No wrapping, no shopping, no panic: the best last-minute experience gifts for Christmas
Forget the trolley dash, says Anna Tyzack – the best new Christmas gifts are things to make, learn and do
19 December 2020 • 6:00am
The perfect virtual gift: The Create Academy hosts online classes by leading creatives, like florist Willow Crossley and interior designer Rita Konig
Credit: Willow Crossley
If you’ve failed so far on the Christmas shopping front, remember that the best presents don’t always come in a box. The gift of an experience, voucher or subscription can delight for far longer than a panic-bought pair of socks, according to Matthew Jones, the founder of Bread Ahead baking school in London’s Borough Market.
Colourful shelducks can be seen displaying. Watch out for swifts, swallows, sand and house martins which regularly feed over the pools. Try and spot elusive garganeys as they start arriving for the breeding season, or even a resting spoonbill.
Look out for black-tailed godwits returning from Iceland, many still in their rich, ruddy breeding plumage. Early migrants such as ringed plovers, little stints, ruffs and sandpipers may be seen as they start to head south on migration.
The marsh comes alive with flocks of redshanks, greenshanks and dunlins, together with hundreds of curlews, as they all gather for the high tide roost. Look out for passing ospreys fishing in the upper estuary or even perched up on posts and trees.