A few of our favourite things: Festive gift ideas

Looking for a little kitchen garden inspiration for your students, colleagues and loved ones?

We have put together a list of our favourite stocking-fillers. These gift ideas won’t break the bank, and are a joy to prepare and share.

Pressed for time? Check out the ready-made exclusive gift packs on the Foundation’s online shop. All proceeds from online sales help the Foundation achieve its vision that children form positive food habits for life.

Kitchen garden gifts you can make:

• Lemongrassade. Keep cool this summer with some refreshing lemongrassade. Bottle up this delightful variation on traditional lemonade, using lemongrass instead of lemons. Get the full recipe here.
• Beeswax food wraps. Encourage friends and family to reduce plastic waste by making reusable beeswax food wraps. Simply grate beeswax over 100% cotton circles or squares, bake at 100°C for 5 minutes, use a paintbrush to spread the melted wax evenly over the fabric, hang to dry and there you have it – your own reusable food wrap!
• A bit of a pickle. Pickles and preserves are always a crowd pleaser and a great opportunity to use up excess summer produce. Ploughman’s Pickle is a tasty, colourful pickle that’s beautiful served with crusty bread, cheese and ham. Get the recipe here.
• Fun with flower pots. Secondhand terracotta pots are easy to come by and very handy when it comes to gift-giving. Plant herbs in ribbon-wrapped pots, use pots to bake fresh herb bread, or paint and decorate flower pots in your own personal style for a gift that’s full of heart.
• Seed spheres. Seed spheres are round balls of earth with seeds inside them that you can plant. To prepare, combine 2 cups flour, 1 cup compost and 1 cup water until the mixture feels like playdough. Choose your seeds (create a mix, if you like) and scatter 2 tablespoons over the mud and flour. Pinch off lumps, roll into walnut-sized balls and dry in the sun. A marvellous activity for those who like to get a little muddy.  

Gift ideas from the Foundation’s online shop (order before Friday, 15 December to guarantee pre-Christmas delivery):

• Kid’s Gardening Gift Pack,  $25. Grow a kitchen garden kid with a gardening gift pack that includes all the tools little green-thumbs need to dig into the garden. This pack includes a copy of the Foundation’s beautiful new Kitchen Garden Journal,  a pair of Ryset kid’s gardening gloves and a Kitchen Garden Foundation colouring-in sheet. Save more than 30% on the RRP of all items.
• Kid’s Cooking Gift Pack,  $48. Cook up a storm this summer with a cooking gift pack especially for the kids. This pack includes a signed copy of Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids by Stephanie Alexander and a child’s apron. Save more than 20% on the RRP of both items. The first 10 orders will also receive a set of metal measuring spoons – get in quick!
• Gardening Gift Pack,  $40. Inspire your loved ones to dig in this summer with a gardening gift pack. This pack includes a copy of the Foundation’s beautiful new Kitchen Garden Journal,  Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Companion Planting Chart and a stainless steel Ryset hand transplanter. Save more than 30% on the RRP of all items.
• Cooking Gift Pack,  $70. Share the joy of cooking this festive season with a cooking gift pack. This pack includes a signed copy of Stephanie Alexander’s cookbook Kitchen Garden Companion: Cooking, a Kitchen Garden Foundation adult’s apron and a fine Artisan Series microplane. Save more than 40% on the RRP of all items.
• Make a donation to the Kitchen Garden Foundation.  Your contribution will support the Foundation’s vision to help children form positive food habits for life. As we are a registered charity, all donations are tax-deductible. Donate here. 

Scroll through the gallery of images above for examples of homemade presents, as well as some of the items in our online shop.