When a parent lives a long way off, the best gift is something small enough to post and interesting enough to talk about afterwards. A make your own kit does both: it goes through the post as a box rather than arriving as a bouquet that needs dealing with in an hour, and it gives the two of you a subject for the next three phone calls that is not the weather or their knee.
That second part matters more than people expect. Distance makes conversation thin, and "how did the bacon go" is a far better opening than "everything all right?" The three kits below post well, keep well, and produce something worth reporting back on.
What makes a gift work at a distance?
Three things. It has to survive the post without special handling, which rules out anything fresh, chilled or fragile. It has to be usable without you there, which means clear printed instructions rather than a knack that needs demonstrating. And ideally it should have a progress report built into it, so there is a reason to ring on Thursday.
Kits tick all three. Ours are hand packed in Britain, posted by Royal Mail, and go out the same day on orders placed before 2pm Monday to Friday, usually arriving in two to three working days. They also keep: our food and drink kits have an eighteen month shelf life from packing, and every kit leaves us with at least twelve months on the best before date printed on the box, so there is no pressure to make it the week it lands.
And you can skip the double journey entirely. Enter their address as the delivery address at checkout and the kit is posted straight to them rather than coming to you first to be wrapped and sent on.
The gin kit, for a week of updates
The Gin Making Kit is the best of these for someone far away, because it has a built in reason to keep in touch. Juniper and a botanical blend of coriander, citrus peel, allspice and lemongrass steep in a bottle of vodka and infuse in under a week, and they taste it with the pipette as the days go by, so there is something to report every time you speak.
It is also small, light and completely unbreakable in transit, and there is nothing to distil or plug in. It was named a top pick on ITV's How to Spend It Well at Christmas, where chef Matt Tebbutt tasted it, which tends to settle any doubts about whether home made gin is any good. What to add: a 700ml bottle of inexpensive vodka. You cannot post that, so say so in the card: supermarket own brand is the right choice anyway, because the character of a premium vodka is lost under the juniper. For adults aged 18 and over.
The kintsugi kit, for the piece they mentioned breaking
If they have told you about something that got knocked off a shelf, this is the gift. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of mending broken pottery so the repair shows, the crack traced in gold instead of hidden, from the wabi-sabi idea that a thing which has been through something is more interesting than a thing that has not.
Our Kintsugi Kit uses a two part epoxy rather than traditional lacquer, and the box holds gold effect mica pigment powder, a spreader and mixing card, gloves, a booklet and two practice bowls, so a first attempt at a distance is not made on the precious piece. No kiln, no oven, and each join is held for thirty to sixty seconds before moving on. What to add: nothing at all, which is exactly why it travels so well as a present. Ask them to send you a photograph of the finished seam. It is an adults only kit, the epoxy is strong and wants the gloves on in a well ventilated room, and a repaired piece is decorative from then on, kept away from food, drink and the dishwasher.
The biltong kit, for something that arrives back in the post
The Biltong Making Kit makes two batches of South African style dried beef, with a seasoning of coriander, black and white pepper and Himalayan pink salt, plus cider vinegar and a chilli and garlic mix. It dries in a domestic oven in a couple of hours, so there is no drying box or special equipment to buy, and there is no cure involved, just seasonings and vinegar.
The reason it suits a distant parent is the return leg. Biltong keeps for a couple of weeks in an airtight container and longer refrigerated, so a parent who makes a batch can put some in an envelope for the grandchildren, which is a very good thing to be on the receiving end of. What to add: 500g of lean beef per batch. Inexpensive steak or a roasting joint works well, as lean as possible, since fat does not dry. Tell them to dry it thoroughly: it should be firm and leathery and bend without snapping.
How do you keep the conversation going once it lands?
Ask a specific question. "Has it gone blue yet", "did the gold stick", "how firm is it" all get a proper answer, whereas "did you like the present" gets a polite one.
Put a note in the parcel about the one thing they need to buy, so it does not sit waiting on a shopping trip. And if you are visiting in a few weeks, suggest saving a batch for when you are there. A kit is a good present on its own and a much better one when it turns into an afternoon in the same room.
Long distance gift FAQs
Can the kit be posted straight to my parent?
Yes. Enter their address as the delivery address at checkout and it goes directly to them. Orders placed before 2pm Monday to Friday are dispatched the same day by Royal Mail.
How long will it take to arrive?
Royal Mail standard delivery usually takes two to three working days. Royal Mail publishes its last posting dates each autumn, so order early if a kit is meant to arrive before Christmas.
Will the kit keep if they do not start it straight away?
Yes. Our food and drink kits have a shelf life of eighteen months from packing, and every kit leaves us with at least twelve months on the best before date printed on the outer box.
Do they need special equipment?
No. The gin kit needs a bottle of vodka and a jug, the biltong kit dries the beef in an ordinary oven with no drying box, and the kintsugi kit needs nothing added.
Which one is easiest to do alone?
The gin kit. It is ten minutes of work, then several days of leaving it alone and tasting occasionally, with no timing to get right and nothing that has to be done in one go.
Sending something a long way this year? Browse the full range of gift kits and pick the one that gives you the most to talk about.
