DIY Personalized Gifts That People Actually Like!

Part of the fun of the holidays are all the crafty projects! From decorating your home to baking cookies, the colors, sparkles and textures add so much joy to the season. Making personalized gifts for your friends and family can be just as fun.
Of course, when it comes to gifts it truly is the thought that counts. Spending your time hand-crafting something special for loved ones is a nice way to show you care— even if that scarf you knitted turns out a little lopsided or that throw blanket you tried to make ends up doll-sized.
Or maybe you don’t have any experience doing DIY projects and don’t even know where to start. Homemade essential oil bath & body goodies make fantastic personalized gifts and we’ve put together a list of our favorite essential oil recipes that anyone can do.
These simple essential oil recipes are tried and true crowd pleasers. Instead of a generic holiday gift collecting dust, these delightfully aromatic essential oil gifts are something your friends and family will love to use.
If you’re all about that #pinterestfail life don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Whether you’re a DIY Queen or don’t know a glue gun from a glue stick, these 5 personalized gifts are so quick and easy you’ll be amazed.
Homemade Essential Oil Bath Bombs
Homemade bath bombs are much easier to make than you think, but have a “wow” factor that will definitely impress family and friends. They’re also easy to personalize by adding different essential oils, colors and fun details like glitter.
To take your personalized gift to the next level, you can even hide surprises in the center. Charms, rings, sprigs of herbs, dried flowers, tiny pinecones, and small plastic toys are all festive additions for your essential oil bath bombs.
This recipe is a family favorite that’s reminiscent of a walk through a winter forest and is perfect for the holiday season. The essential oils included in this recipe are safe to use topically with little ones, so they’re a great personalized gift for a family or nieces and nephews.
Pro tip: The essential oil combination featured in this recipe is great to use in your diffuser. Create a festive atmosphere before a holiday gathering, or bring in the aroma of greenery if you have an artificial tree!
Fairy Forest Bath Bombs Recipe
What You’ll Need:
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1 cup baking soda
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½ cup plain epsom salt
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½ cup corn starch
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½ cup citric acid
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3 Tbsp jojoba oil
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1 Tbsp water
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1 tsp pine needle essential oil
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½ tsp rosemary essential oil
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½ tsp bergamot essential oil
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Large mixing bowl
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Small mixing bowl
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Whisk
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Silicone mold
Optional: Up to 1 tsp food coloring and/or 1 Tbsp biodegradable glitter. If you choose to personalize your gift with food coloring, you may want to use disposable gloves to avoid dying your hands.
Instructions:
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In large bowl, add all dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.
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In small bowl, mix essential oils and other wet ingredients. Mix well with whisk.
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Slowly add wet ingredients to dry, whisking as you go. If it begins to fizz, slow down!
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Once all wet ingredients are added, use hands to mix thoroughly to avoid clumps of wet ingredients. When finished it should be the texture of damp sand.
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Work quickly to get the mix into to the mold while it’s still damp. Press firmly to avoid crumbling when you remove it from the mold.
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Let sit overnight or until completely dry.
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Remove essential oil bath bombs from silicone mold. Drop 1-2 in a bath and enjoy!
Aromatherapy Rollerball Blends
Aromatherapy oil rollerball blends are perfect for your loved one that is always on the go! When diluted with a nourishing carrier oil, essential oils can be applied to pulse points to provide aromatherapy benefits wherever you may be.
Essential oil rollerball blends are especially awesome for traveling. They’re just the right size and there are different options to help you cope with just about every travel situation. Jet-lagged? Try a motivating blend. Stuck in holiday traffic? Something calming. Carsick or have a headache? Peppermint oil can ease nausea and comfort aches.
Making your own personalized gift set of aromatherapy rollerball blends is a thoughtful gesture for the traveler in your life, or someone that is just super busy. Single rollerball blends also make great essential oil stocking stuffers and Hanukkah gifts.
Try our Traveling Trio DIY to make a gift set, or make personalized gifts of individual rollers with the essential oils of your choice.
DIY Traveling Trio Rollerball Set
What you’ll need:
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6 tsp (1 fl oz.) jojoba oil
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3 essential oil rollerball bottles (10ml each)
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A few drops of essential oils of your choice
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Small funnel
Instructions: Use your funnel to fill each rollerball with 2 tsp of jojoba oil. Add 5-10 drops (total) of essential oils to each rollerball bottle, add rollerball applicator and shake to mix well. To use, roll on essential oil blend to pulse points, back of neck and temples.
Add the following essential oils to the jojoba oil in your rollerball bottles for a travel-themed personalized gift set:
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Jet Lag Jumpstart Rollerball: 3 drops each of lemongrass, eucalyptus, and rosemary essential oils.
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Tranquil in Traffic Rollerball: 3 drops lavender essential oil and 2 drops each of frankincense and tangerine essential oils.
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Aches Abroad Rollerball: 5 drops peppermint essential oil, 5 drops eucalyptus essential oil.
Personalized Essential Oil Sugar Scrub
Store-bought body scrubs are generally made with plastic microbeads which are terrible for the ocean. Making your own essential oil body scrubs with sugar are thoughtful personalized gifts that are also good for the environment.
Adding essential oils to your homemade sugar scrub allows you to create a custom aromatherapy experience. You might try lavender essential oil for a soothing sugar scrub or grapefruit for a more energizing scrub.
Personalizing your sugar scrub recipe with peppermint essential oil is a great way to capture the festive holiday feeling and also comes with additional benefits. The sharp, slightly sweet scent of peppermint is an invigorating way to start the day while also creating a sense of calmness and clarity. Plus it smells like candy canes!
While peppermint essential oil is great for adults, if you’re making a personalized gift for little ones, there a few oils a little too harsh for younger kiddos. Luckily we have a whole blog about using essential oils with babies and younger kids to help you handle that like a pro.
If you want to recreate the candy cane vibe with little ones, we recommend substituting 1 tsp of pine needle essential oil and ½ a tsp of sweet orange oil in the recipe below.
Candy Cane Body Scrub Recipe
What You’ll Need:
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1 cup granulated white sugar
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¼ cup jojoba oil
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1 ½ tsp peppermint essential oil
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Mixing bowl/spoon
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Mason jar for storing
Instructions:
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Add sugar, jojoba and peppermint essential oil to your bowl. Mix until fully combined.
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Scoop sugar body scrub into mason jar and decorate if you like.
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To use, scoop sugar scrub into hands and massage onto damp skin in circular motion. Let sit 1-2 minutes for a hydrating effect and thoroughly rinse.
Aromatherapy Shower Melts
Essential oil aromatherapy shower melts are perfect for the person on your list that prefers showers over baths. With an essential oil shower melt, you get all the aromatherapy benefits of a bath bomb right in the shower.
Making shower melts is very simple and only requires 3 ingredients— which you probably already have in your home! For an easy DIY personalized gift with lots of options, shower melts are the way to go. You can add custom aromas to your melts or gift them with a set of essential oils so your loved ones can choose their own scents.
Rise & Shine DIY Shower Melts
What you’ll need:
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1 cup baking soda
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1/3 cup water
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8 Silicone Cupcake Liners
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Mixing bowl/spoon
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Frankincense essential oil
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Pine needle essential oil
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Tangerine essential oil
Instructions:
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Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
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Add baking soda and water to bowl, mix into a paste.
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Fill each cupcake mold with 3 ¼ tsp of paste.
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Bake for 10-15 minutes in preheated oven.
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Let cool completely, remove from liners.
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Add 2 drops of each essential oil (6 drops total) to individual shower melts.
To use: Place one shower melt on shower floor where it isn’t directly under the shower fall and enjoy!
Personalized Lip Balms
Buying drugstore or gas station lip balm is a pretty big no-no… unless you like slathering your lips with petroleum (i.e. basically the same thing you’re putting in your gas tank.) Making someone a personalized gift set of lip balms is a really thoughtful alternative, especially in the winter.
Not only is petroleum just gross, it also doesn’t do anything to actually moisturize your lips. It simply coats them with a greasy film. During the winter lips are exposed to extra harsh elements and they need all the extra love and care they can get.
Homemade natural lip balms protect and nourish your lips. A great way to personalize your lip balms are with essential oils. They’ll have a lovely natural fragrance, but no added taste or synthetic chemicals.
To get in the holiday spirit, try our recipe for Peppermint Zinger essential oil lip balm with nourishing jojoba oil. Not only will it help soothe chapped lips, but it’s super beneficial for skin too. That means soft, smooth conditioned lips— not just a slick greasy feel.
Peppermint Zinger Lip Balm Recipe
What you’ll need:
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7 ½ tsp jojoba oil
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6 tsp beeswax pellets
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3x 30ml lip balm tins
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⅛ tsp peppermint essential oil
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⅛ tsp lemon essential oil
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Microwave safe bowl, spoon
Instructions:
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Combine jojoba oil and beeswax in microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 15 second intervals until mixture is liquid, occasionally stirring.
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Add essential oils to your mix and stir well.
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Quickly pour mix into lip balm tins before it cools.
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Let sit until fully cool. Makes 3 tins of lip balm.
Congrats on The Best Personalized Gifts Ever!
You made it. You are now officially ready to get cracking on essential oil gifts for your loved ones. With just a few simple recipes you can make thoughtful personalized gifts that your friends and family will love.
For more DIY essential oil recipes and ideas about how to use essential oils during the holiday season check out our YouTube channel full of helpful tutorial videos. You can also join our VIPurist club to be the first to know about sales and special offers.
Tried one of our recipes? We wanna see it! Get at us on Instagram and tag your post #ANhomemade, we love to repost and shout out.
*Disclaimer
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The information on this site is meant for educational and informational purposes only, it is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please confirm any information obtained from or through this web site with other sources, and review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your physician. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on this website.