cinnamon. Put your ingredients in a pouch then add a tag for instructions. Now your friends have something to drive kitchen smells away after all that holiday cooking.
Gifts for Pampering
The year 2020 is surely full of challenging surprises for us that we need all the extra love we can get! And what better way to close this roller-coaster chapter than give self-care gifts to loved ones. Here are ideas that will have them feeling fresh and hopeful for a better year ahead.
- Hand and body scrub
The best way to treat tired hands and feet is to massage them with a fragrant scrub made of natural ingredients. To make some, mix coconut oil and sugar with your favourite citrus or herb combination, like lemon and rosemary. For added soothing effects, add a drop of peppermint or tea tree oil to your mixture.
- Bath tea bags
Give your family and friends pouches of your favourite herbal blend for the ultimate bathtub experience. Just fill pieces of cheesecloth with dried herbs and flowers, like lavender, lemon balm or calendula petals. Then tie each into a bundle with string.
- Handmade soap
As we need to wash our hands more frequently these days, this gift will be a great addition to everyone’s hygiene kit! The best part is, you can make them with moisturisers and exfoliants that will not harm the skin. They make great bathroom accents, too.
Gifts for Gardeners
It’s easy to give gifts to loved ones who share the same passion for gardening as you. You can give them a lovely plant centrepiece, personalised pots or even flower and vegetable seeds for planting. Here are some garden gift ideas for inspiration.
- Succulent kit
Cute succulents in adorable Christmas planters will surely win any green thumb’s heart. But if you want to take it up a notch, succulent kits are fantastic DIY gift ideas, too. Just arrange pots of succulents, soil, mason jars and pebbles in a container. Then let your gardening friends enjoy making their terrariums at home.
- Hand-painted ceramic planters
If you’re good with crafts, you can paint plain terracotta or ceramic planters to give as gifts. These decorative pots will surely add pops of colour and a unique look to anyone’s flower or vegetable garden. For an eco-friendly touch, you can repurpose old tin or paint cans, too.
- Homemade seed packets
Seasoned gardeners will be happy to get these gardening gifts that will keep on giving. All you need are some handcrafted paper envelopes and organic seeds you’ve saved from your last harvest. Label each packet and include instructions on how to plant its contents. You can also use burlap pouches as your gift container.
Gifts for Flower Lovers
A bouquet of fresh flowers from your garden is already a great gift. But I prefer to use a dehydrator or plant press for my favourite blooms instead. With a little craftwork, I then use my dried flowers and leaves to make presents a little extra special. These garden gift ideas will help you get started.
- Lavender sachet bags
These handsewn fabric pouches will keep everyone’s drawers and cabinet smelling nice and fragrant. Make sure to mix and rub your dried lavender petals with raw rice before putting them in the bags for a more potent scent. You can decorate your pouches with beads or buttons if you want.
- Pressed flower glass vase
Do you have empty food jars at home? Pick large ones that you can repurpose as flower vases. After cleaning them, use glue to stick pressed flowers all over its exterior. Small glass jars will make great-looking candle holders, too.
- Dried flower candles
Candles are popular holiday gifts to give. But instead of buying some from the store, try making DIY candles out of beeswax sheets. For your finishing touch, tie some dried flowers around it with twine. Another alternative is to purchase ready-made pillar candles then use melted candle wax to stick pressed flowers around them.
