As the festive season approaches, the pressure to find perfect Christmas presents can feel overwhelming. But fear not - The Guardian has assembled an all-star team of expert columnists to share their carefully curated gift recommendations for 2025.
Expert Columnists Share Their Festive Favourites
The comprehensive guide features 158 carefully selected items across multiple categories, with contributions from renowned food writers, beauty experts, fashion editors and gardening specialists. The lineup includes celebrated chef Yotam Ottolenghi, restaurant critic Grace Dent, food writer Meera Sodha, beauty columnist Sali Hughes, fashion editor Jess Cartner-Morley and several other prominent Guardian writers.
Each columnist brings their unique expertise to the selection process, offering insights into what makes a truly memorable gift. From kitchen essentials that will last a lifetime to beauty products that deliver genuine results, the recommendations span all price points and interests.
Food and Kitchen Essentials
Yotam Ottolenghi's selections reflect his passion for quality kitchenware and exceptional food experiences. He recommends professional-grade knives from Allday Goods, priced from £29 to £140, which feature Japanese blades and handles made from recycled packaging. For cooking enthusiasts, he suggests carbon steel and cast iron pans from Misen starting at £83, describing them as "actual workhorses" that will outlast most kitchen items.
Grace Dent shares her foodie favourites, including a 1kg wheel of Baron Bigod cheese from The Fine Cheese Co. at £49.19 and passion fruit preserve from McNeill's that she bulk buys for everyone she loves at £6.40 per jar. Her more indulgent picks include gold leaf-festooned Billionaires brownies from Bear's Brownies starting at £26 for 12.
Meera Sodha offers practical yet thoughtful suggestions, such as a clever heat-conducting ice-cream scoop that makes serving frozen desserts effortless, available from £24.70 at Amazon. She also recommends Botivo Batch 33 alcohol-free aperitif at £27.50 from Waitrose for those preferring non-alcoholic options.
Beauty and Personal Care
Beauty expert Sali Hughes provides an extensive list of skincare and makeup recommendations. She highlights Neal's Yard Beauty Sleep foaming bath at £15.20 as a recent discovery that's become a "hopeless addiction." For fragrance lovers, she suggests La Pyae Apothecary eau de parfum at £157.25 from Liberty, noting its gentle, woody scent and returnable purchase option.
Hughes also recommends the Victoria Beckham dual mirror compact at £49 as a safe beauty gift for someone whose skin type you're unsure about. For Gen Z recipients, she suggests Rhode Glazing Milk at £32, which gives "sad, dehydrated skin an instant boost" and works well mixed with foundation.
Fashion editor Jess Cartner-Morley contributes beauty picks including Gisou honey-infused lip oil at £24 and Trinny London's Miracle Blur at £28, which she describes as a "beauty secret" that fills in lines to smooth skin under makeup.
Fashion and Home Finds
Jess Cartner-Morley's fashion selections include a crystal-embellished cardigan from M&S at £36.80 that she says could "pass for Very Posh Indeed" and a Barbour barn jacket at £119.20 from John Lewis, describing it as this season's must-have item.
For home enthusiasts, Yotam Ottolenghi recommends a tomato-scented candle from John Lewis at £88 that makes your house smell like a fresh tomato plant. Meera Sodha suggests snowball candle holders from Nordic Nest starting at £21, which cast beautiful light without obscuring views across the table.
Gardening columnist Alice Vincent offers practical garden gifts including a garden tool brush from Oxford Brush Co at £14.95 and pruning sleeves from Niwaki at £12 that will last beyond Christmas morning.
Unique and Charitable Options
Several columnists highlight gifts that give back. Yotam Ottolenghi suggests supporting The Bike Project, which refurbishes unwanted bicycles for refugees, with vouchers starting from £10. Grace Dent recommends Chinese heritage food hampers from Poon's at £70, noting that everything they make is "exemplary."
Tim Dowling, known for his humorous takes, offers both practical and whimsical suggestions including a steel salad spinner at £66 from Harts of Stur ("if you're going to get someone a salad spinner for Christmas, don't skimp") and a bird simulation cat toy from Leo's Paw at £28 that provides "all the fun of killing a bird with none of the bloody aftermath."
Houseplants columnist Gynelle Leon emphasizes thoughtful giving, recommending items like a glass watering can from Etsy at £50 that turns everyday chores into "design moments" and a posh gardening hamper from The Newt in Somerset at £110 for those who love gardening more than nights out.
Budget to Luxury Across All Categories
The guide caters to all budgets, from Flying Tiger's unusual pencil at £1.50 (on Meera Sodha's five-year-old's wishlist) to luxury items like the Chanel Rouge Allure lip colour in Pirate at £33 from John Lewis, which Sali Hughes describes as essential for any beauty lover's collection.
Fashion finds range from Asos's chunky-knit waistcoat at £25.10 to Aries temple T-shirts at £80 from Yards Store, which Jess Cartner-Morley calls "the most IYKYK T-shirt on planet fashion."
Home and garden recommendations include everything from seed-saving envelope sets at £5.95 from Norfolk Natural Living to Victorian-style cloches from Burford Garden Co at £425, which Alice Vincent has at the top of her wishlist.
The comprehensive guide demonstrates that successful gift-giving doesn't require Angelina Jolie-level extravagance (who once bought Brad Pitt a Californian waterfall), but rather thoughtful consideration of the recipient's interests and preferences. As the columnists prove, the perfect present can be as simple as a beautifully designed tea towel or as sophisticated as a professional-grade kitchen tool, as long as it reflects genuine understanding of what brings joy to the recipient.
