Gifts and others

Buying a present for a beekeeper is hard for one specific reason: they already have the good kit, and only they know what is missing. That is why the two categories below work better.

What gets it right

• The symbolic (€2.95-3) — smoker keyring, sticker, small bee-themed piece. It competes with nothing they already own and it makes them smile. This is the birthday present or the thank-you.
• The teaching kind (€15.95-339.75) — life-cycle figures, observation hive. This is what a beekeeper uses to explain to other people what they do, and it is not something they usually buy for themselves.

The observation hive case

It is the big present in this category and the one that most changes a house or a classroom. It contains live bees: it is not an ornament. It needs an outside exit, temperature and maintenance. Give it to someone who can look after it, not to someone you would like to see own one.

And for whoever sells honey

The decorative bees for candles (€1.95 for 10) are not a gift: they are presentation. They turn a beeswax candle into a Christmas-hamper product, which is where a candle stops selling at candle price.

Teaching material is in educational; moulds in candle moulds.