As the mom of teen girls, I know that DIY gifts for teenage girls can be so wonderful — not just to make for your own teen, but for teenage girls to make for their friends. They don’t require a whole lot of money, but handmade gifts certainly give all the right holiday messages.
And of course these gift ideas are not only for teenage girls! All teens, tweens, and even younger kids—with some help—will have a blast making and wrapping up these special, one-of-a-kind gifts.
And hey, you don’t have to be a girl at all to want some of these cool DIY gift ideas. (Boys like coffee and hot chocolate bombs too, right?)
If you’re looking for DIY gifts for teens with more sophisticated tastes, don’t miss our companion post on last-minute DIY holiday gifts for friends and family.
Oh, and the thing about teens? They do everything last-minute. So they’ve got plenty of time in teen-land to make any of these fun handmade gifts.
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Top photos: DIY après ski sweater, François et Moi
Pop Tart pillows, Aww Sam
DIY cotton candy lip scrub recipe, Bitz & Giggles
Still shopping? Here are quick links to all of our holiday gift guides on Cool Mom Picks, Cool Mom Eats, and Cool Mom Tech. May all your items ship quickly and arrive safely by the 24th.
And don’t miss our guide to 200+ handmade holiday gifts for everyone on your list.
Thoughtful and easy DIY gifts for teenage girls to make for their friends
You don’t need to be a wildly crafty DIYer to make these gifts. Just a little motivation and some simple supplies, and you’ve got some gifts that the other teenage girls (and boys!) in your life will adore.
DIY gifts for teenage girls: Chalkboard ornament
Super artistic kids can of course paint their own ornaments but anyone at all can make these DIY painted chalkboard ornaments using the tutorial from Birds Eye Meeple. Just a few minutes of painting, and a few minutes more of coming up with the perfect message. It’s a cool way for kids to share their favorite inside jokes, movie quotes, meme humor, and other stuff that we adults aren’t supposed to understand in the least.
Related: 9 more ideas for DIY ornaments that kids of all ages can make
DIY gifts for teenage girls: No-sew Pop Tart pillow
Colorful and fun, they’ll be able to whip up a whole box of DIY Pop Tart pillows for their friends with these easy instructions from Aww Sam.
DIY gifts for teenage girls: A homemade bookmark tucked into a coveted new book
So fun! These colorful and useful DIY confetti bookmarks can be filled with school colors or their besties’ favorite shades. (We have a few “all black, please” kids around here and that works too.) The instructions from The Confetti Bar are easy and these stitch together in a snap with a sewing machine or a fuse tool some of you more crafty families may own.
Even better: Have your teen tuck one into a great book their friends want to read. Check this list of the best YA books of all time, which is just awesome, or the award-winning YA books of 2020 to read in 2021, like the ones seen above. Of course it’s easy enough to shop a local bookstore (no shipping costs!) for manga, thrillers, rom-coms, biographies, humor, or whatever books their friends love to read.
Related: Our 10 best small business gifts for teens in 2020 (that are still great now!)
DIY gifts for teenage girls: Lip Balm Key Chain
If their friends are all starting to drive (gulp), it’s a thoughtful DIY holiday gift to whip up their own keychains. One idea: this cool lip balm keychain, which looks impressive but just requires a few basics from your local craft store or Michael’s. Follow the instruction from Buggy & Buddy — they use Beauty Counter lip balms but you can of course you hand cream too. Or hey, do it using a portable hand sanitizer instead. Very 2021.
Alternatively, check out this cute, and very easy “Shrinky Dink” style key chain made using recycled takeout containers that you already may have on hand. Just follow the clear instructions from Artsy Fartsy Mama.
DIY gifts for teenage girls: A succulent in a gold-dipped planter
Our teens are still super into succulent plants — hey, they let you forget about them for a long time and that’s something teen girls are really good at! While it’s easy and affordable to just buy a tiny succulent from a local florist or garden shop, they can make it a more special gift with this tutorial for diy gold-dipped succulent planters from Homey Oh My. Love!
DIY gifts for teenage girls: A personalized sweatshirt, tee or tote
Inexpensive iron-on letters on a plain sweatshirt or tee can spell out whatever message your teen wants to put on their BFF’s shirt. I love this DIY après ski sweater from François et Moi (whose tutorial is very helpful!). But, anything goes as long as the message fits on a shirt. In fact, the more obscure, the better according to our teens.
Kids can also use permanent fabric markers or a fabric paint kit like this one if they’ve got a steady(ish) hand — just add letter and number stencils or any number of cool design stencils and they can decorate a tee, tote, sweatshirt, school cap….you name it. Really sweet DIY gift for teenage girls and boys just to make things as personal as can bee.
Related: 20 more cool handmade gifts to make for the holidays
DIY gifts for teenage girls: Handmade sharpie mug
Also included in our list of DIY gift ideas for adults, we know quote a few teens in our loves who can’t live without their coffee — or matcha or mochas or…well you get it. It’s so easy for anyone to just take a Sharpie to a mug (use the oil-based ones to keep it permanent!) especially if you follow the tutorial for easy DIY Sharpie mugs from Jennifer Maker.
Of course you can also fill that heart with an initial, a name, a nickname, or uh…any word of your choice. And artsy kids can always freehand it too.
DIY gifts for teenage girls: A cross stitch gift
Our favorite activist-slash-cross-stitcher, Shannon at Badass Cross Stitch, has dozens of free-to-use cross stitch patterns available for your teen to stitch something wonderful for any friend. Like say, unlikely teen hero Bob Ross. Or maybe, they’d prefer something saucier like “You are a Total Badass” or “I Told My Therapist About You.”
From fairly easy to more complex patterns, you’ll just need to grab supplies at your local craft store or Amazon, and pick a pattern. If you can throw Shannon a few dollars in thanks, please do so because she is incredible.
DIY gifts for teenage girls: Letter hair clips
She can whip up these DIY letter barrettes for all of her friends in short time. The easy instructions from Mod Podge rocks require Mod Melts, but it’s even easier to glue on ready-made enamel letters, or hot glue gun plastic alphabet beads onto any size hair clip, spray paint the whole thing and let dry.
DIY holiday gifts for teenage girls: Peanut butter dreidels
Every side is a winner on these hard-to-resist homemade peanut butter dreidels from Oh Nuts. Love this as a gift for the friends who celebrated Hanukkah last month and may be feeling a little left out with all the Christmas hubbub around them. You can even make these chocolate dreidels with another kind of nut butter, or even seed butter, if allergies are an issue.
DIY gifts for teenage girls: Lip and Body Scrubs
Do you know how easy it is to whip up a homemade body scrub? As easy as combining coconut oil, granulated sugar, and your favorite essential oil blends using this recipe from Aura Cacia. Or, switch up the sugar for baking soda and sea salt for an easy homemade bath soak.
Find their oils on Amazon, Target, or check local pharmacies, wellness shops or gift stores.
Almost good enough to eat, this DIY cotton candy lip scrub recipe from Bitz & Giggles is a fun way to keep lips soft and moisturized in the harsh winter. You know, because teens like soft lips. For…smiling. Made with cotton candy flavored oil, sugar, olive oil, and food coloring, there are no weird chemicals or additives for the kisser or kissee to ingest.
Related: Homemade mason jar spa gift ideas all with safe, edible ingredients. So easy, and SO appreciated!
DIY gifts for teenage girls: Pom pom earrings
Soft and stylish, these homemade pom pom earrings from Persia Lou are easy enough to make a few pairs to hand out to friends. You’ll either need a plastic pom pom maker or follow the easy instructions from The Craft Train for how to create one from cardboard. Either way, it’s such an easy DIY gift for teenage girls to make for friends — or for you to make for your own favorite teen!
DIY holiday gifts for teenage girls: Easy Christmas cookies
Super cute and easy, these homemade Christmas cookies from The Decorated Cookie don’t require major skills, just a steady hand. Your teen can make up a tray to take to a friend’s holiday party, or pass out a few individually wrapped, to all her favorite people. Not too many kids will say no to homemade cookies.
DIY gifts for teenage girls: Homemade hot chocolate bombs
We featured these easy DIY hot cocoa bombs from Fresh April Flours last year and teens will love to make and receive them. They don’t even require any fancy molds or tempering of chocolate, making it very teen-friendly recipe. But hey, if they want to go full out, have them check out all of these hot chocolate bomb recipes. Pretty awesome.
DIY gifts for teenage girls: Santa slime
A great gift for teens to give to the kids they babysit or to younger nieces and nephews: DIY Santa slime in a jar, which is so simple using the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids. And, of course, we know some teens who would like to get a jar of this themselves! Can you ever be too old for slime? We’ll say no. (Also be sure to check our 5 natural recipes for homemade slime, all Borax-free.
