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

A dry-cured pork belly, a bottle of homemade country wine and strips of biltong laid out on a rustic wooden kitchen table.

Gifts for grandad who says he has everything

Why the everything-grandad is hard to buy for, what actually lands, three making kits that suit him and how to stop the gift sitting in a cupboard.

A bottle of homemade gin with juniper berries, dried citrus peel and a glass of tonic on a rustic wooden table.

Gifts for gin lovers under 25 pounds

Stop buying bottles for the gin lover who owns them all. Three gin making kits, what to add alongside, and the legal question everyone asks.

A wicker hamper packed with food gifts, jars and brown paper parcels on a farmhouse kitchen table.

How to build a homemade Christmas hamper (with things they make themselves)

Build a Christmas hamper around making kits rather than shop-bought jars: which kits to choose, what to add, how to pack it and when to order.

Small food gifts, spices and a wrapped parcel spilling from a Christmas stocking onto a wooden table.

Stocking fillers for foodies: small kits that punch above their size

What makes a stocking filler work for a cook, three making kits with a big payoff, and the small ingredients worth tucking in alongside them.

A workbench laid with craft and food making materials, jars, tools and brown paper packages in warm light.

Gifts for people who like making things: kits, not clutter

Makers want materials and a free Saturday, not another object. Three kits matched to three kinds of maker, plus what else to buy alongside.

Brown paper wrapped gifts tied with string and a sprig of greenery on a rustic wooden table.

Secret Santa gifts under 20 pounds that are not a novelty mug

What makes a Secret Santa gift land, four making kits that suit almost anyone in the office draw, and the non-kit ideas worth considering too.

A jar of gin infusing with orange peel, cinnamon sticks, cloves and cranberries on a wooden kitchen table.

Christmas gin flavours: orange, clove and cranberry infusions

How to turn a homemade gin festive with orange peel, clove, cinnamon and cranberry, including three blends, timings and how to bottle it as a gift.

A narrow galley kitchen worktop with a jar of infusing botanicals, a bag of kimchi and a small mended bowl holding a tea light.

Gifts for people in small flats: no storage needed, nothing to dust

Presents that borrow space for an evening and give it back: gin, kimchi and kintsugi kits, plus the kits we would avoid for a very small kitchen.

Close view of an ingredient label on the side of a kraft kit box on a kitchen table.

Allergy-aware gift kits: which Sandy Leaf Farm kits carry no allergen ingredients

Which kits carry no allergen ingredients, which carry a may contain statement, which declares sulphites, and what to check before you order a gift.

A kitchen table set up for a first project with a broken bowl, a small brush of gold pigment and a pan of warm milk.

Gifts for someone with no hobbies: kits that give them one

Someone with no hobbies usually lacks an entry point, not interest. Three complete kits that need no equipment, no class and no experience at all.

A small wrapped gift box and a handmade child's card on a desk beside a bottle of homemade gin and a jar of chilli sauce.

Christmas gifts for teachers and TAs that are not another mug

Gift ideas for teachers and teaching assistants that get used up: gin, cheese making and chilli sauce kits, including one that works as a group gift.

Four small kit boxes wrapped for Secret Santa beside a glass of blue gin turning pink with tonic.

Secret Santa gifts under 10 pounds that are not a novelty

Four making kits at ten pounds or less, gin, colour changing gin, spiced rum and hedgerow wine, with what each one makes and what the recipient adds.

A stack of small parcels wrapped in brown paper and tied with string, ready for posting on a wooden table.

Ordering a make-your-own kit for Christmas: dispatch, delivery times and sending it straight to them

How dispatch and delivery work, why kits are a safe early buy, what to do about last posting dates and how to send a kit straight to the recipient.

An empty kitchen worktop with a single plain kit box, a bottle of homemade gin and a few rashers of bacon on a board.

Gifts for people who hate clutter: consumable, finishable, gone by February

Presents that get used up rather than stored: gin, bacon curing and cheese making kits, how quickly each is finished and what to add to them.

Three gift-wrapped boxes on a table with juniper berries, dried spices and a gold-seamed ceramic bowl around them.

Christmas gifts under 25 pounds that feel like more

Three making kits under 25 pounds that buy someone several evenings rather than a small object, with what each one includes and what to add.

A jar of freshly made kimchi, a row of chilli sauce bottles and a demijohn of fruit wine on a kitchen worktop.

Vegan Christmas gifts they will actually use: plant-based kits to make at home

Kimchi, chilli sauce and hedgerow wine kits for a plant-based kitchen, what is in each box, what the recipient adds and the one recipe to skip.

A kitchen table with a bowl of fresh curds, small bottles of chilli sauce, a jar of kimchi and a gold-repaired ceramic bowl.

Alcohol-free Christmas gifts that are not a candle: kits for makers who do not drink

Four making kits that involve no alcohol at any stage: cheese, chilli sauce, kimchi and kintsugi, with what the recipient adds to each one.

A plain brown parcel tied with string on a kitchen worktop next to a slab of cured pork belly and a small gold-repaired bowl.

Gifts for the person who says they want nothing

They do not want more possessions, so give something that gets used up: bacon curing, cheese making and kintsugi kits, and how to give them without fuss.

A wrapped gift box on a kitchen table beside juniper berries, a small gold-seamed bowl and a jug of milk.

Christmas gifts for someone who has everything: give them something to do

The person who owns everything is short of one thing: a project. Three make-your-own kits, why each suits a different sort of person, and what to add.

DIY gift ideas: homemade chilli sauce, gin and spiced rum bottled and labelled as handmade gifts

DIY Gift Ideas: Presents You Make Yourself (Without Being Crafty)

The reverse gift guide: make the present yourself. Homemade chilli sauce, infused gin, spiced rum, fresh cheese and gold-mended pottery, no craft skills needed.

Unusual gifts for women including kintsugi, gin making and kimchi kits from Sandy Leaf Farm

Unusual Gifts for Women: Kits They'll Actually Use (and Love Making)

Nine unusual gifts for women who have enough candles: kintsugi, colour changing gin, kimchi and more, organised by personality rather than the gift aisle.