Don't know if you've grown any chillis, but you could always buy them (often reduced in the dreaded 'super' market) and make some chilli oil. Last year I made chilli oils and herb oils for Xmas gifts, which went down well. Thanks for the dried bay leaf idea - hadn't thought of somethings so simple!
You could raid the hedgrows for hazelnuts to use later in cookies and truffles and cakes and the such like.
Likewise, raid the hedgrow for blackberries. If you've got, or can get, apples you could make A&B jam - yum! You can probably bottle these aswell, but don't ask me how! You could also bottle or dry pears or apples if you have them.
I'm sure you could make something alcoholic from blackberries, sloes, elderberries or all of the above. Certainly you can make decent vodka simply by leaving blackCURRANTS to ferment in the liquor - don't see why it would be so different to do the same with any of those fruit??

As far as buying stuff now for preserving later is concerned, I'm always on the lookout for bargain buys of fruits or toms (yes, yes, I know it's a fruit!) which sometimes happens when there's a glut. Depending on what you buy, you can usually make a jam or chutney from it with a bit of imagination!