Looking for a home gift for a loved one this Christmas? Here are our suggestions for stocking stuffers, self-indulgers and secret Santas, with prices ranging from affordable to the sky’s the limit.
Secret Santa and stocking stuffers
Optimists are easy to buy for. Pessimists, on the other hand, are more trouble. Give the one in your life the gift of shelter from the rain with a stylish umbrella, one that will look good even when not in use in the hall. Bottom Drawer at Brown Thomas stocks Italian brand Pasotti, whose bases include a flamingo and greyhound, €415, with prices starting from €135.
The bookworm in your life will probably get lots of great reads so why not help him show off his collection with industrial bookends, €75, from Kopper Kreation.
While neither will fit into your typical-sized stocking, this stylish Captain America shield-shaped cushion from Penneys, €14, is perfect for the superhero in your life, and JYSK’s star-shaped Saga forms, €6 each, in soft velour, are a very minimal way to mark the season.
Gamesmanship
Gaming fans will love Logitech’s Driving Force G29 PlayStation and PC racing wheel and pedal, which costs €259 from Currys. But the holidays are the one time many of us want to switch off, and that includes powering down the digital realm in favour of something far more analogue – such as an old-fashioned game of cards. But if you’d prefer something more cerebral then up your game and invest in one of these statement acrylic chess sets, €625, or backgammon sets, from €415, by Jonathan Adler, available from Suzie McAdam, which also sells a selection of trinket trays, €91, and Christmas plates, starting from €36, by the same American lifestyle guru.
Tabletop
This Alanna Plekkenpol tile, €44.50, can be used as a trivet to place under a teapot or a casserole dish, and comes with a stand which allows you to display it when not in use; or it can be wall-mounted as a framed mini artwork, €65.
Caffeine fans will covet this coffee pot, €82.50 for 60ml and pair of espresso mugs, €41.50, by Finland-based Irish designer Brian Keaney for Tonfisk and available through Dublin-based Designist.
Everything seems better with the world when you use napkins. In a world of TV dinners they’re one of the last vestiges of refinement. These striped 100 per cent Irish linen designs by Gillian Leavy for Liquorice Interiors come with a luxurious velvety ribbon trim and cost €85 for a set of four. Irish Linen House and Jennifer Slattery textiles both sell a selection of cool, contemporary table runners.
Practical presents
While the idea of a practical gift will bring some of us out in hives, there are exceptions. An art towel, featuring Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss, €24.95 for a pair of hand-sized from Meadows & Byrne, is one, while Coolree Design’s semi-circular and rectangular timber soap dishes, €15 each at The Irish Design shop, is another.
Great lighting is always hard to come by, especially affordable options. Oriana B’s LED neon box lights, €130, will add a late-night feel to any room, while the Maison Jensen-inspired palm floor light, which stands 186cm high, will give you shadowplay.
A bunch of flowers, styled to perfection in a suitable vase, or a plant in a plant pot are lovely gifts to receive. April and the Bear sells terracotta vases from €36 that will long outlive the flowers’ bloom.
Say cheers to gorgeous glasses and champagne flutes, such as this set of six by Pols Potten, €136, from Julianne Kelly Interiors. While glamorous-looking, a cocktail kit is often far from practical and will probably be relegated to a drawer or cupboard where it gathers dust. A hard-working option, one used by the trade, by Barcraft, costs €39.95 from Stock Design while a colourful glass jug and stirrer costs €35 from Oliver Bonas and will do double duty as a water carafe.
Self-gifts
If you like your coffee just so then a stylish self-gift is the De’Longhi Piccolo, a curvaceous countertop coffee maker, €89.99 from Currys, that comes in black, white or festive red.
So Fine Art Editions has a lovely range of applied arts by up-and-coming artists including Anne Butler’s porcelain tilt vessels, €180 each; Alison Kay’s fired clay forms, from €570; and Aoife Soden’s braided glass work, which come in a pill form, €95, and a tall vase, €170, in a deep Christmas tree green. Visits to the Solomon and other galleries will also elicit unusual discoveries.
Host/hostess
If you’ve been invited to dinner or for drinks, don’t come empty-handed. The gift of candles draws light to the table so include some with whatever bottle you’re bringing. These glass Anna & Nina candlesticks range in size from 11cm to 29cm and in price from €4.95 to €34.95 at Avoca and will look lovely with matching or contrasting dinner tapers.
The newly appointed gallery shop at Russborough House is a treasure trove of affordable gifts including this glass jar candle holder, €30, which doubles as a candlestick and includes 15 short dinner candles. It is curated by creative director Amanda Pratt, one of those responsible for Avoca’s huge success. For a funky take on the fragranced kind, try this tomato and basil scented candle by Ligne Blanche, €50, which comes in a porcelain pot, based on Andy Warhol’s 1962 collection entitled Campbell’s Soup Can, from the Marvel Room at Brown Thomas.
Any gift of candles will look extra smart if you team with long-stemmed matches. The Old Mill Stores sells a range with prices from €9 and €16.
If you’re staying overnight then consider bringing something for breakfast – some fresh hen or duck eggs, for example, as well as egg cups by George Moor Design. The timber creations, €10 per pair, also double as napkin rings, so are all-round useful. You could also bring some fresh bread and artisan butter complete with beautiful beech butter knives, €22.99 for a set of two, by woodturner Eoghan Leadbetter. They also pair well with soft cheeses.
The sky’s the limit
If you’ve just won the lotto and are in the market for a design classic that has been reimagined, then take another look at Roche Bobois’s Mah Jong, which comprises its mattress-style cushions set on a raised rosewood dias, giving it a completely different silhouette. The seat cushions in Missoni fabric start from €1,250, and prices for the sofas start from €31,000 including the frame. A blue Balle vase costs €180 while a pink style costs €210. Also Missoni scatter cushions cost from €120 while a rug is €4,590. The rosewood cocktail table costs €2,670.
If you want to binge-watch the latest season of your favourite show in hyper-real definition, then Samsung’s range of 8k smart televisions might bring a smile to your face. But if you want to watch a show and don’t want to lose a wall of your home to a big black screen then consider Samsung’s The Premiere. It’s a 4K smart laser, ultra-short throw projector, which will melt into the background when not in use. It is both intuitive and unobtrusive and comes in two sizes: €4,699 for the 120-inch and €8,199 for the 130-inch.
Vinyl heads will love Concept, by specialist German turntable manufacturer Clearaudio, which is priced from €1,390. A letter to Santa outlining how good you’ve been might be the approach to take if looking for the exquisite-sounding sister model, the Innovation turntable, which costs €12,500 at Cloney Audio.
Brownthomas.com; kopperkreation.com; primark.com; jysk.ie; currys.ie; suziemcadam.com; alannaplekkenpol.com; designist.ie; liquorice.ie; irishlinenhouse.com; jenniferslattery.com;meadowsandbyrne.com; irishdesignshop.com; orianab.com; aprilandthebear.com; juliannekellyinteriors.ie; stockdesignonline.com; oliverbonas.com; sofinearteditions.com; solomonfineart.ie; avoca.com; russborough.ie;theoldmillstores.ie; georgemoordesign.com; eoghanleadbetter.com; roche-bobois.com; samsung.com; cloneyaudio.com; designisland.ie; giftedfair.ie
