Right, let’s be honest about something: gift-giving at Christmas often feels more like obligation than desire, doesn’t it?
Especially at the end of what’s been, for most freelancers I know (myself included), a financially tighter year than we’d hoped. Which is precisely why I’ve approached this year’s thoughtful gift guide differently. There’s this persistent pressure to find the “perfect gift” for everyone on your list, to spend money you can’t really spare, all in service of… what exactly? Performing festive generosity? Ticking boxes? Making sure no one feels left out?
My close friends and I abandoned traditional Christmas gift exchanges years ago, which was honestly such a relief. We’re scattered now—different cities, different lives—and what we realised was that pooling whatever money we might have spent on gifts towards actually being together felt infinitely more valuable. A moment in time where we’re all back in the same place, having a proper catch-up over good wine, with nobody rushing off too soon. That’s become our version of festive generosity (whether we actually manage to coordinate a date close to Christmas or not!), and it suits us perfectly.
So, here’s what I want to propose with this year’s guide: forget Christmas for a moment.
Or rather, stop thinking about these as specifically Christmas gifts that need to be purchased and wrapped and given on a specific date in December. Instead, think of this as year-round inspiration – for birthdays (which feel so much more personal anyway), for treating yourself when you have a bit of spare cash (because you deserve it), or simply for bookmarking ideas for future you to make life a little easier.
Because the whole commercialisation of Christmas rather misses the point, doesn’t it?
For someone who isn’t religious, the value of this season—for me at least—is spending time with the people I love. Winter is dismal enough, especially in the UK, so festive cheer is genuinely needed. It just shouldn’t come bundled with crippling financial pressure and the anxiety of getting it all “right.”
What I’m suggesting here are gifts that serve beyond a single day: making your home cosier and warmer (not just for Christmas), finding grounding rituals and new hobbies that will sustain you well into the new year, and planning slow and intentional trips somewhere; whether that’s next month or several years away because you need to save. These are investments in quality of life, not just things to unwrap.
Something I’ve come to appreciate more as I’ve got older, is that traditionally “cliché” gifts like good socks, beautiful candles, fancy preserves, proper slippers, watercolour sets and carefully chosen books, endure for a reason. They add genuine value. They’re not flashy, they’re often quite practical, but they bring either joy or ease (ideally both) to the recipient’s daily life.
The best gift I received recently was a large pink book (yes, that one, the Sofia Coppola Archive) that my husband bought me for my birthday back in February. I’d had it on my wishlist for ages but hadn’t bought it myself because there’s always something more sensible to spend £50 on. But I absolutely love it. Just seeing it on the shelf brings me joy, and flicking through the pages inspires something new each time. It’s the only thing he got me for my birthday (he’d only just given me an engagement ring and we were getting married in the summer), and to some people, having “only” £50 spent on them might seem measly. But the fact that he remembered I wanted it, and saw the value it would add to my life? That’s what truly matters.
Growing up, my parents would get my sister and me one “big” gift and then a few smaller things – CDs, books, that sort of thing. It felt generous without being excessive. But scrolling through social media now, it seems parents spend absolutely insane amounts on their children at Christmas; sheer mountains of things that so often end up unappreciated, in landfill, or dumped at charity shops come January. The whole commercial machine has spiralled completely out of control, imho.
So here’s my gentle pushback: gifts don’t need to be flashy or numerous or expensive to be meaningful. They need to be considered. They need to show you’ve paid attention.
The three categories in this gift guide—the Slow Traveller, the Intentional Homebody, the Ritual Keeper—aren’t arbitrary. They reflect how I actually live and what genuinely brings me (and people I know) lasting pleasure. Not aspirational fantasy (although some things are on the pricey side), but practical beauty. Things that make ordinary days feel a bit more special.
Use these gift suggestions however serves you best. Bookmark something for a friend’s birthday in March. Treat yourself to that beautiful mug you’ve been eyeing when you get paid for that project. Start a wishlist for a trip you’re dreaming about, even if it’s years away. There’s absolutely no rule that says these ideas must be actioned in December.
My only real advice would be ruthlessly honest about what you can actually manage this season, both financially and emotionally. If the thought of Christmas shopping fills you with dread, that’s valuable information. Scale back. Focus on fewer people, or skip it entirely if that’s what feels right. There’s no prize for martyring yourself at the altar of festive obligation.
But if seeking out the perfect thing for someone you genuinely care about brings you joy? Then lean into that. Just do it with intention rather than panic, and perhaps outside the pressure cooker of December if you can.
Now then, shall we look at some genuinely lovely things?
Thoughtful gift guide 2025
The Slow Traveller
For those who choose the scenic route.
The gifts I’ve gathered here are for people who pack light but with intention, who believe the journey matters as much as the destination, and who find genuine romance in departure boards and platform farewells. These aren’t fussy travel gadgets that promise to “revolutionise” your experience – I’ve always been suspicious of solutions to problems I didn’t know I had. Instead, they’re thoughtful additions that make the act of travelling feel more considered, more comfortable, more yours.
Some are practical – because there’s nothing romantic about realising your carefully selected outfit is hopelessly creased when you arrive, or that your hotel room curtains have apparently never met a sunrise they didn’t want to share with you. Others are about creating small rituals: the perfect notebook for capturing observations from a café window, watercolours for sketching an afternoon plaza, a refillable scent balm that will forever remind you of that particular trip.
I love items that work just as beautifully for a solo city break as they do for couples travelling together; the stainless steel lunch box for picnics assembled from market finds, the oversized cashmere wrap that doubles as a blanket on chilly evening trains, and beautifully designed playing cards for lazy afternoons in hotel bars when it’s too hot to venture out.
1. GESTALTEN ‘Epic Train Journeys’* 2. BLACK+BLUM stainless steel lunch box 3. HAY waffle texture bath robe* 4. WOLF+BADGER big leather jewellery box* 5. CEDAR ‘Centre’ travel tin candle 6. GROWN ALCHEMIST on-the-go essentials kit* 7. RISE&FALL oversized cashmere wrap 8. MARIMEKKO Vilja Marimerkki cosmetic bag 9. ROMAN SZMAL Urban Sketchers watercolours half pan 10. ALWAYS SUNDAY Eames playing cards 11. TOPOLOGIE woven phone strap* 12. TENTH MUSE refillable scent balm 13. SCRIBBLE&. travel journal 14. THE SCHOOL OF LIFE Travel Therapy cards 15. BEDFOLK cashmere socks 16. JACKSON’S set of 4 travel brushes 17. ATTIRECARE Crease Release 18. NUDIENT Bold cabin bag 19. PICO low rise knickers 20. KINTO ‘day off’ tumbler 21. HAY ‘Outline’ cotton sleep mask* 22. STEAMERY Cirrus 3 hand steamer 23. OCTAEVO travel notebooks 24. AESOP Ginger Flight Therapy* 25. COMME DES GARÇONS classic wallet* 26. SUMMER FRIDAYS Jet Lag eye masks* 27. ÖLEND padded laptop sleeve* 28. ANTLER packing cubes*
The Intentional Homebody
For those who stay in by choice.
I’ve never been someone who needs to fill every weekend with plans. A free Saturday with nothing scheduled except maybe a wander to a nice café, then home to potter about? That’s genuinely exciting to me in a way that packed social calendars never have been. I know this isn’t everyone’s idea of living well – there’s always been this underlying suggestion that staying in means missing out – but I’ve never experienced it that way. If anything, I think I’m protecting something quite precious: the ability to genuinely enjoy my own company, in my own space.
We rent, which comes with its own limitations—you can’t knock through walls or repaint everything on a whim—but I’ve discovered there’s a particular kind of creativity required in making a rented house feel like yours. Small updates with big impact, like a beautiful throw draped over the sofa, handmade ceramics that make your morning coffee feel like a ritual rather than refuelling, and proper linen that transforms your bedroom into somewhere you actually want to spend time.
These gifts are for people who’ve made an art form of staying in, who see their homes as ongoing projects rather than finished products, and who understand that “homebody” isn’t code for “boring” – it’s a deliberate choice about where you want to invest your energy and resources.
I’m always drawn to items that sit at the intersection of beautiful and functional: the kind of things you use daily but also genuinely enjoy looking at. Wooden salad servers that live on your kitchen counter because they’re too lovely to hide in a drawer. A portable lamp you can move from room to room depending on where you’re settling for the evening. Coffee table books about design that actually get opened and referenced, not just displayed for guests who never visit. And yes, this extends to items for pets too – because if you’re sharing your carefully curated space with a dog, why shouldn’t their bowl be as considered as your crockery?
1. RYLAND PETERS SMALL ‘Bring the Outside In’* by Abi Dare 2. &TRADITION Flowerpot portable lamp* 3. ATT PYNTA carved wood salad servers 4. ARTISTS&OBJECTS ‘With you, under candlelight’ woodcut print 5. ELVANG Basket throw 6. DAMSON MADDER Harlequin oven glove 7. HAY Barro butter dish 8. OUR CURATED ABODE salt & pepper grinder 9. ARCTIC FOX & CO. cosy socks 10. MAEGEN Cafetière embroidered napkins 11. BRUTES Asa mug 12. MARIMEKKO Pieni Unikko tea towels 13. CRAIGHILL match holder 14. SERVICE PROJECTS ice cream cup 15. DIPTYQUE multi-service cleaner* 16. NEW WORKS Pleat pitcher 17. GUNIA PROJECT Promin soy candle 18. AVOLT power extension lead 19. GESTALTEN ‘Designed to Stay’ The Design Hotels™ Book 20. HKLIVING set of 3 cheese knives 21. RISE&FALL velvet quilt 22. KEYNVOR coffee & croissant candle set 23. COLOURS OF ARLEY pet steps 24. HAY dog bowl
The Ritual Keeper
For those who resist the rush
I’ve never been naturally good at slowing down. My default setting has always been to fill every moment with productivity, to feel vaguely guilty about time spent doing “nothing.” But over the past few years—partly through necessity, partly through deliberate practice—I’ve come to understand that rituals aren’t indulgent, they’re essential. The difference between merely existing and actually living often comes down to these small, repeated moments of attention.
Morning coffee made properly in a French press and sipped whilst doing the Wordle—I’m not quite patient enough for the crossword yet!—rather than gulped while checking emails. An evening bath with decent salts, not just a functional shower. Actually settling down in an armchair to read rather than scrolling through your phone in bed. These aren’t grand gestures, but they do require a kind of gentle resistance against the constant pressure to be doing something productive.
The gifts here are for people who’ve made peace with moving at their own pace, who choose the tangible over the digital whenever possible, and who understand that investing in the infrastructure of daily life—the good pyjamas, the proper pen, the beautiful mug that makes your morning coffee taste better somehow—isn’t frivolous, it’s sustaining.
Right now I’m especially drawn to items that encourage you to be fully present for whatever you’re doing, like the jigsaw puzzle that requires patience and attention, and the fountain pen that slows your writing down in a way that somehow makes your thoughts clearer. These are deliberate counterweights to the speed and superficiality that dominates so much of modern life.
Because the small, repeated moments? They’re often the ones that matter most.
1. TOAST Forte stripe flannel pyjamas 2. TEN PM The Night Drink 3. KURATAKE Japanese watercolour large pan 4. ELLIOT’S Weekend Recipes cookbook 5. REOME Skin Ceremony kit* 6. THE CONRAN SHOP Hemisphere match box 7. MAISON LOUIS MARIE No. 04 Bois de Balincourt body oil 8. ANNA+NINA ‘Offline’ mug 9. KAWECO Honey fountain pen 10. NISHIGUCHI KUTSUSHITA wool jacquard socks 11. EDE ‘Press Pause’ roll-on therapist 12. POLLEN Croissant Butter 13. KARST Joy planner 14. PPP LAB hand-pinched stoneware incense holder 15. HOMEWORK ‘Wood’ bath salts 16. LONDON NOOTROPICS adaptogen coffee gift box 17. TOAST sheepskin hot water bottle cover 18. ABE JAPAN canvas home shoes 19. PAPIER ‘Lobster’ 1000 piece jigsaw 20. SCHOOL OF LIFE Arts & Ideas collection 21. MICHI Kyoto Hoijicha tea* 22. THE CONRAN SHOP Milos chess set*
Lead image © Ferm Living