Christmas Gift Projects to Make (and Maybe Sell)

If you’re making gifts this year, a few extra of the same thing for a holiday market or a neighbor’s order is a natural next step. These are the gift projects from our build ideas that batch well, ranked roughly by how fast they go. For each one, the “asking prices” are what similar handmade pieces were listed for when we checked on October 15, 2026. They’re asking prices, not sales, and every listing differs from our idea in some way. We don’t know what you’ll sell, and nothing here is a promise of income.

Before you sell anything, read our selling disclaimer and pricing handmade woodwork, which walks through counting your own materials and time.

Quick and batchable

Personalized Laser-Engraved Walnut Ornaments: six per sheet of thin walnut, with a name or year engraved on each. Asking prices for similar personalized wood ornaments: $12.50–$15. Materials run about $1.35–$2.55 per ornament in a batch.

Layered Walnut and Maple Snowflake Ornaments: a maple snowflake glued onto a walnut disc, with an optional name on the back. Asking prices for similar layered ornaments: $12–$15. Materials run about $2.40–$2.50 per ornament in a batch of twelve.

To find engrave and cut settings for either ornament, see laser engraving wood ornaments.

Laser-Engraved Coaster Set: Baltic birch coasters with a tab-and-slot holder. Asking prices for similar sets: $15.99–$48.

Balancing Wine Bottle Holder: one walnut offcut with a 45° foot and a 1 1/4” hole that holds a sealed 750 ml bottle at an angle, about an hour each. Asking prices for similar holders: $7.50–$29.99 (the low one is a sale price). Materials run about $3–$4 per holder when one 6-ft board makes nine.

An evening or two each

Log Reindeer: a porch or hearth reindeer from firewood-size logs and branches, about 36”–40” to the antler tips, cut with a handsaw or bow saw and joined with oak dowels. Use local wood: The Nature Conservancy’s Don’t Move Firewood campaign warns that moving firewood long distances can spread invasive species. Asking prices for similar log reindeer: $41–$49.99, from just two local sellers who don’t state a size. Materials run about $3–$8 per reindeer if the logs are your own.

DIY Wall Stocking Holder: Shaker Peg Rail: a poplar 1x4 with 4, 6, or 8 maple Shaker pegs, for a home with no mantel, laid out so every screw lands in a wall stud on 16” centers. Asking prices for similar peg rails: $69–$99, though none of them is the same design (one has metal hooks, and all three are 36” rails sold for general use, not made for stockings). Materials run about $34–$37 for a 6-peg rail.

Laser-Cut Christmas Village: three tab-and-slot houses and two trees cut from three 12” sheets of 1/8” Baltic birch, lit from inside by flameless LED tealights only, never a candle. Asking prices for similar villages: $17–$139, though none is the same design (one is a set of flat blanks, two are mass-produced lighted pieces, and the top price is a set of five hand-painted putz houses). Plywood runs about $9–$12 per village in a batch, before any lights.

V-Carved Name Sign: a CNC project built around a name. Asking prices for similar signs: $30–$100.

Walnut Bookends with Contrast Splines: a pair of mitered walnut bookends with maple keys. Asking prices for similar walnut bookends: $29.99–$89 a pair.

Magnetic Bottle Opener with Hidden Cap Catcher: a walnut board with a cast-iron opener and two rare-earth magnets sealed in epoxy behind the face, so the caps stick to the board. The magnets are a hazard if swallowed, so keep loose ones away from children while you build. Asking prices for similar openers: $21–$45, though none is the same design (one is maple, one is laser-engraved, and two don’t list a size). Materials run about $25–$28 per opener in a batch of four, most of it the cast-iron opener.

CNC Cribbage Board: a two-player walnut long board, 245 holes drilled on a hobby CNC router from an SVG file, sixty up and sixty back for each player. Pegs are small parts, so keep them away from young children. Asking prices for similar boards: $42–$125, though none is the same design (two are inlaid or engraved, one has a lid with storage, and one is carved). Materials run about $11–$16 per board when one walnut board makes two, plus the end mill.

Weekend projects

Splined Walnut Keepsake Box with Engraved Lid: a small mitered walnut box with maple corner splines and a name or date engraved on the lift-off lid; the table saw builds the box, and the laser only engraves. Asking prices for similar personalized walnut keepsake boxes: $39.99–$50. Materials run about $9 per box in a batch.

For any board that touches food, choose a finish whose label says it’s for food contact; our finishes for cutting boards guide compares what each maker’s label says.

Work backward from the deadlines

• Mail: USPS’s recommended 2026 send-by dates for delivery by Dec. 25 within the lower 48 states are Dec. 17 for Ground Advantage, Dec. 18 for Priority Mail, and Dec. 19 for Priority Mail Express.
• Finish cure: mineral oil never cures, so it’s ready once the excess is wiped off, but RMP Finishes says its pure tung oil can take up to 30 days to fully cure (see our finishes for cutting boards guide). Plan the finish before you plan the gift. For sanding and finishing a batch of small gifts so they’re cured before you wrap them, see how to finish small wood gifts.
• Personalization: collect names in writing and send a proof before you engrave or carve. A misspelled name is a wasted piece.

What we left out, and why

• Tealight holders: fire-safety guidance from the NFPA and the U.S. Fire Administration is to keep candles at least 12 inches from anything that can burn, so we’re not publishing a wooden open-flame holder. Our Walnut LED Tealight Holder is for flameless LED tealights only.
• Toys and kids’ items: anything designed or marketed mainly for children 12 and under may be a children’s product, with third-party testing and certification requirements.

Have a laser? See laser engraver Christmas gift ideas.

Making something for Thanksgiving first? See Thanksgiving wood projects to make.

Looking for more ideas? Browse all our build ideas.

Comps checked October 15, 2026. Prices change; check the current listings before you set your own.