DIY 3 Festive Gift Tags to Adorn Your Holiday Gifts

A gift tag with a snowman and snowflakes on it next to a craft punch.
  • Beginner
  • 25-75
What You'll Need
Assorted colored cardstock
Wrapping paper or holiday patterned paper
Precut gift tags (optional)
Scissors
Embroidery scissors (optional)
Glue stick
Embossing Kit (optional)
Rubber stamp and ink pad
Snowflake punch
What You'll Need
Assorted colored cardstock
Wrapping paper or holiday patterned paper
Precut gift tags (optional)
Scissors
Embroidery scissors (optional)
Glue stick
Embossing Kit (optional)
Rubber stamp and ink pad
Snowflake punch

With the holidays upon us, it’s time to start buying and wrapping gifts to put under the tree. Sometimes, it seems like there are never-ending presents to be purchased and it’s as if the spending just doesn't end! To cut down on one small cost and have fun while doing it, why don't you make your own gift tags? Not only will this save you a bit of money, but they will impress your friends and family, too! I made three simple yet adorable gift tags and will take you through the steps to make your own.

All of these tags each take five minutes or less to make. They use minimal supplies, so the clean-up time is also very quick and easy. You can even change the size and shapes of the tags—creative liberty is all yours, here!

1. Snowman Face Gift Tag

A snowman gift tag.

Time: 5 minutes || Cost: $3 for 20 tags

This was probably the easiest of all of the gift tags I made and the cheapest since it required minimal supplies. It's an adorable and easy idea that would look cute on any gift. I love snowmen because they are holiday-neutral and can be used on gifts to family and friends no matter their religious beliefs.

Step 1 - Cut out the shape of a rectangular gift tag. I decided to use sturdy green cardstock, but you can also use a patterned cardstock to add some contrast.

Step 2 - Cut a half circle for the snowman’s head from textured white cardstock.

Step 3 - Cut out a little triangle from the orange cardstock for the snowman's nose, and cut out dots from black cardstock to make up his mouth. It can be tough to cut little circles, so I used little embroidery scissors to make it a bit easier.

Step 4 - Use a glue stick to adhere the pieces together and create the snowman's face on the green gift tag—it looks like he's looking up at the sky, smiling. Like I said, it's a cute and simple idea!

2. Snowman and Snowflake Gift Tag

Time: 5 minutes || Cost: $25 with embossing tools for 20 tags, $10 without

This is another tag that's easy to make and holiday-neutral. I also love this one because it can be so easily changed in color and pattern to look however you want. However, to make this one it did take a few more supplies than the snowman face tag. I got the easy-to-use snowflake punch tool at the craft store. I also bought the sparkly craft paper in the scrapbook supply aisle. I chose the paper because I liked that it's textured and winter-y, but really you could use any paper you like.

For this design, I bought precut gift tags and used an embossing kit that I already have. While the kit can seem a bit pricey, once you have the supplies they all last a very long time and can be used over and over again for lots of different crafts, so I think it's worth the money upfront. It requires a heat tool, watermark pad, and embossing powder. The snowman stamp I used is a simple rubber one. If you do not want to buy the embossing tools, you can certainly just use a rubber stamp and traditional ink pad to attain similar results!

Step 1 - Use the punch tool to make a handful of snowflakes.

Step 2 - Now, it's time to emboss. Rub the stamp on the watermark pad and then press the stamp down onto the gift tag where desired. (If you're using a rubber ink pad and stamp in lieu of the embossing technique, stamp your design and move on to step five.)

Step 3 - Liberally pour the embossing powder over the entire area of the stamp on the paper. Pour the excess of the powder from the paper back into its container. It takes very little powder for each stamping, and one container lasts a very long time.

Step 4 - To complete the embossing process, turn the heat tool on and hold it over the gift tag for about 15 seconds. You will see the powder glaze over and will be able to tell when it's done. Then, let it dry for about 30 seconds.

Step 5 - Last, I used a glue stick to adhere the snowflakes around the snowman, and my tag was complete!

3. Mitten Gift Tag

Time: 5 minutes || Cost: $25 with embossing tools for 20 tags, $10 without

A gift tag in the shape of a mitten.

This is the last gift tag I made, and I think it’s my favorite! I also used my embossing kit for this tag, but like I said above, you can use just a traditional stamp and ink pad instead as well. I used a mitten cut-out I had from last year for this tag as I thought it was a cute idea that went along with the holiday theme. I also used the snowflake punch from the snowflake gift tag with some leftover wrapping paper that has subtle coloring.

Step 1 - To assemble this gift tag, I first embossed the body of the mitten. I used a stamp that says “Wishing You Joy and Cheer and a Happy New Year” but you can use any design! Follow the embossing steps laid out in the previous gift tag steps.

Step 2 - Then, I pasted the snowflakes along the edge of the mitten with the glue stick. And that was it—very easy!