It’s that time of year again when we wrack our brains and try to come up with the perfect festive gifts for our friends, family and colleagues.
As our hearts reside firmly within our stomachs, our natural inclination is to veer towards food and drink, however this year, as well as oodles of delicious offerings to satisfy the gourmands amongst us, we’ve also included a few other beauties that we’re sure will bring joy to our readers and their loved ones.
Dishoom: “From Bombay with Love” Cookbook
Dishoom is one of those restaurants that deserves its cult following and queues out the door. The small group of handsomely designed venues pays homage to the open-to-all, Irani cafés that were once part of the fabric of life in Mumbai, India. Now, the team behind it has released its very first cookbook, giving lovers of the eatery the chance to recreate their favourite dishes in the comfort of their own homes.
Part cookery book, part travel guide, Dishoom: “From Bombay with Love” is a poetic chronicling of a love affair with a cuisine, city and culture. Featuring over 100 recipes from Parsi, Muslim, Hindu and Christian traditions, happily coexisting amongst pages rife with personal accounts, old photographs and travel tips, this preciously bound book is a fantastic culinary account of the hodgepodge nature of Mumbai and the importance of shared spaces.
From breakfast Bacon Naaon Rolls and sweet Masala Chai tea, to the famous slow-cooked House Black Daal, fragrant Jackfruit Biryani, and decadent cocktails, there is truly something for everyone.
Read our full review here.
Price – £16.00 (Hardback). Buy it here.
The Whisky Exchange Personalised Single-Cask Whiskies
Is there someone in your life who’s mad about whisky? If so, we have the perfect gift for them. Globally renowned drinks specialist, The Whisky Exchange, has announced the launch of its personalised labelling service on hand-picked, single-cask whiskies, just in time for Christmas!
Choose between nine, limited edition single-cask Scotch whiskies, before adding your own beautifully designed label inscribed with a personal message. Each bottle also comes with all the information you will need to know about the liquid inside (age, region, ABV, and bottle number).
Whether it’s a fresh and smoky 10-Year-Old Islay Single Malt with flashes of sea spray and barbecued apples, or a 25-Year-Old Lowland Single Grain Scotch with a toffee centre, oaky background and spiced fruit compote topping, you’re sure to find something to please even the most specific of tastes.
Read our full review and tasting notes here.
Price – starting from £69.95 for a rare bottle of single-cask Scotch. Buy from the range here.
Chilly’s Reusable Bottle
We, like many others, are on an Eco-trip, looking to cut down on our single-use plastic wherever possible and do our bit for the planet. Whilst it may seem like a tiny, trivial thing to do, switching to a reusable water bottle could save up to 1,406 plastic bottles per year per person. That’s a lot!
So this year, why not give the sleek, functional and environmentally friendly gift of a Chilly’s Bottle. The Chilly’s Bottle is a revolutionary, reusable bottle that can keep drinks ice cold for up to 24-hours and hot for up to 12-hours. Stylish, light and easy to clean, it’s fast becoming one of the most used reusable bottles out there, paving the way for less plastic usage and a reduced carbon footprint.
Bottles are super lightweight, come in three sizes and a whole host of gorgeous, classic and quirky designs.
Read our full review here.
Price – starting from £15.00. Buy it here.
Chocolate Trading Company Superior Selection Chocolate Large Gift Hamper
What’s Christmas without chocolate? A bit disappointing if you ask us. There is a lot of run-of-the-mill chocolate out there that we’d happily do without, however when it’s the good stuff, we’re all for getting our munch on.
Chocolate Trading Company is one of the company’s we trust to deliver nothing but the best. Specialising in fine, organic, and Fairtrade chocolates from around the world, offered at surprisingly reasonable prices, its Hampers and Gift Boxes are a dream.
Amongst our favourite is its Superior Selection Chocolate Large Gift Hamper, comprising a generous selection of milk and dark chocolates of the highest and purest quality, that are sure to make any chocoholic’s day. Some of the highlights of the Hamper include an Assorted Chocolate Box; Salted Butter Caramels robed in creamy milk chocolate; Single Origin Madagascar Noir 64% and Afrique 85% bars; Chocolate Coated Candied Orange Batons; and Drinking Chocolate Flakes.
Read our full review of Chocolate Trading Company here.
Price – get the Superior Selection Chocolate Large Gift Hamper for £59.95 here.
Laithwaite’s Wine Luxury Dozen Gift Box
A bottle of wine is a great gift as it’s always going to be enjoyed. However, during the festive season, as family and friends gather together with nothing better to do than eat, drink and chat, one bottle is simply not enough.
That’s why we simply can’t recommend the Laithwaite’s Wine Luxury Dozen Gift Box enough. Presented in a handsome wooden box, the 12, hand-selected bottles feature an array of award-winning reds and whites of varying vintages, origins and bodies, as well as a ruby port, sweet Sauterne and a double Gold winning Champagne from Didier Chopin.
Laithwaite’s Wine is the UK’s number one online destination for buying wine. With over 50-years worth of experience championing a network of 450 talented winemakers making “real wines” in small volumes, it’s definitely a company to be trusted with wine recommendations. The Luxury Dozen Gift Box is the perfect gift to be delivered in time for Christmas (especially if you’re sending it to where you plan to end up) and there will certainly be someone for everyone’s tastes.
Find out more about Laithwaite’s and what’s in the Luxury Dozen Gift Box here.
Price – You can purchase the Laithwaite’s Wine Luxury Dozen Gift Box for £180.00 here.
Waterford Crystal Love Flutes Forever (Set of 2)
There is a Celtic belief that the soul shines all around the body like a luminous cloud. When you are open, appreciative and trusting with another person, your two souls flow together. This deeply felt bond with another person means you have found your anam cara (“Soul Friend”) who always beholds your light and beauty, and accepts you for who you truly are.
Waterford Crystal – celebrated around the world for its excellence in crystal craft – has fashioned its Forever flutes set for such loving souls. Featuring a stylised representation of the eternal flame of love, this harmonious pair of crystal Champagne glasses is a heartfelt gift with a reassurance of quality.
If you’re looking for a classic, elegant present for a partner, pair of newly-weds, lifelong friend, or a couple who have dedicated their lives to one another, this is one that can be treasured and cherished always.
Read about Waterford Crystal and some of our other favourite contemporary and traditional products here.
Price – a set of two Love Flutes Forever can be purchased for £120.00 here.
Master of Malt’s Christmas Gin Tasting Set
“Gin-gle Bells, Gin-gle Bells, Gin-gle all the way!”
Yes, we know we’re being tacky but it’s Christmas! The time for good cheer, great food, and fantastic drinks!
If you’re into gin, we’ve got a real treat for you in the form of Master of Malt’s The Christmas Gin Tasting Set. These wonderful booze nerds have put together a selection of five festive gins from top producers hailing from far-flung New Zealand to the ever-so-slightly less exotic Yorkshire.
The set contains five different, premium gins in 30ml wax-sealed glass bottles along with tasting cards (with one side left blank for your own notes). The sample sizes give the recipient a sneak-peak into each gin without them having to fork out for whole bottles of each – a great way to discover a new favourite G&T!
A real highlights includes That Boutique-y Gin Company’s Yuletide Gin, brimming with gingerbread house spices and gifts of gold (just pick the bottle up and give it a shake à la snow-globe), frankincense and myrrh.
Read our full review and tasting notes here.
Price – £24.95. Buy it here.
Jack’s Flight Club
The ideal gift for anyone with the Travel Bug. Whether their preference is jet-setting off for a short break in a new city or finally ticking a long-haul dream trip off the Bucket List, Jack’s Flight Club is bound to be a favourite new travel companion.
Essentially, it’s an online club that lets members know when flights are going cheap through a complex flight matrix system and good old-school Googling techniques. It’s not some simple comparison site that will knock off a few quid here and there; Jack and his team of professional travel hackers save flyers millions of pounds per year, with members receive daily emails containing a mixture of hidden offers and discounts, sales and error fares.
Recent beauties have included peak summer flights from London Gatwick to Honolulu, Hawaii for £613 (usually £1,500); direct return tickets to Caribbean dream, St Lucia, for £363 (usually £600-750); and business class returns to Bali for £1,274 (usually £2,600).
For those looking for shorter trips closer to home, Jack’s European Weekend Trips Edition newsletters contain the best value, most convenient weekend trip bargains to destinations like Porto, Paris, Zurich, Budapest, Malaga, Rome, Barcelona, Dublin and Amsterdam.
Read more about Jack’s Flight Club in our full review here.
Price – Jack’s Flight Club is free to join, with Premium Membership costing a mere £39 per year and including huge savings, extra discounts, more frequent deals and much more. Find out more about both memberships here.
Flowercard
Want to send something that’s a bit more than a card? Flowercard is a great little option.
Quite simply, a Flowercard is an artist designed card that opens up to reveal a fresh, hand-picked and beautifully arrangement bouquet of flowers. The flowers themselves are all freshly cut and arranged by Britain’s most discerning florists. Foliage and greenery like succulents and ferns are placed alongside well-loved lisianthus, roses, hypericum, antique carnations, arabicum, craspedia and brunia, to name a few (don’t worry if “roses” were the only ones of those you recognised – we’re in the same boat, but gosh darn they’re all super pretty).
All cards are then printed with your own personalised message, before the fresh flowers and added and the thoughtful gift sent on its way. There are a whole host of different types of Flowercard options to choose from. Classic Greeting Cards with bouquet windows and L-shaped cut-outs are a definitely best-seller, however the newer Lantern Cards, Flower Churns, Flower Baskets, Terrariums, Teacup Bouquets and Cards in Tins, are all twee and adorable additions.
Read more about Flowercard in our full review here.
Price – Flowercard starts from £14.00. Browse the range here.