Custom velvet slippers
With added Spitfires.
Personalised BBQ wicker-basket tool set
Never again will your loved one have to deal with the shame of owning a non-personalised wicker basket BBQ tool set.
from £54 via The Colourful Garden Company
Elie Bleu Casa Cubana stainless steel cigar cutter
Mind those fingers!
Navy Regency velvet Nehru jacket
The jacket is £1,450. The confidence required to pull it off is priceless.
Four-ply cashmere shawl cardigan in hunting green
What your man will desperately want to change in to when he gets home and takes off that Nehru jacket.
Engravable pointer instrument
For the avoidance of doubt, this is actually a mouse for your computer. Just a very posh one.
Edwardian collection: Mach III
Not sure how authentically Edwardian a multi-blade safety razor can ever be, but it's a nice colour for sure.
Whiskey smoker
A surefire winner for the strangest present of Christmas is this mini-blow torch that comes with wood chips and a stand and a sort of thing to put on top of your glass to make your whisky taste smokier. We like it without even knowing why.
£30 from Connoisseur Creations
Electric C line foldable bike
Brompton made better.
Barisieur tea & coffee alarm clock
We've re-used this on our gifts page for years now, and still nobody has taken the hint.
Cigar case
Because merely keeping them in their little metal tubes wouldn't be right.
Lambswool Argyle vest
Somewhere at Pringle is a genius who has resurrected the jumper designs that we laughed at in the 1980s, donated to charity shops in the 1990s, and are now buying back in the 2020s. For six hundred quid.
Cartridge salt and pepper grinders
For when you want dinner to go off with a bang.
La Pavoni esperto edotto lever coffee machine
Imagine a coffee machine. Now, scratch that image from your mind and imagine a coffee machine invented by Jules Verne.
£1, 649.95, Smeg — shop.smeguk.com
Kovered waxed holdall
The sort of luggage you'd imagine Indiana Jones lobbing into the hold of an airship, this gorgeously made bag perfectly straddles that tricky line of making an effort without making too much of an effort.
Christmas gifts for ladies to inspire, delight and entertain
From £50 to £1,280, we've selected some lovely items to help you find the perfect present.
Christmas gifts for nature and garden lovers
Christmas gifts for children that don't need screens or take batteries
Don't just pick up the latest plastic toys with lights and noises – take a look at these gifts which kids
Christmas drinks gift guide: Best gin, best whisky, beer and more for the festive season
Whether you're keen to pour your own draft beer, drink Cotswolds whisky or enjoy a raft of different gins, we've
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From the Country Life archive: The 19th century answer to SwingballEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
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Hope from the ashes: A new generation of ash trees is evolving to make them more resistant to diebackWhen ash dieback first arrived in Britain, in 2012, an emergency COBRA meeting was formed. The disease has since spread rampantly across the countryside, but there is still hope.
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Christmas gift ideas for childrenFrom adorable booties and cardigans to toys that will keep tiny tots entertained for hours.
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Seven perfect Christmas gifts for people who just love beautiful, functional thingsWilliam Morris famously said to have nothing in your house that you don't know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. These things do their best to hit both targets.
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Christmas gift ideas for ladiesFrom mothers and sisters to wives and girlfriends, these gifts are sure to bring a smile to the face of the special lady in your life.
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The five most beautiful Advent Calendars of ChristmasThe best Advent calendars of 2024, as chosen by Flora Watkins.
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Father's Day gifts: What to buy that extra-special dadSunday June 15, 2025 is Father's Day: the occasion to honour the father figure who taught you how to cast a fly, decant a bottle of red, carve a joint of beef, or reverse park a Land Rover with one hand.
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When England cancelled ChristmasNo feasting. No drinking. No celebrations. Ian Morton explores what the festive period was like when Oliver Cromwell’s Christmas clampdown gripped the nation.
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11 ways to do Christmas in right royal style, by A-list party planner Johnny RoxburghJohnny Roxburgh, one of Britain's top party planners, shares his tips on the best things to have at your own seasonal celebrations.
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The Utterly Inessential Wimbledon Shopping ListWe've rounded up all the utterly inessential products — posh tennis gear, in other words — that you absolutely do not need to enjoy Wimbledon, but would probably fancy having anyway.
