Homemade boozy Christmas gifts

1. Buy the booze
The prime investment is in the cheapest alcohol you can find - forget the premium brands: supermarket own-labels are just as good.

2. Buy some containers
It's best to make your liqueurs in containers then transer them to attractive bottles. Choose bottling or preserving jars that have an air-tight seal and, preferably, a lock (they cost around £3-10, depending on size and quality).

You should also find some pretty bottles. Choose clear, non-coloured glass so that you can see the stunning jewel tones of your home-made fruit liquor.

Either buy new bottles from a homeware shop, or nip down to your supermarket and buy drinks sold in nice bottles - you not only get pretty bottles, you get to drink the contents first.

3. Sterilise your containers
Whatever you strain your liquor into, it must be properly sterile. The easiest way to sterilise containers is to run them through a hot dishwashing cycle. Leave out any rubber seals and wash them carefully by hand in soapy water, then dry them thoroughly with a clean cloth.

If you don't have a dishwasher, the traditional method is to scrub them well in warm soapy water, rinse, and dry off in a 140C/275F/gas mark 1 oven.

Alternatively, fill containers a quarter full with water and microwave them for 10 minutes on high, drain and use at once.

It is imperative – for all methods of sterilising – that you use the bottles or containers while still warm.

Over the page: Adding the ingredients