A deck of 52 playing cards with one reason on each. A mint tin full of lipstick kisses. Two Lego minifigures in a tin that says “I love you to the Death Star and back.” The Christmas gifts for girlfriend that people save on Pinterest are mostly made by hand, and almost all of them are about the two of you rather than about her shopping list.
These 30 pins come from the most saved boards of girlfriend Christmas gifts. The first group is things to make at the kitchen table in an evening or two. The second is the sentimental part: letters, lists, cards and photos. The third is Christmas baskets, from a ready-made formula to a snowman mug. Nine of the pins are short videos that play on this page. If you are looking for the best Christmas gifts for girlfriend that cost more effort than money, start with the second group.
DIY Christmas gifts for girlfriend
1. A cone of paper roses
Fold red origami roses with green paper leaves and stand them in a cone made from a sheet printed with “I love you” over and over. They never wilt, and the whole bouquet costs one pack of origami paper.
2. Hand-painted taper candles
Plain cream taper candles, painted with tiny flowers and leaves in red, blue, orange and green, then tied in pairs with twine. Acrylic paint and the thinnest brush you can find are enough. Make a pair for her table and a pair for her mother.
3. A box of paper pizza
The lid of a small white box says “Take a slice”, framed by “Love” and “xoxo”. Inside are slices of yellow paper with painted toppings, and “you are the best” written underneath. Write a note on the back of every slice, and save the last one for the best.
4. An origami bear with flowers
On the bed sits a white paper bear with a tiny kraft-paper cone of dried baby’s breath in its arms. It takes a single sheet of paper and a few stems from the florist. Put it on her pillow on Christmas morning.
5. Custom Jenga
Every block in this tower is painted differently: stripes, dots, waves, flowers, hearts. Buy a plain Jenga set and give it a weekend. Write a question or a dare on the inside of some blocks, and game night turns into a date.
6. To the Death Star and back
Inside a white mint tin, two Lego minifigures dressed like Han and Leia stand next to a red wooden heart and a tiny lightsaber. Letter beads on the lid read “Tin years. I love you to the Death Star and back.” The pun is the point: tin is the traditional gift for a tenth anniversary, and the pin links to ten-year anniversary ideas. Swap the characters for the ones that belong to your story.
7. Kisses for when I am not around
Kiss a stack of paper circles in lipstick, cut them out and pack them into a small tin. The lid says “Kisses for when I am not around”, signed by its maker. It fits in a coat pocket.
8. A lipstick-kiss phone case
Cover a piece of paper with red lipstick kisses, trim it to size and slip it behind a clear phone case. She will see it every time she checks the time.
9. A globe covered in photos
Take an old desk globe and cover every continent with small photos until no blue is left. Use pictures from the places you went together, or every photo you have of the two of you. Of all the Christmas gifts for girlfriend here, it takes the longest, so start early in December.
10. A bouquet with photos
Red roses and baby’s breath wrapped in kraft paper, with small instant photos clipped on sticks among the flowers. A white envelope with a sprig of baby’s breath on the seal goes on the front. When the roses fade, she keeps the photos.
11. Life without you is unBEARable
Tape a note on lined paper to the front of a five-ounce bag of Haribo Goldbears: “Life without you is unBEARable.” It is the cheapest idea on this list and takes two minutes, so it works as a stocking stuffer next to a bigger present.
Sentimental Christmas gifts for girlfriend
12. A waterfall card
“To the one I want to annoy for the rest of my days!” Pull the paper heart at the bottom, and a stack of photos flips over one after another, like a waterfall. Use photos in the order they were taken, oldest first.
13. Music that reminds me of you
Print lines from the songs that remind you of her on dark strips of paper and glue them to a board, with a cut-out guitar and a little record sleeve that says “Album”. One reads “You are the joy of my life”, another “You make loving you easy”. Fill the board with your own songs, not the ones from the photo.
14. 52 things I love about you
One deck of playing cards, one reason on each card, binder rings and a red gingham ribbon. The ace of hearts on top says “52 things that I love about you”. Fifty-two is harder than it sounds, so start writing a week before Christmas, not the night before.
15. Open when letters
Ten envelopes, each with its own label, among them: open when you don’t feel loved, you’re mad at me, you miss me, you’re jealous, you’re thinking about our future, we get married, you’re sad, you don’t feel confident, you’re overthinking. Write each letter for that exact moment.
16. A relationship bucket list
“Together let’s…” on lined notebook paper, followed by three columns of things to do, each with a colored circle to tick: split a milkshake, kiss in the rain, go to an aquarium, decorate a Christmas tree, kiss at midnight, rewatch “The Office”. Tick a few off before you hand it over.
17. Her favorite notifications
“My favorite notification!” Print the text messages that made you smile, cut them out like chat bubbles and glue them into a spiral notebook. “I’m so proud of you for working so hard,” reads one. Start scrolling from the week you met.
18. A ticket dispenser
Pink and blue stripes, “Tickets” on the front, and a paper strip coming out of a slot: that is the whole box. Each ticket on the strip is a date: one reads “homemade pizza night”. She pulls one whenever she wants it.
19. A fold-out photo card
Nine squares of pink paper: four photos of the two of you and five notes, among them “My darling”, “I love you”, a tic-tac-toe game titled “You won my heart”, and “Hand in hand, you and me, today, tomorrow, forever”. It folds down to the size of one square.
20. A chain of tiny envelopes
Five small white envelopes, each sealed with a red heart, glued one above the other on a black paper strip. Each holds a note small enough for one sentence. Christmas Eve gets the first one and New Year’s Day the last.
21. A box of notes
Cut a heart out of the front of a small pink box with a flip-top lid, and pack it with white cards. One note for every day until she sees you next, or one for every day of the coming year if you are ambitious.
22. I love you with all my senses
Five kraft gift bags, labeled sound, sight, taste, touch and smell, lined up behind a big red sign: “I love U with all my senses”. One present for each sense: a playlist, a framed photo, her favorite chocolate, a soft blanket, a candle.
23. A jar of kisses
Fill a mason jar with paper circles of red lipstick kisses and letter the glass: “A jar of kisses, red and sweet, for the days our lips cannot meet.” This one is for a long-distance relationship, but it also works when one of you is going home for the holidays.
24. A heart locket
Open this rose-gold heart locket, and there is a photo in each half. Of all the Christmas gift ideas for girlfriend here, it is the one to buy rather than make. The photos, though, are your choice: one of each of you, or the two of you on both sides.
Christmas basket for girlfriend
25. A pinkmas burr basket
A burr basket is a cold-weather basket of cozy things, and this pin turns it into a formula: pick a basket, pick pajamas, one to three plushies, a pair of slippers, one or two blankets, four small things, and one Christmas mug. Everything in the picture is pink and white. Follow the steps in her favorite color instead.
26. A brrr basket with a gingerbread man
Behind everything sits a gingerbread man pillow with a pink bow tie, next to a “Sweetest holiday wishes” card. In front: a Starbucks gift card, a flower claw clip, a pair of earrings, a Gingerbread Frosting candle and a small candle tied with gold ribbon, all in a white rope basket.
27. A snowman mug
“A last minute affordable burr mug for your xmas gifts,” says the video. Instead of a basket, a snowman mug with a candy-cane handle holds something red and knitted, a lip gloss, bow earrings and a sheet mask. Among Christmas presents for girlfriend on a small budget, this is the one that fits in a mug.
28. Give warmth
Paper shred in a kraft box, a pair of fluffy white socks with a band that reads “Give warmth”, a small candle, a white mug, a pinecone, a tiny tree and a card that says “Happy New Year”. Every color in it is white, brown or green, so it looks calm next to all the red under the tree.
29. A cozy green basket
Knit throw, belt bag, two claw clips, a Starbucks gift card, a ribbed top, a stress-relief candle and a Warm Vanilla Sugar lotion, all in shades of green, cream and brown. Choose the colors first and the gifts after, and the basket looks planned.
30. Something out of the blue
Fill a box with everything in blue packaging, from Oreo minis and M&M’s to a blue can of Red Bull, and put a hand-painted sign on top: “Something out of the blue to let you know I adore you!” Signed “xoxo, Tiff”. Pick another color for another pun: “A yellow box to say you’re my sunshine.”
