We’ve tasted, sniffed and inspected more than 300 presents to bring you our ultimate Christmas gift guide – from must-have Lego and smoky mezcal to Meera Sodha’s favourite knife. Don’t you just love Christmas shopping? There’s a massive thrill in finding a present you know they’ll love and won’t have thought to ask for, but the pressure is enough to drive any sane person to hibernation.
We’ve gone the extra (2,000) miles to help you find the perfect gifts: we’ve tested out the latest products to see which ones are worth the hype (and which aren’t); trawled shops in person; enlisted babies (OK, their parents), tweens and teens to test out toys and give us their must-haves; tasted the good, bad and the did-I-really-put-this-in-my-mouth; and rounded up some of the products that were tried and tested by us this year.
So from hand warmers and hot sauce to Indian whisky and an everything shower, here are the most covetable, joyful, quirky, fun and genuinely useful presents around. Merry Christmas! Highlights include: a Charlie Brown mini embroidery kit made in Scotland; humorous cocktail charms for Christmas Day cosmopolitans; a textured ceramic plate that grates garlic into a paste; refillable lip balms in vintage pill boxes by Welsh designer Andrea Garland; versatile resistance bands for gym-goers; a Pause brass bookmark; a Native Union phone strap made from recycled polyester; a leather lanyard for glasses from an east London brand; a viral heirloom vegetable (a cross between sugar beet and beetroot); a grownup’s peanut butter and jam from Yumello and Tracklements; robust hair clips for long-haired people; a miniature Fortnum’s panettone; a Michelin tyre pressure gauge; Nio’s pre-mixed cocktail drinks; an Oliver Bonas travel jewellery case; rechargeable hand warmers; a natural hand cream with cocoa butter; football-themed beer mats inspired by Premier League legends; wild animal claw clips; and a dinky 5,000mAh Anker power bank with fold-out USB-C.
