23+ Gifts For DIY Lovers That They'll Actually Use

Gifting will always be around as it’s a way people celebrate a life event or show love and appreciation to another person. However, people are unique and can be hard to shop for, especially people who like to make and do things themselves. As DIY enthusiasts ourselves, we decided to make shopping easier for you by together a list of gifts for DIY lovers that they’ll actually use!

Updated 11/3/2023

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No matter the season, there always seems to be a need for a gift for someone. Over here, we are serial DIYer, so many of the gifts we receive are related to projects or for our workshop. However, people usually struggle on ideas for DIY enthusiasts. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are 23+ gift ideas for those DIY lovers, woodworkers, and handymen (or women!) in your life.

DIY Lover Gift Resource List

Gifts For DIYers – Considerations Before Buying

Before you go buying amazing gifts for your DIY project lover, there are a couple of things you might consider and know first.

Are they needing a specific tool?
Do they already have this item you’re thinking of?
Will they actually use this more than once?
Can I get them a secondhand option that’s just as great?

I’m all for an open communication policy with gifts. Ask for a list from people of items they need/want or just bluntly ask if they have the item you’re wanting to get. If you don’t ask or truly know, then your gift might not ever get used or may be returned. Personally, I believe that’s an extreme waste of everyone’s time to receive items you’ll never use/have to return, and it’s honestly not good for the environment.

Consider Secondhand Gifts

There are hundreds of secondhand tools out there online on places like Ebay or Facebook Marketplace. You can sometimes even find amazing tools on a local Buy Nothing Group or at a estate/garage sale.

A majority of the large tools in our workshop are secondhand tools gifted from grandparents. They were made well and have lasted. Yes, we’ve replaced a belt or blade, but the overall tool functions well for our DIY projects.

Secondhand tools can take a little more work to find good quality products still in decent condition. But they tend to be more budget-friendly and reduce the overall consumption waste in our economy by saving them from ending up in some landfill never to decompose/be reused.

Best Gifts For DIY Lovers & Enthusiasts

Gift Items Every DIYer Should Have

Clamps

There’s always something to hold together with a project, and it seems like one can never have too many clamps! Many DIYers might have shorter clamps, but these 36” clamps are fantastic for stacking glue ups or holding together big pieces when working. A set of spring/bandy clamps are also great for clamping on trim or other small parts.

Miter Saw

A sliding miter saw will change your life whether you’re a new or old DIYer. Being able to chop boards at any length and different set angles quickly can make a big difference in a DIY project. It’s worth an investment to save DIYers time and take their projects to the next level.

Drill & Drill Bits

A good cordless drill and set of drill bits are a great gift for anyone, even if they aren’t a DIY enthusiast. Drills are one of the most versatile tools for accomplishing everything from helping hang items on the wall to putting together furniture. It’s truly a must-have for any adult and a perfect simple gift for any occasion.

Random Orbital Sander

Most home improvement projects, woodworking projects and even small decor projects require sanding at some point! A random orbital sander is a must-have for any DIY enthusiast as it will make life so much easier. The sanding motion of the orbital sander means there’s no need to worry about the direction of the wood grain when sanding, and its handheld making it easy to use anywhere.

Pair some 3M Xtract Cubitron II Net sanding discs with the sander and they will change your DIYer’s life! This brand of sanding discs has worked so well for us and made sanding easier and faster. And any DIYer will tell you that the quicker and better the sanding goes, the happier they’ll be!

Hand Tool Set

Another staple for DIY enthusiasts is a hand tool set. This is simply a set of standard tools in a storage case that all DIYers need. This hand tool set has wrenches, sockets, a hammer, Allen wrenches, screwdrivers, a box knife, pliers, and more. It’s one of the best gifts for DIY lovers, especially for new homeowners.

DIY Project Plans

Personally, we strive to leave a little footprint on our environment, so we love a good eco-friendly gift that helps with a DIY project. If you’re looking to build/make something, then there are likely How-Tos or DIY plans out there, especially on Etsy. Many DIY plans are digital and instant downloads, so there’s no waste, and it’s great if you need a last-minute gift that still feels personal for your DIY enthusiast.

Here are the most popular DIY plans we’ve made!

Non-Tool DIY Gifts

Bluetooth Ear Protection Headphones

Ear protection is 100% needed when working with loud tools for DIY projects. However, most of us hate to work in “silence”, so we need a way to listen to something while protecting our ears. Bluetooth ear protection headphones are a great gift for a DIY lover, so they can listen to music, books or podcasts while they work. We just discovered this type of ear protection this year and it’s definitely so much more enjoyable to be in the workshop for hours!

Bright Garage Lighting

Garage lighting might not sound like a cool gift, but from personal experience, the DIY lover you give it to will thank you! This adjustable multi-light fixture screws into a normal light bulb fixture, but generates so much more light at various angles. The best part is it doesn’t require adding more wiring or opening the ceiling to add more lights.

Working in a bright space has many benefits like allowing DIYers to better see any imperfections in their work or being able to find something that rolled away under a workbench. Seriously, it makes a practical and highly functional gift that the DIY lover may never have thought of before.

Sanding Mask

This is another gift that someone might think is boring or lame, but a DIY lover will thank you for immensely! Almost all projects require sanding and most of the time you don’t want to inhale excessive amounts of wood or drywall dust.

This sanding mask has been a lifesaver for us as it fully protects your face. A regular set of safety glasses and mask works for little sanding, but for heavy sanding, a full face mask protects your eyes, your skin, your nose, doesn’t fog up, and makes it easier to breathe through the whole process. We don’t find ourselves sneezing out globs of wood dust when using a full mask!

It is also great to wear when doing other dirty jobs like crawling through the attic or scraping a popcorn ceiling. It will also protect you from products that produce a lot of fumes like fiberglass resin, contact cement, or certain paints.

Knee Pads

Another highly underrated DIY item is knee pads. Whether laying tile, fixing plumbing, or staining pieces on the ground, knee pads are a definite staple for any DIY lover. Definitely get the gel ones as they’re more durable and hold up over time, unlike the foam equivalents.

Tools That Make Life Easier

Forstner Bits

Forstner bits are a great little tool to give DIYers to make their work a little easier. These bits allow for cutting a clean, precise, large-diameter hole with a portable drill or drill press in wood. There are other types of bits out there that do this too, but for a woodworking DIYer, these can’t compare. Forstner bits make flat-bottomed holes with minimal tear-out. Their shape ensures the hole is perfectly round and they cut much more cleanly than other types of bits. That also enables one to cut overlapping holes, angled holes, or even holes on the edge of wood.

It’s a truly valuable gift for making a woodworking DIYer’s life easier.

Buffer/Waxer for that Rubio Finish

If the DIYer works with wood a lot, then a handheld buffer tool can really be helpful. We believe the Rubio Monocoat finishes are the ultimate wood finish and highly recommend using it when sealing and staining any wood. However, if you’re using Rubio to finish a lot of boards and surfaces, manually buffing each can be tiresome. So a fairly inexpensive but quality WEN buffer can help speed up the overall process and save your DIY enthusiast’s arms some work.

Pssst, it’s also great for cleaning cars!

Tool belt (especially for roof projects)

Tool belts are one of the most underrated tools in our opinion! This tool belt has been great for us since it has large pockets and loops for holding any tool we need to carry with us, or when we need to carry a lot of items for a single project.

We found a toolbelt to be highly essential when DIY installing our solar panels on our roof. Being able to have all the tools and parts you need on you and not rolling down the roof is a necessity. It was also great when building our retaining walls as its large pockets could hold our drill, impact driver, backup batteries, and hardware without having to make trips back and forth to the garage.

Hand Tap & Die (For Metalworkers)

For metalworkers or furniture builders, a tap and die set can come in handy. The tap is used for cutting the female portion (aka a nut) and the die is for cutting the male portion (aka a bolt or screw). Drill America has great hand taps, dies, and sets available. We use ours to help reduce waste (and not waste money) if a threaded insert wasn’t made well and needs rethreading or if we need to make our own!

Drillblock

If a DIYer owns a drill, then a drill block is a great simple tool that will make their life easier. We have this handheld drillblock that ensures our drill is drilling perpendicular to the surface it’s against. This means no holes accidentally drilled at a weird angle, and no drill bits accidentally popping out the top surface of a board.

It makes a great little stocking stuffer or exchange gift as they’re inexpensive, but truly will save the DIY lover from some future headaches!

Gifts For Woodworkers

Router

A handheld router, like a palm router or a plunge router, is a very versatile tool for DIY projects allowing one to cut, trim, and shape wood. It lets one create beveled edges, cut edge profiles, add recesses or pockets, and even help level uneven wood if used with a sled! It quickly becomes a necessary tool for woodworkers and would be a welcomed gift. If they have a router already or you’re on a budget, try gifting a router bit instead as those wear down over time and a new one is needed eventually.

We’ve used a router paired with a router table for small projects like our DIY writing tray for our little one to large projects like our furniture projects.

Planer

A planer is beneficial for helping a woodworker ensure their boards are truly flat and also smooths the boards out to reduce sanding time. It also means not having to purchase pre-planed wood or having someone else plane it, which can be expensive. Wood is expensive enough as it is!

We have a 12” planer attached to our flipping workbench that has saved us money and time when working on our many DIY projects!

Benchtop Belt Sander

A benchtop belt sander can come in handy when needing to shape wooden parts. We have used ours on everything from smoothing out the bandsaw cut of a false live edge to making toys for our toddler.

It is even useful for more than just woodworking projects. I use our belt sander to shape and sharpen our lawn mower blades and our ax. You’d still need stones to get them razor sharp, but the belt sander does a good enough job by itself for yard work!

Dado Stack Blade Set

A dado stack blade set for a table saw is fantastic for removing a lot of material quickly. It’s basically a wide stack of blades with different cutting edges to help cut a precise wider groove with only one pass, or much wider grooves with only a few passes. Woodworkers and DIYers can cut wide grooves with a normal table saw blade, but it takes significantly longer and a lot of repetitive cutting on the table saw. Remember, most table saw blades are only an ⅛ “ thick! So gift your DIY lover some time back with a dado stack set.

Gifts For Kid DIYers

Are you a parent or know a parent who loves DIY projects and so does the child?! Our little one definitely likes to participate in all the DIY work, so we’ve found safe ways for him to work with us. They make great practical and functional gifts!

Real Drill Set

I’ll be honest, our 3-year-old already knows how to work our battery-powered drill and wants it all the time! But it’s heavy and hard for him to work on his own. He’s receiving this smaller drill se t as a gift this year. It is smaller in size and much lighter with a small battery. Also, the drill doesn’t have a ton of power, so it’s perfect for kids and we don’t have to worry as much about him hurting himself

Hand-crank Drill

Another drill option that’s super kid-friendly and doesn’t require batteries is this hand-crank drill. It’s a small drill that is powered manually. I love it as it is a great Montessori-inspired type of toy/tool that can be used safely by smaller kids without the worry of it spinning too fast for them. It’s all done with their own power. Great for really focused play and working on developing motor skills.

Kid Wood Set

If you’re a little worried about handing a kid real tools, then this adorable wooden tool set is perfect. It allows them to have similar tools as the parents and work on projects alongside them. The set comes with a tool belt, 11 different wood tools, some gears, and screws.

Kid ear protection

Ear protection is a great gift for those who love to do DIY projects, but what about those kids that love to participate and help out, too!? Our toddler is almost always in our workshop with us, so to protect his ears, we got him these comfy kid-sized ear muffs that fit kids from 1-3 years old. For older kids, you might consider a larger pair like these headphones.

More Tools & DIY Projects

Sometimes we all need a little inspiration, so that’s why we love helping put together a little gift guide for those DIY lovers and enthusiasts in your life. If they’re needing to look for project inspiration, we have that too! Check out all our DIY projects and plans for some future inspiration!

Or check out our extended list of recommended tools and products!

Hubby How To: DIY Kitchen Recycling/Trash Cabinet

Hubby How To: DIY Adjustable Kid’s Workbench

Hubby How To: Hanging Daybed Swing Plans

Hope this roundup of gift ideas for a DIY lover and enthusiast helps you find the perfect gift! Let us know what you would add to this list of gifts for DIY lovers in the comments below!

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Please note that I’ve linked to these products purely because I recommend them and they are from companies I trust. There is no additional cost to you.