Laser Engraved Gifts: 15 Holiday Gift Giving Ideas

Homemade holiday gifts can be incredibly personal, heartfelt, and touching. For the recipient, handmade gifts are a symbol of a loved one's time and energy spent on making an item specifically for them — something to be treasured for years and even generations to come. For the creator and gift giver, the moment of handing over a labor of love to its intended is satisfying and special.

It's moments like these that make the holidays a memorable time, and unique personalized gifts can make these times even more treasured and unique. Read on to learn more about the best laser engraved gifts you can create for your loved ones this holiday season. 

What Gift Products Can Be Laser Engraved?

The options are nearly endless when considering engravable gifts. The best thing about making a laser engraved present is that you can customize it any way you like. You can add an individual's name, a special date, an inspirational quote, a poem, or anything else that feels personal. And with the array of materials you can fabricate with OMTech's fiber and CO2 lasers, the only limit is your imagination. The following is a list of DIY holiday gift ideas.

The Top 15 Laser Engraved Gifts

1. Holiday ornaments and decorations

You can make an engravable holiday ornament or decoration with virtually any material and etch it with family members' names, wedding dates, or birthdates. Hung with a pretty ribbon or string, these mementos will be cherished for years to come and even passed down through the generations. A personalized keepsake box could add even more sentiment to the gift and keep it safe during times of storage.

Visit our Laser Cut File library to download a free SVG file of the Merry Christmas Sign below. Once you sign up to join the OMTech Monthly Newsletter, you can download all of the free laser design files you want! Whether you're looking for awesome Christmas ornaments or even cute gift tags, you'll find something for almost every holiday — from Thanksgiving turkeys to Halloween Haunts.

2. Tabletop Games & Custom Enhancements

Think of a wooden Monopoly-style game where all the street names are customized to reflect the gift recipient's hometown or favorite vacation spot. You could create and personalize any tabletop game by etching the recipient's family name on either the game board or the box. If the gift is for a child, a tic-tac-toe board with customized game pieces would be a special present they could enjoy on family game nights.

The best part?

We got your first gift started for you. Score a free SVG file download of this Finger Hockey game in our DIY Laser Cut File library!

3. Laser Cut 3D Puzzles

While two-dimension laser cut puzzles are always an excellent gift, adding a third dimension will really bring your gift to life. 3D puzzles don’t just lay flat, they pop off the table! They’re scale models of buildings, animals, vehicles, and other figures with engraved embellishments. They’re fun to assemble — similar to building with legos. You’ll find tons of laser cut 3D puzzle files on Etsy, from sailboats to dragons to Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Castle. You can purchase the file download, laser cut the pieces, and gift the puzzle along with included assembly instructions. Your gift recipient can display it all year long.

4. Name or Address Plaque for House or Mailbox

Beyond just names and addresses, you can engrave these plaques or signs to include a family crest or motto. You could fabricate them out of wood, metal, stone, brick, or even plastic. Another great aspect of customizing these is choosing whatever font you think your recipient would like.

5. Laser Engraved Wallet

Personalized leather wallets are great DIY gift ideas for Dad or Grandpa. Of course, you could put their names or initials on them, but even better, you could etch a little note on the inside to remind them that you think of them. A wallet is something that people use daily, so they would think of you every time they opened it up.

6. Laser Engraved Kitchenware

For the aspiring chef on your holiday gift list, there are myriad kitchenware objects you could customize in a multitude of materials. You could etch mixing spoons, chefs' knives, cutting boards, grilling sets, serving trays, and even metal utensils with names, initials, dates, quotes, and more. You could also get a larger item like a pie pan and engrave a favorite recipe or ingredient substitutions.

7. Engraved Pocket Knife

You could personalize a pocket knife in many different ways. Consider a name on the handle with a date on the blade or a name or initials on the leather cover. Pocket knives are a great gift that tends to get passed down to the males in the family, but you could start a new tradition where the females have their own that they pass down.

8. Laser Cut Jewelry

Jewelry is a popular go-to engraved gift choice, but you could make it a little more unique by engraving individual charms for a charm bracelet that includes loved ones' names or birthdates. Bone and leather are an interesting combination of materials to etch for jewelry. You could engrave either or both materials to make a truly customized piece.

Check out the free laser cut earring files in our Laser Cut File library!

9. Custom Keychains

Keychains are one of the best personalized gift ideas with a lot of engraving options. Along with the person's name, you could include reminders to buckle up and drive safely to let them know they're important to you. Another thing that's nice about customized keychains is that, while a lot of stores do carry keychains with names on them, they do not always carry ones with unique names or name spellings.

10. Engraved Compass

A compass is a wonderfully thoughtful gift for any person who loves the outdoors. What better way to let someone know you're thinking of them than by personalizing an item that they use when they're far away from you? You could even get a message engraved in your handwriting to add an extra-special touch.

11. Custom Pet Collar

Pet collars are a great homemade gift idea because they can include not just the name of the pet but also vital information like the address and contact information of the pet's owner in case they get lost. Also, as with keychains, it can be difficult to find store-bought collars for pets with unique names or spellings, so having a collar customized could be the only way the pet has a collar that is truly their own.

12. Inspirational Stones

Engraved stones can be beautiful decorative elements for around the house, paperweights at the office, or scattered throughout a rock garden. Smaller stones can be etched with a personal note and carried in a pocket as thoughtful reminders throughout the day. Larger stones can be used as memorial stones for pets and etched with their names, special messages, and significant dates.

13. Laser Engraved Phone Case

What better way to reflect the personality of a loved one than with a customized cellphone case? Along with the person's name, you could include favorite song lyrics, excerpts from a beloved book, or a cherished poem. We use our phones so many times throughout the day that your loved one would never forget your creative present.

14. Custom Engraved Tiles

A single tile etched with a wedding date or purchase date of a house could be an incredibly cherished laser engraved gift. This tile could go in any room but could be really special in the kitchen or as a stone or brick tile for a fireplace. Alternatively, you could use the tile as a coaster. We spend so much time in our kitchens and living rooms, and they are such areas of warmth and happiness, that it would be a reminder of your thoughtfulness each and every day.

 

15. Laser Engraved Picture Frames

You can customize picture frames in an array of materials in many different ways to reflect the picture within them. You could include a baby's name, birthdate, weight, and measurements with a picture of the newborn inside. A wedding photo could have the bride and groom's names along with their wedding date or location if it was a destination wedding. A special birthday picture frame could include the birthdate with the birthday boy's or girl's name and age.

In Conclusion

With a fiber or CO2 laser from OMTech, there really aren't many materials you can't work with, and you can make each and every item truly personal with an engraved name, date, or message. There are nearly limitless ways to express your creativity with laser engraved gifts for your loved ones. The above-mentioned homemade gift ideas really just scratch the surface. 

Wait... There's More

Did you know that you can actually make an income with your laser engraver and even work the purchase into the deductions in your taxes? It might seem too good to be true, but it's possible to make money doing what you love by making the investment today.