The Potting Shed

Guides, gift ideas and honest answers from the people who hand-pack every kit.

All articles Kintsugi Cheese making Gin making Meat Chilli sauce Wine making Kimchi Gift guides
Four make your own kit boxes lined up on a kitchen table beside a bottle of gin, a wedge of fresh cheese and a carved kebab.
Gifts for grandparents under 20 pounds
Four make your own kits under twenty pounds for grandparents: gin, hedgerow wine, beginners cheese and kebabs, with what to add to each one.
A brown parcel opened on a table revealing a jar of gin infusing, a gold mended cup and strips of dried biltong.
Gifts for a parent who lives miles away: kits that post well and give you something to talk about
Gifts that survive the post and earn a phone call: a gin that infuses over a week, a kintsugi repair kit, and biltong dried in an ordinary oven.
Two glasses beside a bottle of home made gin, a board of fresh cheese and six labelled wine bottles on a kitchen table.
Anniversary gifts for parents: an evening they make together
Anniversary gifts with two jobs in them: a gin they infuse between them, cheese that needs two pairs of hands, and wine to label with the date.
A quiet Sunday kitchen with a ball of fresh mozzarella on a cloth, a blue gin and tonic turning pink, and a gold mended bowl.
Gifts for a mum who has everything: something to make on a quiet Sunday
Three kits for a mum with full cupboards: ten fresh cheeses, a gin that turns from blue to pink in the glass, and a golden pottery repair.
A kitchen worktop with a tall glass of boba milk tea, a bowl of fresh mozzarella in water and a gold mended bowl out of reach at the back.
Gifts grandparents can do with the grandchildren: cheese, bubble tea and a golden repair
Kits that split into a grown up job and a child sized one: fresh cheese in an hour, boba milk tea in an afternoon, and kintsugi for the adult alone.
A glass of blue gin turning pink as tonic is poured, beside a dish of fresh ricotta and a gold mended saucer.
Gifts for grandma who says not to bother
Gifts that get used up rather than stored: a beginners cheese kit, a colour changing gin kit and a kintsugi repair kit, with what to add to each.
A kitchen worktop in the evening with a jar of gin infusing, a pan of warm curds and a gold mended jug beside it.
Gifts for parents who have everything: an evening they make themselves
Parents with full cupboards do not need another object. Gin, cheese and kintsugi kits turn a weeknight into a project, with what to add to each.
A bottle of home made gin with a handwritten kraft tag, a round of fresh cheese on a cloth and a gold mended bowl on a windowsill.
Retirement gifts for mum: makes that are hers, not the household's
Retirement gifts that belong to her rather than the house: a cheese kit, a gin kit with her name on the bottle tag, and a kintsugi repair kit.
A garage workbench with a slab of curing pork belly on a rack, a jar of botanicals steeping in spirit and a demijohn with an airlock.
Retirement gifts for dad: a hobby in a box for the first free Monday
Retirement gift ideas for dad at three speeds: dry cured bacon in about a week, gin in a couple of days, and country wine over eight to twelve weeks.
A demijohn of fruit wine bubbling through an airlock beside a slab of home cured bacon and a board of fresh cheese.
Gifts for retired parents: projects for the time they finally have
Retirement gifts that ask something of them: country wine over eight to twelve weeks, dry cured bacon in a week, and ten fresh cheeses in an afternoon.
An unhurried kitchen table with a small dish of fresh ricotta, a jar of gin infusing with juniper berries and a china bowl mended in gold.
Gifts for elderly grandparents: easy, absorbing kits that fit a slower afternoon
Kits that suit an unhurried afternoon: fresh cheese in about an hour, a gin that infuses while they sit down, and a golden pottery repair.
A kitchen table set out with a bowl of fresh curds, a demijohn of fruit wine and a mended china bowl with a gold seam.
Gifts for grandparents who have everything: something to do, not something to dust
Three make your own kits for grandparents with full cupboards: fresh cheese, hedgerow wine and a golden pottery repair, with what to add to each.
A carved doner kebab on a board with flatbreads, beside a jar of kimchi and a bottle of homemade chilli sauce.
Gifts for a boyfriend who likes cooking: kebab, chilli and kimchi kits
Skip the equipment. Three kits that give a confident cook a new technique and the specialist ingredients he would never buy in sensible quantities.
Two jars of gin botanicals infusing on a kitchen counter beside a mended bowl with a gold seam and a glass of tonic.
Gifts for a husband who has everything: an evening's project instead of a thing
Buy him an evening rather than an object: gin, meat and kintsugi kits for a husband who replaces his own things, and what to buy alongside each.
A bowl of fresh homemade ricotta on a kitchen table beside a ceramic plate mended with a gold seam.
80th birthday gifts: small, doable projects for a big milestone
Three kits sized to one sitting for an eightieth: five fresh cheeses, a gallon of country wine and a golden pottery repair done at the kitchen table.
A ball of fresh homemade mozzarella on a plate beside a bottle of homemade gin and a ceramic bowl mended with a gold seam.
70th birthday gifts for dad: gentle, satisfying makes with something to show for it
Three kits sized to a single afternoon for a seventieth: ten fresh cheeses, a gin that infuses in under a week and a golden pottery repair.
A demijohn of hedgerow wine bubbling through an airlock beside a bowl of blackberries and a bottle of homemade gin.
60th birthday gifts for him: a new hobby in a box
The best sixtieth present is one that repeats. Hedgerow wine, bacon and gin kits that turn into a habit, and what to buy so the first batch happens.
A demijohn of fruit wine with an airlock beside a bottle of home spiced rum and a board of home cured bacon.
50th birthday gifts for him: slow projects for a man with a bit more time
Three kits at three speeds for a fiftieth: spiced rum in under a week, bacon in about a week and country wine in eight to twelve weeks.
A board of home cured bacon and strips of beef jerky beside bottles of homemade chilli sauce on a kitchen worktop.
40th birthday gifts for him: kits for the man who has stopped wanting stuff
At forty the scarce things are time and space, so give a project rather than an object: meat, gin and chilli sauce kits, and what to buy alongside.
A jar of kimchi fermenting beside a bottle of homemade gin and a repaired bowl with a gold seam on a kitchen worktop.
30th birthday gifts for him: something to make, not something to own
A man turning thirty buys his own things, so give him a skill instead: gin, kimchi and kintsugi kits, and the fresh half to buy alongside each one.
Two bottles of home spiced rum with handwritten kraft tags beside a small bowl of dried spices on a kitchen table.
Gifts for a step dad: thoughtful without being too much
How to pitch a step dad gift, and three make-your-own kits that are specific enough to feel considered but easy enough to share round the table.

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Chilli sauce making kit with two bottles of homemade sauceFood Kits Hedgerow wine making kit with three bottles of homemade wineDrink Kits Kintsugi repair kit box with gold-repaired bowlsCraft Kits Ultimate gin making kit with two homemade pink ginsGift Kits