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The best presents don’t always come from a shop. From DIY decorations to gifts for the garden, here’s how to craft something special in 2026
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Hannah Rochell Tue 3 Nov 2026 11.00 CET Share Prefer the Guardian on Google I t’s never too early for Christmas if you are making the presents you plan to give to your loved ones. Perhaps you’ve been the grateful recipient of a delicious homemade jam or a hand-knitted scarf in the past and have decided that now is the time to give it a go yourself. Here are seven easy makes you still have time to prepare for the big day.
Char Legge, founder of Duxmore Botanics, says it’s easier than you think to make a DIY scented room spray. You’ll need some specific items, such as a specialist room-mist base (which you can buy online ), and a few drops of essential oils. Legge suggests fir needle, cedarwood, juniper berry and eucalyptus for the scent of “a freshly cut Christmas tree. Fir needle creates the fresh, green heart of the fragrance, cedarwood adds warmth and woodiness, while juniper berry and a touch of eucalyptus give it that wonderful crisp, outdoorsy quality.”
The fragrance can be adjusted to suit your taste, she says. “If you love the smell of the tree itself, make the fir needle more dominant; for something warmer and woodier, increase the cedarwood. When experimenting, start with small quantities – you can always add another drop, but you can’t take one away!” It’s a pretty easy DIY project. Pop it in an amber-coloured glass bottle with a fancy label for a luxe finish.
Find instructions on how to make your own scented room mist at Duxmore Botanics
View image in fullscreen From £3.50 at Etsy Perfumer’s alcohol, 1l
View image in fullscreen £12.48 at Supplies for Candles Suatelier sticker pack, 75 stickers
View image in fullscreen £2.50 at London Graphic Centre A bee hotel View image in fullscreen Bee here now: build a hotel to support the conservation of precious pollinators. Photograph: Andi Edwards/Getty Images “Bee hotels are a great way to support some solitary bees,” says RSPB wildlife expert Mey Duek. “By providing a cosy accommodation for the bee eggs and larvae, you and your loved ones can help these important pollinators.”
In fact, the RSPB rates bee conservation so highly that it has a simple guide to making one on its website; no carpentry experience required. A friend and his seven-year-old daughter made me one as a house-warming gift from scrap wood and bamboo canes, and it’s had plenty of guests over the years.
Fancy popping some extra gifts in with your hotel that your giftee’s new resident bees will enjoy pollinating? “Bird’s-foot-trefoil, Viper’s Bugloss, Corn Marigold and cornflowers are among some of the wildflowers that bees love,” says Duek, adding that you can also pick up wildflower seed packs from the RSPB website.
Find instructions on how to build a bee hotel at the RSPB
View image in fullscreen RSPB best for bees wildflower seed pack , 5g
A quick pickle View image in fullscreen Brine and dandy: pickling can be quicker and more productive than you might imagine. Photograph: Foxys_forest_manufacture/Getty Images Sara Thomson, head chef at Little Duck in Dalston, east London, really a…