Cocktail kit

+ A bottle of spirits is always an appreciated gift as we embrace the silly season.

+ Bulk out the gift with our lovely illustrated cocktail recipes (free to download and print out from homestolove.co.nz/cocktail).

+ These five gin recipes packaged with a bottle of gin, mixers and a few garnishes would make a great gift.

+ For mixers, East Imperial tonics or Fentimans tonic are my personal faves. Schweppes or a freshly made SodaStream batch will also work perfectly. For something different, try ginger beer.

+ Lemons, limes, pomegranate, passionfruit and blood orange will give your beverage some flair. However, using seasonal fruit will keep costs down, and muddled berries certainly create a sweetly refreshing summer drop.

+ Garnishes could be herbs such as basil or rosemary, or something more substantial like cucumber or celery. Include a packet of pink peppercorns – great with citrus-based drinks – too, if you like.