Handmade gifts for the holidays
When to start handmade pottery gifts
Pots need days to dry and two firings, so start weeks ahead. With five days of drying, two firings with cooling, two days' wait for each kiln slot and three spare days, gifts for Friday 25 December 2026 need starting by Monday 7 December 2026. If your studio posts a last firing date, add it below.
Your plan
Gifts on Friday 25 December 2026
Start by Mon 7 DecMonday 7 December 2026
18 days from start to gift day
- Make the piecesMon 7 Dec1 day
- Dry to bone dryTue 8 Dec to Sat 12 Dec5 days
- Wait for a bisque firingSun 13 Dec to Mon 14 Dec2 days
- Bisque firing and coolingTue 15 Dec to Wed 16 Dec2 days
- Glaze the piecesThu 17 Dec1 day
- Wait for a glaze firingFri 18 Dec to Sat 19 Dec2 days
- Glaze firing and coolingSun 20 Dec to Mon 21 Dec2 days
- Spare days, wrapping and postingTue 22 Dec to Thu 24 Dec3 days
- Gift dayFri 25 Dec
How the timeline works
Steps run back to back in whole days and finish the day before the gift date. Each firing counts its hours plus cooling, rounded up to whole days; Sheffield Pottery says a bisque firing typically takes 8 to 12 hours to reach temperature and another 12 to 24 hours to cool. Don't open a kiln early: thermal shock can crack pieces.
- Studio queues: shared studios fire on their own timetable, so set the waits to what yours tells you. A last firing date before the planned glaze firing moves the whole plan earlier.
- Drying is the step most worth padding: thick pieces and humid rooms take longest, and damp ware can crack or burst in the kiln.
- The calendar file has one all-day event for each step, plus your start-by day and the gift day.
Sources
- Drying times by thickness, the cheek test, bisque firing and cooling times: Sheffield Pottery, “The 5 Stages of Pottery: From Slip to Bisque” (9 February 2026). General guidance; your clay and room will differ.
- Firing hours: Skutt KilnMaster Operating Manual, Edition 4 (May 2002), Cone Fire mode, as totalled in the schedule builder. What a bisque firing does: Digitalfire, Bisque.
Questions
When should I start pottery for Christmas gifts?
For 25 December 2026, the example plan here starts on Monday 7 December 2026, 18 days ahead. Start earlier for thick pieces, a long studio queue or a last firing date in mid-December.
How long does pottery take to dry before firing?
As general guidance from Sheffield Pottery: 2 to 3 days for walls under 6 mm, 4 to 5 days for 6 to 13 mm, 5 to 7 days for 13 to 25 mm (up to 10 in a humid room), and 7 to 14 days for thicker work.
Why does pottery need two firings?
The bisque firing makes the dry clay strong enough to handle and porous enough to soak up glaze; the glaze firing then melts the glaze. Each firing needs time to heat up and to cool.