It’s our first Christmas here at the Filter, and like Santa’s elves, we’ve been working our socks off to find this year’s best gifts so you can sweep in and take the glory at the last minute. We’ve found covetable items for everyone, from your tricky tween to your spoilt swimmer, and our collection of more than 900 (!!) gift ideas will help you polish off Christmas shopping faster than ever before.
Thousands of you have already been busy ticking gifts off wishlists. In fact, so many of you bought your resident Swiftie the stickers we recommended that they sold out (although there are plenty of similar sets still available). And we already knew you loved this super-affordable reading light (as we mentioned last month), but we were staggered by how many flew off the shelves when we suggested it as a Secret Santa gift. If you’ve still got a few difficult people to shop for (or need a treat yourself), read on for more inspiration.
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The best socks on the high street
Uniqlo Heattech socks
£7.90 at Uniqlo
Uniqlo’s high-quality yet ultra-affordable basics are a favourite among our fashion team – and our readers. “Uniqlo makes the best socks on the high street,” Guardian senior fashion writer Lauren Cochrane said in our Christmas gift mega list. “A Heattech pair in a seasonal red would be very welcomed.” This seasonal red proved so popular that it’s now out of stock – but the muted olive and navy shades will keep feet toasty far beyond the Christmas season.
For more socks, see our guide to the best socks to give this Christmas.
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Meat thermometer
ThermoPro TP03H
£9.99 at Amazon
We asked top chefs and food writers for their foodie gift ideas, from Georgina Hayden’s go-to Microplane grater to Andi Oliver’s fancy HexClad pan. But your favourite was this super-cheap yet eminently practical gadget. “To anyone nervous about cooking, particularly seafood and meat, I always recommend an inexpensive digital meat probe,” said Paul Ainsworth, chef-owner of Paul Ainsworth At No6 in Padstow, and author of For the Love of Food. “It will give exact results every time, from cooking steaks to not overcooking fish.”
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Eye cream for tired eyes
The Inkey List Caffeine eye cream 15ml
£9.99 at Amazon
Puffy, tired-looking eyes are common during the festive party season, and we have a suspicion that some of you may have bought this as a gift for yourself. “Like a shot of espresso for tired eyes, this antioxidant-rich eye cream has a wonderfully light texture,” says beauty and wellness expert Hayley Spencer in our roundup of the best self-care gifts. This affordable eye cream from bargain skincare brand The Inkey List “brightens and reduces pigmentation under the eyes with the help of peptides (repairing proteins) and caffeine”.
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Luxe-look tray
John Lewis x Collagerie Jaipur Rose lacquer tray
£25 at John Lewis
The result of “a highly covetable collab” with John Lewis, this tray taps into “the vibrant, bohemian aesthetic” of the former Vogue fashion directors behind Collagerie. This beautiful reimagining of a vintage print featured in our list of homeware gifts for interiors obsessives, and will be brightening up the homes of hundreds of readers over the Christmas season.
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Sleep-inducing drink
Ancient + Brave True Nightcap
£32 at Ancient + Brave
Another pick from our guide to self-care gifts, readers couldn’t resist this tonic, made with a blend of nutrients targeting sleep quality. “It’s like a bedtime hug,” said Hayley Spencer. “This citrussy vegan night-time drink is genuinely sleep-inducing.” Each jar contains about 30 servings.
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Cold-water plunge
Lumi Therapy recovery pod
£59.95 at John Lewis
As cold water plunges become ever more popular, this at-home option becomes increasingly tempting – as anyone who’s been stuck queueing at the local gym can attest. “The Lumi recovery pod is just the right size to sit in the garden,” says styling editor Melanie Wilkinson in her guide to gifts for fitness fans and yoga bunnies. Just be warned: “Unfortunately, research hasn’t yet shown whether regular cold-water immersion makes your friends stop inviting you to stuff,” writes Guardian US lifestyle and wellness reporter Madeleine Aggeler.
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Personalised monopoly set
Custompoly
£73.88 at Etsy
Of all of our suggestions for personalised gifts – whether baked beans, head chef aprons or coffee scoops – it was family classic Monopoly that most appealed to readers. This Etsy seller lets you customise the names and pictures of all the properties, the game and edition name and the image in the centre of the board. “A great gift for a family of board-game fanatics who love the original,” says Filter writer Lily Smith – and especially so ahead of Christmas.
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Pimple patches
Starface Hydro-Stars + Big Yellow kit
£11.95 at Beauty Bay
Teenagers are infamously hard to buy for, so we went to the source to create our gift guide for teens. “I’d love some new products to improve my skin and make it glow,” Audrey, 18, told us – and she’s far from the only teen to have added skincare to her wishlist this Christmas. These Starface pimple patches are incredibly popular and surprisingly effective, using hydrocolloid (a gel used in plasters and wound dressings) to promote healing and protect skin from infection.
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Graphics pad for arty teens
Ugee Drawing Tablet S640
£29.99 at Amazon
Another pick from our teen list, a graphics tablet is a great gift for any drawing enthusiasts in your life. “I want a drawing tablet because I saw someone using one and it looked like a handy tool to help me get good at drawing,” Joe, 15, told us.
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Addictive condiment
LaoGanMa crispy chilli in oil
£5.19 at Amazon
A Chinese classic and cult favourite, the LaoGanMa crispy chilli in oil was Tom Kerridge’s pick in our chef-curated list of foodie gift ideas. “It’s not too expensive, it’s super tasty, and it goes with everything,” he said.
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Cuddly blanket for scary films
Kids’ faux fur blanket
£24 at John Lewis
Although this blanket was picked out by 13-year-old Ellie for our teens gift guide, the comfort of a faux fur blanket will appeal to kids of all ages. “They’re very pretty and comforting,” says Ellie. “My friend has one in her bedroom, and when we watched a scary film we hid under it!”
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Pouch for chaotic handbags
Boho mysticism pouch
£32 at Elizabeth Scarlett
This pouch is not just aesthetically pleasing but also eminently practical, especially for big bag enthusiasts. “Instead of losing your phone, keys and lipstick in a giant tote bag, use this pouch as a smaller inner organiser,” says Chloe Mac Donnell, deputy fashion and lifestyle editor, in our ultimate Christmas gift guide.
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This week’s picks
The best beauty gifts: Sali Hughes’s present picks for Christmas 2024
From biscuits to plants: 20 easy gifts so good we buy them on repeat
How to have a classy Christmas: 28 festive home decorating ideas from style gurus
The best socks to gift this Christmas, from bamboo and cashmere comfies to hiking socks
Editor’s pick
There’s something reassuring about buying something that you know will go down well because it’s gone down well so many times before. That was the thinking behind our feature on the gifts we buy on repeat. Of course, everyone’s taste is different, but you can’t argue with dozens of kids, who have all gratefully received Wreck This Journal over the years.
Best of all, we heard from you: we all love reader Hannah Wauchope’s thoughtful idea of giving a box of RNLI Lifesaver tea to everyone she buys gifts for to help support the lifeboat charity.
Hannah Booth
Editor, the Filter
In case you missed it …
You may have seen reports of younger generations shunning alcohol this Christmas, with more than three-quarters of people born after 1996 planning a booze-free season.
If that’s you, or anyone you plan to spend Christmas with, you might want to re-read our recent roundup of the best non-alcoholic bubbly. Nondrinkers are often consigned to elderflower water at best, or forgotten about at worst. Now, they can pop a cork and feel part of the festivities (and feel smug on Boxing Day).
