In a small flat, the best present is one that takes up no permanent space. A gin kit, a kimchi kit and a kintsugi kit all fit that brief: each is a single box that goes into a cupboard, gets used on a worktop or a table, and leaves behind a bottle, a jar or a mended bowl rather than equipment. Nothing needs storing, nothing needs dusting, and nothing has to earn a shelf.
It is worth being blunt about the opposite case too. Some making hobbies genuinely need room, and a gift that quietly demands a cupboard the recipient does not have is not a kindness. The three below were picked because they work in a galley kitchen with one drawer to spare.
What makes a gift wrong for a small flat?
Bulk that never goes away. A machine, a large pot, a piece of furniture or a hobby that comes with a growing collection of parts all cost space every day of the year, whether or not they are being used. In a flat, that cost is real.
The second problem is the display object. Anything decorative has to find a surface, and in a small home every surface is already doing a job. That is why consumable presents with an activity attached work so well here: the space is borrowed for an evening and given straight back.
The gin kit, which needs a jar and a bottle
The Gin Making Kit is about as space-efficient as a hobby gets. The method is infusion, not distilling, so there is no still, no apparatus and nothing to plug in. Juniper, coriander, citrus peel, allspice and lemongrass steep in a bottle of inexpensive vodka, and in under a week it is gin.
In practice they need one wide-mouthed jar or container to infuse in, which makes straining much easier than fishing botanicals out through a bottle neck, and one clean bottle to decant into. Both of which can be things they already own: a rinsed-out spirit bottle is the classic choice. The sieve from the kit lives in a drawer. It is a kit for adults aged 18 and over, since they buy the spirit.
It also happens to be the kit that was named a top pick on ITV's How to Spend It Well at Christmas, where chef Matt Tebbutt tasted it, which is a reasonable endorsement for something that occupies about the same space as a paperback.
The kimchi kit, which ferments in the fridge
Traditional fermenting can mean crocks, weights and a cool cupboard, none of which exist in most flats. Our Kimchi Making Kit sidesteps all of it: the kimchi ferments in a bag in the fridge for five to seven days, so the only space it needs is a fridge shelf.
The box brings the specialist parts, being gochugaru, the Korean dried red pepper, dried seaweed, sweet rice flour for the porridge that binds the paste, plus gloves and the fermentation bag, and it makes two big batches. They add a Chinese leaf cabbage, salt, sugar, garlic, ginger, onion and spring onions.
The one honest requirement is a large mixing bowl for the brining stage, plus a small bowl and a small saucepan, which most kitchens have even when they have nothing else. The bag puffs up as it ferments, which is normal, and is opened daily to release the pressure. Finished kimchi keeps around two to three weeks in the fridge and gets tangier as it goes.
The kintsugi kit, which works on a tea towel
The Kintsugi Kit takes up a table for an evening and nothing at all afterwards. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery so the join is picked out in gold instead of hidden, and the kit swaps traditional lacquer for a two-part epoxy that a beginner can handle.
Inside are the epoxy, a spreader and mixing card, gold-effect mica pigment powder, gloves, a booklet and two practice bowls, so nothing has to be bought and there is no kiln or oven involved. Each join is held for thirty to sixty seconds, and then the piece is left somewhere out of the way to cure fully, which in a flat can be the top of the fridge.
Two things to pass on. It is an adults-only kit and needs a ventilated room, so a window open and the gloves on. And a repaired piece is decorative rather than crockery, because the adhesive is not food grade, so do not use a mended bowl for food or drink. A tea light in a mended bowl is the nicest use for one, and it earns its surface.
Which kits would we avoid for a very small kitchen?
The Hedgerow Wine Making Kit is the obvious one to think twice about. The kit itself is small, but the recipient needs a five litre bucket with a lid and a demijohn or second vessel with an airlock, both of which sit somewhere warm and undisturbed for weeks. In a one-bedroom flat that is a real imposition unless they have already said they want to try it.
Our cheese kits are a gentler case. They need a large non-reactive pan, meaning stainless steel, and a colander, so they are fine for a small kitchen that already has both and less so for one that does not. The moulds, thermometer and cloth themselves are drawer-sized.
If you are posting the present rather than handing it over, any kit can be sent straight to the recipient by entering their address as the delivery address at checkout, which also spares them a trip to a collection office.
Small flat gift FAQs
What is a good gift for someone with no storage space?
A kit that gets used up. A gin kit, a kimchi kit or a kintsugi kit each occupies a cupboard for a short while and then leaves nothing behind but the thing that was made.
Does making gin at home need equipment?
No. The method is infusion, so there is no still and nothing to plug in. A wide-mouthed jar to infuse in and a clean bottle to decant into are all that is needed beyond the kit.
Does the kimchi kit need a fermenting crock?
No. It ferments in the bag included in the kit, on a fridge shelf, for five to seven days. A large mixing bowl is needed for the brining stage.
Which kits need the most space?
The hedgerow wine kit, because the recipient supplies a bucket and a demijohn that stand for weeks, and to a lesser extent the cheese kits, which need a large stainless steel pan.
Is the kintsugi kit messy?
Not especially. It is worked on a covered table with the gloves on and a ventilated room, and the mixing card and spreader keep the epoxy contained.
Buying for someone tight on space? Browse our gift kits and pick the project that fits their kitchen, not yours.
