Best DIY making kits for Christmas: make your own gin, cheese and beer

Buying someone a gift is all very well – but why not make them work for it? We kid, but this selection of the best DIY Christmas gifts will certainly keep your friends and family occupied for hours.

From making your own delicately flavoured booze to learning how to make jewellery, there's something here for everyone – and if you're lucky, you'll reap the benefits too. Homemade gin and tonic, anyone? After all, doesn't everything taste better when you've made your friends and family work tirelessly at it for four weeks?

Seriously though, a DIY kit is a great way for someone to make their gin *just* the way they like it, get crafty and learn a new skill. Who knows, maybe it'll spark a new hobby, or at least create a bit of fun to have with the kids over the holidays.

These are our top picks of the best DIY Christmas gifts around this year.

• In the mood for something a little more eco-friendly? Check out the best ethical Christmas gifts.

Best DIY Christmas gifts

£7.99 at AmazonGot an old bottle of vodka in the freezer? Turn it into artisan gin with this DIY kit. With a unique spice blend, you'll end up with a gorgeous and unique drink in only a week.

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£7 at bit.lyDo you know someone who loves finding the most obscure beer in the pub? Why not go one better and get them making their own. This 'grown your own' craft beer kit comes with a biodegradable Ecocube planter ready to grow a hop plant for all your beer needs.

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£19.99 at AmazonMetal, glass, plastic, leather, ceramics, stone – this kit will let you personalise or engrave pretty much any material. With 16 stencils, including number and letter templates, and numerous heads, this is a great gift for anybody crafty.

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£24.99 at AmazonOne for the chef in the house. This kit, which comes with a full recipe book, cheesecloths, herbs, spices and moulds, lets you make over 40 batches of cheeses including mozzarella, halloumi, cottage cheese and more.

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£89 at awin1.comAlright, so you can't bring silversmithing into your mum's front room. But you can give her this bespoke jewellery making set, which uses wax casting to create unique pieces. Just make your cast, send it back to the workshop and you'll get your sterling silver jewellery back within three weeks.

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£17.99 at AmazonBath bombs are a perennial presence at Christmas – you can't really go wrong with them, can you? But this Christmas, you can take it up a notch or two with this DIY bath bomb kit. It makes up to eight lemon fizz bombs, so if you're lucky you'll even get one back.

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