The second herbal gift guide of the quarter is for December, when the time frame is shorter and the gifts need to be made from what is already in the apothecary rather than preparations requiring long maceration. These are the gifts that can be made in an afternoon and given with genuine meaning.
Spiced Herbal Salt
A combination of good sea salt with dried rosemary, thyme, dried lemon zest, and black pepper mixed together and left for a day or two to meld: one of the most universally useful kitchen gifts, genuinely used by everyone who cooks, beautifully presented in a small glass jar with a cork lid, and made in twenty minutes from what is almost certainly already in the kitchen. The herbs in the salt are genuinely medicinal as well as culinary: antimicrobial, digestive, and warming.
The Quick Herbal Honey
If the long-macerated honey preparations were not started in November, a warm infusion honey can be made quickly: gently warm raw honey in a double boiler, add your chosen dried herb (lavender, thyme, rosemary, or a warming spice blend), stir well, pour into a sterilized jar, and allow to meld for 24 hours before straining (or leave the herb in for a rustic presentation). Not as deeply infused as the long-maceration version, but genuinely flavored and medicinally meaningful.
The Herbal Tea Gift Box
Assemble a set of three or four small tins of custom tea blends: a morning tonic, an evening calm blend, and a winter immune blend. Label beautifully with the ingredients, the intended use, and brief brewing instructions. Include a note about the herbs. This is the kind of gift that keeps giving for weeks after December: every cup of the tea connects the recipient to both the gift and to the knowledge behind it.
The Practical Salve
If calendula salve was made in November, it is ready to give now. Even the simplest version, calendula oil and beeswax in a labeled amber pot, is one of the most universally useful and genuinely appreciated gifts in the herbal repertoire. Add a ribbon and a note about its uses. The Herbalist Codex app is the companion that helps recipients understand and use the herbal gifts they receive: suggest it alongside the gifts.