If he has everything, stop looking for an object and buy him something to do. The presents that actually land with a dad who already owns the gadgets, the socks and a third set of screwdrivers are the ones that take over a Saturday, produce something he can eat or pour at the end of it, and then get out of the way instead of joining the pile.
That is the whole case for a make-your-own kit. It is not another thing to own, it is a project with a result, and the result is usually breakfast. Here are the three we would send to a dad who is genuinely hard to buy for, why each one suits a particular sort of man, and what you should buy alongside it so he is not sitting there waiting on the missing half.
Why does a project beat another gadget?
The trouble with a dad who has everything is not that he is fussy. It is that he buys what he wants, when he wants it, usually within a week of thinking of it. Anything you can come up with, he has already considered, and the small luxuries are in the cupboard already. What he almost never buys himself is the thing that asks for a bit of commitment: the project he would enjoy but would feel faintly silly ordering for no reason.
That is exactly the gap a gift fills. Somebody else has made the decision, bought the ingredients, written the instructions and handed him permission to spend an afternoon on it. A kit also solves the other half of the problem, which is space. It gets used, it gets eaten, and by February it is a story rather than an ornament.
What do you give a dad who owns every kitchen gadget?
Bacon, because almost nobody makes their own and everybody is impressed by it. Our Bacon Making Kit is a dry cure, which is the traditional method rather than the wet-cured, water-pumped bacon most supermarkets sell, so the rashers firm up and crisp in the pan instead of leaking liquid. It takes about a week from rubbing the cure in to the first rasher, and almost all of that week is the fridge doing the work while he gets on with his life.
The kit flavours the belly three ways: pancetta, fennel and juniper, and chilli and garlic. The cure itself is a measured mix of salt and sugar with sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate, which is what protects the meat while it cures and the easiest and safest way to do this at home. To complete the gift, add a note telling him to order a piece of pork belly from the butcher, or a pork loin joint if he would rather have back bacon. Whichever he makes, it is cooked through before eating, exactly like shop bacon.
What about the dad who makes the drinks?
Every family has one, and he is usually the hardest to impress because he has already been given gin. The answer is to give him the raw material rather than the finished bottle. The Ultimate Gin Making Kit holds thirteen botanicals, from juniper, lemon peel and coriander seed through to cacao nibs, hibiscus, rose petals and cassia bark, and makes up to ten bottles of gin. Each batch infuses in a couple of days.
The reason it works for this particular man is that it is not one gin, it is a set of variables. He can follow the booklet for the first bottle and then start mixing and matching, tasting as it steeps and straining when it is where he wants it. There is no distilling involved: the botanicals steep in a spirit that has already been made, so nothing is produced in the legal sense. Add a bottle of inexpensive vodka so he can start on the day. Supermarket own brand is genuinely the right choice, because the character of a premium vodka disappears under juniper. For adults aged 18 and over.
And if he snacks more than he cooks?
Then give him something to chew. The Biltong Making Kit makes two batches of South African style dried beef, marinated in cider vinegar with coriander, black and white pepper and Himalayan pink salt, with a chilli and garlic mix if he wants it warmer. There is no cure in it at all, just seasonings, and our simplified method uses the oven rather than a drying box, so it takes a couple of hours rather than days.
It suits the dad who grazes, the one who watches the rugby with a bowl beside him, and the one who complains about what a bag of it costs. To finish the gift, tell him to pick up 500g of lean beef per batch. An inexpensive steak or a small roasting joint is ideal, and the leaner the better, because fat does not dry.
What should you add so the gift is complete?
Each of these kits is deliberately not a sealed box of everything, because the fresh half is better bought fresh. Tuck the extra into the gift and it goes from a nice idea to something he can start that weekend.
- Bacon: a piece of pork belly, or a 500g pork loin joint for back bacon.
- Gin: a bottle of plain, inexpensive vodka per batch, and decent tonic.
- Biltong: 500g of lean beef per batch, and a sharp knife if his is blunt.
Every ingredient is listed on the pack. If you have an allergy question, email hello@sandyleaffarm.com before ordering.
How do you send it straight to him?
If he lives at the other end of the country, you do not have to post it twice. Enter his address as the delivery address at checkout and the kit goes directly to him. Orders placed before 2pm Monday to Friday are dispatched the same day, and Royal Mail standard delivery usually takes two to three working days, so a last-minute birthday is recoverable if you act on the Wednesday.
Gifts for dad FAQs
What do you buy a dad who says he does not want anything?
Something consumable that he would not buy for himself. A kit gets used up rather than stored, so it does not add to the clutter he was objecting to, and he gets an afternoon out of it.
Is a making kit any good for a dad who does not really cook?
Yes, and often better. The bacon and biltong kits are mostly waiting rather than skill, the instructions assume no experience, and the finished result looks far harder than it was.
What does he need to buy himself?
The fresh part. Pork belly for the bacon, lean beef for the biltong, and a bottle of vodka for the gin. Everything else is in the box.
Do the gin kits contain alcohol?
No. None of our kits contain alcohol. The gin kit is botanicals that steep in a bottle of vodka he buys himself, so the finished gin is for adults aged 18 and over.
Which one should I pick if I only buy one?
Bacon, for most dads. It is the one that gets photographed, the one he tells people about, and the one that turns into a Sunday morning rather than a shelf ornament.
Still deciding? Have a look through our gift kits and pick the project that sounds most like him.
