Not another gift guide…!
I wasn’t going to write up a present guide this year - they’re all over the internet, who needs one more? - but when I mentioned offhand to a friend this week that I’d completely finished my Christmas shopping, their reaction told me I should probably share my formula.
Because that’s what I use to keep my Christmas shopping as stress-free as possible: a formula.
Everyone gets three things: a book, fun socks, and chocolate/sweets. (I should add in the disclaimer here that ‘everyone’ is about four people - I have a pretty small family and my friends and I don’t do Christmas presents between ourselves). I first got the idea for this formula from the lovely Ruth Crilly, who has been sharing her book & chocolate pairings for a few years on her own website - but I’ve been adding in socks for a while too. When you’re cold and getting dressed while it’s still dark outside, it’s really lovely to put on socks that have been given to you by someone who loves you. Even if you’re physically alone, it’s like they’re helping keep you warm.
Once you have the formula established, it then just becomes a question of which book, socks, and sweet treat to choose for each person. I thought I’d share a few of my recommendations in each category.
Books
As the year goes on, when I see a book (either a review or through reading it myself) that I think would be especially good for someone on my shopping list, I make a note of it on my phone. Here are some examples:
A beautiful or vintage edition of a childhood favourite - best found in a charity shop.
Something from an author they won’t have heard from in a genre they love - my mum reads a lot of crime books so I’ve got her the first Veronica Speedwell (ad - affiliate link) book by Deanna Raybourn this year.
A fun cookbook to bring some joy to January and February - Prue Leith’s Bliss on Toast (ad - affiliate link) is extremely giftable.
Socks
Again, there are a few different routes to choose between here:
For fun patterns on comfortable, ethically produced socks, go straight to Thought Clothing. I’m wearing a pair of their socks right now and they are a staple in my sock drawer.
If there’s a charity that means something to one of your recipients, there might be a charity tie-in pair of socks. My dad sails, so I’ve bought him socks from the RNLI collection at Finisterre.
I know I hate spending money on gym socks - but good sports socks (and especially specialist socks like running socks) can be expensive. They’re a great thing to pop in with a Christmas present, especially if you have a sibling in marathon training and going through socks like they’re going out of fashion.
Sweet treats
This is the time to get something a little bit special:
A truly absurd quantity of a favourite mass-produced item. 10 Wispas. A catering-size tub of Haribo Starmix. A family-size bag of Percy Pigs.
A favourite thing that’s hard to find. Parma Violets, Starbars, Cherry Drops. Whatever will make your recipient open the parcel and say “ooh I love these, I haven’t seen one for ages!”
A bar of chocolate that’s that bit more pricey than the person would buy for themself. Tony’s Chocolonely, Coco Chocolatiers, or H!P Chocolate are great options here. (All those links go to Paper Tiger, my favourite source of fancy chocolate and lovely cards, and a wonderful Edinburgh independent business).
The extra bonus with these presents: they’re very easy to wrap! This year I’m trying out Furoshiki scarves to wrap the presents - it’s been a pricey investment but hopefully I’ll not need to buy Christmas wrapping paper again.
Something good…
I had last week off from work and it felt just like being on half term break from school. If, like, me, you find winter quite tricky, I can wholeheartedly recommend taking as much of your annual leave as possible between September and March, rather than in the summer!
This Thursday, I took - and passed! - an exam for work. It was all about ‘ESG’ investing - thinking about environmental, social, and corporate governance aspects of investment. Getting enrolled was a saga, so I’m very happy to have it over with.
Have a lovely week,
Lily