Apiary ideas at Christmas for smallholders

The big advantage of being able to give honey from your own apiary is that unlike some other presents, you don’t have to worry about getting the size right or wondering whether someone will like the colour. Your honey will be beautifully honey-coloured and it will compliment any colour bread that it is spread on.

Honey, if you have some to spare, is always an acceptable gift. Even if you gave someone a jar of honey last year they will have enjoyed eating it long ago and they will probably be hoping to be given some more.

One question that often gets asked at this time of year is whether or not you should put a proper label on a jar of honey that you will be giving away.

There is no law that says you must have a label on the jar but personally I think that it looks better if you do. It adds a finishing touch and that can make all the difference for the person on the receiving end. First impressions count.

You don’t have to be planning to sell your honey to have some personalised labels printed, anyone can have them. Obviously if you are just giving a pot of honey to your Uncle George then you can get by with a gift tag that says ‘Happy Christmas Uncle George from whoever’. That’s fine, but you are missing out on the opportunity to add that special touch.

By putting on a proper printed honey label with your name on it, you will be presenting a more professional looking package and it will cost you less than 10p.

Bees have been in the news a lot recently.

Honey has also been in the news (or at least the fact that it is in short supply), so anyone will be more than pleased to receive some this Christmas.

Uncle George is almost bound to want to show off a bit and show the jar to some of his friends.

Each time the jar is proudly produced, there will be your name and address as proof (if any were needed) that Uncle George has not popped round to Waitrose and bought his honey there. This is just a nice little bit of ‘value added’ that will give Uncle George a lot of extra pleasure every time he picks up the jar. It is a few pennies well spent if it makes someone happy.

If you will be giving away a number of jars of honey as presents this year then you might want to consider having a gift jar label printed specially for them.

The clever people at Thorne’s can personalise any of their range of labels for you with any wording that you would like. So for instance, you could have a seasonal label saying something like: Hook House Honey. A Christmas gift from Liz It is not just at Christmas time that it is nice to be able to give someone something from the apiary though. It is a useful way to be able to say ‘thank you’ at any time of the year.

And of course, not everyone celebrates Christmas anyway.

Honey makes a good gift to go with ‘get well’ wishes, or to say ‘thank you for looking after the cat’ but most frequently of course honey is used to say ‘sorry about the swarm in your garden.’ So if you want to give presents all year round, not just at Christmas, then you can adjust the wording on your labels to suit. Maybe something like: Wimblington honey a gift from the apiary at Hook House. Personalised self adhesive labels come in packs of 100 and cost about £5 plus p+p. Although you are probably not going to be giving 100 pots of honey away this Christmas, the sticky stuff on the labels lasts a long while so you will be able to use them for several years to come. Remember that those first impressions really do count and it is not a lot to pay for that all important finishing touch.

The biggest problem will be that all your friends will want some of your honey. You should remember to keep enough on one side for yourself and your family because there won’t be any more until the next harvest and there is no guarantee that there will be one next year.

In fact it is a good idea to work out how much honey you need to keep aside for your own use and then add half as much again.

That way you will have some in reserve against a disaster year. You have no idea how much you will miss your own honey if the supply runs out.

This year has not been a particularly good summer and if you only have one hive you may not have enough surplus honey to be as generous as you would like to be. But don’t despair. You can still give gifts from the apiary, just read on.

One of the secrets of always having some honey available for gifts is to try not to fall into the trap of only bottling your honey in 454g/1lb jars. Giving away a pound of honey every time is a very quick way to reduce your stock to zero. Try using some smaller containers instead as this will make the honey go further.

Honey bears are popular.

The squeezy plastic ones hold about 340g/12oz and are loved by children. Mums approve of them too because squeezing out the honey means no sticky spoons to make a mess.

Actually Dads like them a lot as well and they get very good at writing their initials on toast and pancakes. Squeezy bears are not usually thrown away when empty. They get recycled time and time again until they can be squeezed no more.

Apart from honey they are also useful for dispensing ketchup and mayonnaise. Empty plastic bears are lightweight and unlikely to get damaged in the post so they are ideal if you like to shop on-line.

To make your honey go twice as far you will find that hexagonal shaped glass jars in the 227g/8oz size are useful. Hexagonal jars are very attractive as well as being easy to grip and easier to open than the traditional dumpy jars.

Unfortunately postal charges and the risk of breakages make glassware impractical to buy on-line but you should be able to buy small quantities of hexagonal jars from good kitchen and hardware shops.

While you are in the kitchen shop look out for honey spoons. Now that honey is more popular than marmalade at breakfast time it is surprising that most families do not have a proper honey spoon. These spoons have a kink in the handle so that the spoon can be perched on the rim of the jar allowing the honey to drip neatly back in.

They seem to be in short supply at the moment so if you track some down it would be a good idea to buy several as they are useful to have handy.

A honey spoon attached to a jar of honey with a piece of ribbon becomes an instant gift that is thoughtful as well as practical.

Of course you can also mix your honey with other things or cook with it. Think ‘value added’ and find out to make other products with your honey. Cooking with honey offers endless possibilities to add to the range of gifts that you can make from your apiary produce. Once again, it can be the presentation that makes the gift special.

I am always on the lookout for new ideas. So when at peak jam making time my local hardware shop had a special offer on preserving jars my mind immediately jumped ahead to Christmas. The clip top Kilner jars are ideal for biscuits. Especially honey biscuits which soon go soft if not kept in an airtight container.

Christmas would not be Christmas without shortbread. Honey shortbread is quick and easy to make. Use 225g/8oz butter, 275g/10oz plain flour and six tablespoons of set honey and make in the usual way. A large shortbread makes a nice gift at any time of year but especially so at Christmas.

If you prefer to make smaller biscuits then consider using star shaped cutters to give a more festive look and dusting the biscuits with caster sugar and cinnamon. Presented in a good airtight jar you have another practical present that doesn’t use a lot of honey from your precious store.

There is the added bonus that even when the biscuits have all been eaten up the jar will go on year after year doing sterling service.

A well run apiary will produce a supply of beeswax too. Beeswax makes beautiful candles. Although you may not have harvested much of your own wax yet, you can easily buy sheets of beeswax for rolling into candles. You will need to buy unwired beeswax foundation and some appropriately sized wick.

A bundle of candles is another gift that is certain to come in useful. Rolled candles are quick and easy gifts to make but be sure to make some for yourself as well. When did you last treat yourself to a romantic candle lit supper?

Finally don’t forget to leave out a little something for Santa on Christmas Eve. A glass of mead will be gratefully appreciated, if not by Santa himself then certainly by one of his little helpers.