Wondering what to get for all the beloved people in your life, whether they are quirky, picky, extravagant, eccentric or practical?
This season, we have gone above and beyond in our quest to find presents for every person on your list.
We’ve put together an invaluable list of gifts to suit a wide range of personalities, price points, and stations in life. For more gift ideas we have updated our favourite-ever gift guides, featuring the most giftable, truly worth-it, in-stock items from our archive that will arrive on time which you can read here. No matter who you’re shopping for this year.
We firmly believe that there is a gift for everyone—even those who are hard to please.
So we’ve gathered a collection of things that span the tough-to-shop-for gamut and those who have everything —the pretty, the useful, the clever, and the luxurious, including elegant lab-grown sustainable diamonds, wooden bikes for the kids, and the perfect salad servers. The most appreciated gifts aren’t always the newest or flashiest ones. It’s not the price tag that counts.
More often, they are useful, indispensable gems that recipients can enjoy year in and year out – something like beautiful ‘flower bricks’ handmade in Australia based on original Georgian vase designs with hand glazes, that will make arranging flowers easy. Fragrances that smell good enough to drink, and bargain tea towels for less than $10 that look like something you picked up in Paris.
Really top-tier gifts are those that are totally unexpected and personal. Like extravagant pieces worthy of a pedestal such as a bust or a Bottega Veneta bag. Image via wsj.com
Few gifts are more thoughtful than items with eternal appeal, and of such high quality, that some might become heirlooms—used and loved by both your giftees and subsequent generations. Cue, unique handblocked cotton quilts, artworks, or antique terracotta pots.
Or consider getting a loved one, a set of books that have inspired you, throughout your life. It will make both a present, which is largely a physical thing, and a gift, which is more a spiritual gesture. Gift giving can be an art, a challenge to be met, an invitation to charm someone with the penetraitng insight into who they really are.
Plenty of expensive things make unsatisfying fits. But really top-tier gifts are those that are totally unexpected and personal.
And if your loved ones are truly shunners of stuff, there are always edible gifts like the cakes which professional chefs buy for themselves. The cost of unique, thoughtful gifts can add up alarmingly fast. But we’ve spent year after year on gift research, plus some good old-fashioned retail hunting, to find these gems for the 2024 Christmas Gift Guide.
Remember, to give great gifts, you need to cultivate the ability to step outside yourself and really notice people’s passions, preferences, and personalities.
Adore Beauty
Amid the thousands of beauty items on the market, some stellar standouts, here. Think makeup that blurs the line between luxury and low cost; simple, efficacious skin care, perfectly packaged soaps, and skincare that delivers gorgeous results. Glow-enhancing cheek, lip and eye sets, ultra-covetable, skin-transforming sets, bath soaks, bubbles, hand washes, hair-tie sets, and Sea Salt scrubs. cleansers. Adorebeauty.com
Accoutrement, Mosman
The Sydney institution is brimming with up-to-the-minute gifts for those pals who love to cook, entertain, and have guests to stay. Handmade italian Le Pigne large pink bowls, and Olive head vases, $299 each. Also, cheery kitchen twine in red stripe, $19.95, recycled cotton hand towels, $29.95. Thermowood bath body brush, $140, all kinds of aprons, bar kit, gadgets, coasters, bakeware, cookware, cutlery, glassware, dinnerware, table linen, vases, gardening tools, and lots more. Accoutrement.com
Alfresco Emporium
Impressive clam shells in all sizes from $39.95 to $499, tortoiseshell trays, palm $19.95-$39.95, palm dinnerware, from $14.95, palm print pure cotton tablecloths, $89.95, frangipani soap sets of four, $24.95, Hoop marble and bronze polished resin sculpture,$129.95. Also leather woven ice buckets, artisanal Chinese jars in blue and white tones, with hand-painted details in a decorative bird and peony design, Dynasty Phoenix Jar 14cm, $59.95, and Le Palm cushion covers, $39.95. AlfrescoEmporium.com
The Bay Tree
Just about everything – kids stuff, homewares, cooking kit, tableware and stationery gems – for the housekeeping goddess. A consistent winner with a mix of beautiful basics no home can function without. Expect high quality classic pieces as well as their inexpensive equivalents, from the perfect chef’s knife to colanders, frying pans, lovely salt cellars, casserole dishes, pretty tablecloths and more.
It also stocks the best ‘flower bricks’ handmade in Australia from original Georgian 18th-century designs for arranging just a few flowers, or leaves.
Hand knitted teapot cosies, and of course, teapots that pour beautifully. New and vintage green Majolica pottery, pure wool placemats and trivets. Vintage jugs, noodle bowls, share plates, teapots that pour beautifully, in classic shapes, big breakfast cups and saucers, great pairs of household scissors and dishwasher-safe Parisian-style glass cake stands and salt cellars. Thebaytree.com.au
Tine K Christmas Home 2024
Bird in the Hand
A decent bottle of booze is always an excellent gift, but around the holidays, it’s an especially festive offering. A well-chosen bottle can bring good cheer or take the edge off after an awkward dinner-table debate. And whether you opt for a big-ticket splurge or a thoughtful token, a little something for the bar always has a nice, indulgent feel to it. Bird in Hand Pinot Grigio, $35 makes a great gift. Birdinhand.com.au
Bond Street
Treat yourself or someone you love to luxury PJs—after all, a well-made pair can be downright restorative. And make you feel like a million dollars. Improve your next pajama day with the superior comfort, quality, and beauty, of Birds of Paradise Short Pyjama Set. $560. Or check, Bond’s collaboration with Anna Spiro-designed boutique hotel, Halcyon House – a flora print, Paper Daisy Pyjama Set, $720. And days. Bond-street.com.au
Ideal for Summer nights. And days.
Casa Catinella
Among the best baskets around. Sturdy, chic handwoven designs made for longevity by skilled weavers in Northern Ghana. Using sustainably sourced materials – means you’re supporting a brand committed to ethical processes.Our pick is the large basket with black handle, $290. Casacatinella.com
CHRISTMAS BARGAIN HUNTING WITH ISABELLA
For four days only, it’s a bargain hunter’s paradise at Isabella Walker-Smith’s bumper Christmas Collection online now at Lawsons, which has stacks of table lamps in the style of Christian Liaigre, Kelly Wearstler, Ralph Lauren and Aerin, from $80. There are quality travertine lamps, $280 a pair. There is assorted antique furniture, ex-Martyn Cook and The Country Trader from delightful French side tables, commodes, chunky timber chairs, striking gilt mirrors, farmhouse tables, and wrought iron garden furniture for a lot less than usual. Even if you don’t need anything this collection will help train your eye to recognise good decorating. Merry Christmas! SHOP HERE.
There are not-seen-everywhere ideas too, like affordable wicker lamps with bamboo bases to elegant lab-grown sustainable diamonds.
Christofle
Ideal Christmas present territory for all ages, starting with Charlie Bear silver-plated baby spoon, $290, stainless steel Insulated Ice Bucket, $720, alcohol Jiggers, $150, silver plated salt and pepper sets, 84-piece storage chest for cutlery, $890, silver plated cocktail shakers, crystal set of four Vodka glasses, $480, stainless steel ice tongs, ice buckets, decanters, photo frames, candlesticks, and much more. Bakhacheluxuries.com.au
David Jones
A shop, you can’t live without at Christmas. Ideal for beautiful basics. A terrific grater, a well-designed pepper grinder, a wooden chopping board will bring a lifetime of pleasure. So will classic cookware like French Le Chasseur enamel cast iron casserole dishes (in black or white preferably). Give quality fry pans and copper base oven roasting dishes that are for keeps. A set of serving spoons by Robert Welch or Stanley Roger is always chic.
If in doubt big white serving bowls or platters are always appreciated.
Also, stainless steel and wooden salad servers, timber chopping boards, bottle openers, wooden spoons, teapots, teacups, decanters, glassware, vases and timeless linen napkins. Even a new kettle, if you notice a friend’s kettle has a bent spout. Or something to enhance meals, like a top-notch olive oil, balsamic vinegar, or classic tomato sauce. Even a good champagne. Davidjones.com
Dorsey
Glam slam. The coolest sustainably-grown lab diamond brand based in New York, that ships worldwide. Making blingier diamonds—above two or three carats—more affordable. The revolutionary ‘It girl’ pieces have surged in popularity recently. The main reasoning? Sustainability. Ladylike, feminine designs, good for work and play. Seek out Gwen lab white Sapphire silver drop earrings, $698, or Gwen Lab Emerald Gold drop earrings, $998, and Lucien white sapphire leverback gold earrings, $338. Shopdorsey.com
Lab grown diamonds are chemically identical to mined ones, but avoid the humans rights and emissions issues.
Dusty Luxe
Antique collector pals will be pleased you discovered the Paris flea market of Australian shopping which is brimming with hundreds of one-of-a-kind artisanal pieces, sourced exclusively from the Haute Savoie, Paris and Provence. Find Confit pots, still life oil paintings, vintage glassware, handpainted teapots, chandeliers, vintage wooden artist’s easels, demi john bottles, charming pitchers, 19th-century French mirrors, antique kitchen scales, old wooden chopping boards, lovely Provencal baskets, glazed oil jars, antique French bistro glasses and the most charming wall sconces, even Brutalist chairs for less than half what they sell for in Paris. Lots of time-worn woods, stone, copper, wicker, and wrought iron. A pair of hand-carved timber serving spoons from the French Alps, $70. Dustyluxe.com.au
Emporean
Seek out Navarini Rame Copper Utensils, set of five, $389, and other Italian handcrafted copper cake tins, around the $199 mark which are pretty enough to display on the wall. We love the terracotta range of Lotti Maremma Water Pitchers, $130, tajines, $180, pizza dishes, $150 and casserole pots, $230. Plus, Buon Ricordo Antique Plate Set, $385, Bitossi Goblets in Mixed Shapes – Set of 6, $250, Bitossi Bundt Cake Moulds, $60, Patrizia Italiano, The Chatterbox Tall Vase, $550 and Once Milano Heavy Linen Apron in Forest, $275. Also gorgeous finds like Alice Palmer pleated and striped lampshade updates, the Once Milano Heavy Linen Bed Cover With, Fringe – Cream, $1,200. https://www.emporean.com
Serious entertainers will appreciate anything here.
Flour and Stone
The cakes here are loved by everyone from Nigella Lawson and CWA blue-ribbon holders to teenage influencers, so you know they’ll enhance your foodie friends’ Christmas. We recommend giving anything from the wrinkled, raspberry-studded chocolate and buttermilk cakes, to panna cotta-soaked lamingtons, or the bobbly walnutted carrot cakes. Consider too, the creamy lemon drizzle cake, or the blowsy pear tatin. Flourandstone.com.au
Even professional chefs buy each other Flour & Stone cakes.
Holmon
A secret source of to-die-for Baccarat-inspired vases, made from hand-blown glass. Choose from two classic shapes, and two classic colours – white or khaki. Khaki Vase II, $400, Clear Vase I, $380. Holmonhome.com
Ikea
Great bargain gift idea for everyone with all the essential stuff for home, kids and outdoors. Go straight to the tableware section for glassware, ceramics and textiles in great colours that you can take home and customise. We have found tea towels in chic colours such as the new HÖSTAGILLE orange rosehip cotton prints or Vinterfint red stripey designs – rip them out of their packaging, wash, iron and fold in quarters and will look like something you picked up in New York or Paris. Also, cotton knit-style throw rugs, candlesticks, unusual planters, water hyacinth placemats, teacups, and salad servers. There’s HUMLEMOTT off-white, cotton knit-style throws, $29, Vintersaga heart-shaped Ginger thin biscuits, 500g, $15, new Nodmast LED portable battery operated lamps, for bedside or desk, $25, Advent calendars in jute, canvas and cotton with 24 loops to customise gifts for the recipient, $12, Vinterfint Christmas tree mats in jute and canvas, $20, and sweet bamboo baskets with lids, $19. Ikea.com
Jo Malone London
To-die for candles and scents for bath, body and house. Indulge your pal’s senses with British luxuries in the best packaging on Earth as well as seasonal limited editions, such as this year’s Fir & Artemisia Cologne, 100ml, $269 or Isabella’s longtime signature scent, Grapefruit cologne 100ml, $256. And you can personalise a bottle of scent with your loved one’s initials engraved for the most beautiful custom gift. Then there’s its annual Chrsitmas Avent calendar, with 24 days of razzle dazzle scented surprises. Jomalone.com.au
Libertine Perfumerie
A sought-out spot for picking up finely milled soaps, cult-worthy scented-candle collections, exquisite scents, hard-to-find incense and more. The kind of interesting floral, woody, fresh and spicy scents to knock your friends and loved ones over. Things like Virgin Creed’s Island Water smells, well, like a piña colada. And sure enough, it contains notes of coconut, white rum and sugar cane, though, on account of the lime, bergamot and Sicilian mandarin, the overall effect is citrusy — and holiday-esque. Worth visiting, for the tricky person who has it all. Libertineparfumerie.com
In the name of simplicity, we prefer giving things that smell as though they’re made of edible ingredients.
La Casa Home
For friends who love entertaining. Handcrafted silver trays, serving spoons, blue and white dinnerware, porcelain plates in pink or pistachio with gold rims, bamboo cutlery, from $45-$600. Just in time for the festive season, comes the Balthazar collection of silver pieces handcrafted in India, including Balthazar salad servers, $65, Oyster Dish, $165, Clam Dish, $165 and large Silver Serving Tray, $450. Also, Visconti Complete Dinner Set for 6, $420. Lacasahome.com.au
Lucy Montgomery Petit Collection
For the mother and child who love gorgeous things, the Australian designer has relaunched her popular Petit children’s range. See the website to find the most charming cushions and throws, with handpainted stripes, love hearts and stars. In shades of blue, pink, ochre or terracotta. Detailed with ruffles or brush fringing. Petit Star cushion with navy brush fringe, $290, Petit pink stripe quilt with ruffle, $350. Lucymontgomery.com
Mecca
We never miss Mecca at Christmas time, for beauty gifts for all ages, as well as lots our fave candles, scrubs, balms, bubbles, creams, and potions. Also, facial mists and masks, eco-friendly bath products and healing oils that make reliable and affordable holiday gifts. When giving beauty items we suggest choosing fragrances that are subtle, lip glosses in neutral tones, and anything that promises to illuminate from within. Our personal favourites include MECCA MAX Limited Edition makeup for almost-nothing. Eyeshadow Quads for $15, triangle powder puffs, $15, Pout Pop Lipsticks, $23, Sunlit skin powder bronzer, $26, Skin Halo Bronzer, $25, Mini Mix Eyeshadow Palette, $22, Zoom Zip Liquid Eyeliner, $22, Lip Lack Balmy Stains, $28, Glaze Phase Lip Oils, $15, Off Duty Contour Sticks, $20, Life Proof Setting Spray, $20 and MECCA MAX Makeup Maximisers 5-Piece Essential Brush Set 5PC, $58. Self care queens will appreciate soothing Eye Patches by Augustinus Bader, $36, BYREDO Bal D’Afrique Hair Perfume 75ml, $115, OSEA Undaria Algae Body Oil, $86, Slip Pure Silk Queen Initial Pillowcases, $115. And, for those you really want to spoil – consider, NuFACE, Trinity Device, $563 or a pot of LA MER Rejuvenating Night Cream, from $410.00. a treat the recipient would think too indulgent to buy themselves. Mecca.com
Mercer & Lewis
Few gifts will feel more thoughtful than a handmade Greek ceramic one-off, like ‘Lkythos’, $195 or double handled Ceramic Kantharos, $365. If you really want to lash out on someone special, you won’t go wrong with a classic pair of Spanish Terracotta Oil Jars, $2,995. Mercerandlewis.com
Mocka Australia
Find wooden toy cooking equipment for boys and girls, high-quality cubby houses, teepees in khaki, natural or blue, sensory play tables, rotating bookshelves, wooden bikes, timber activity trolleys and baby play gyms. Our picks: Mini Moodle chair, $159.99, Mini Moo Sherpa Stool – set of 2, $139.99, Mini Maeve Play Table, $119.99, Theo Rotating book shelf, $199.99, Henley Teepee – Beige Gingham. $99.99, Scalloped Dollhouse Bookshelf, $169.99 and Kids Hamptons kitchen, $199.99. Mocka.com
Children’s presents are easier than you think here.
Mocka’s new Growing Kids’ Collection 2024, pictured at Melissa’s daughter Isabella’s house. Photo: Nicholas Caldwell
Nature Baby
Organic, sustainable clothing and gifts, for your little bundle of joy, in natural materials. Children’s rattan picnic baskets, old-fashioned wind-up music boxes, kid’s timber trolleys, explorer kits, natural blocks, wraps, muslins, moses baskets, and the best check linen sunhats, and darling leggings. Naturebaby.com
Net-A-Porter
For the style maven – who understands the power of great accessories. Loewe square-frame tortoiseshell acetate sunglasses, $500 in tortoiseshell brown, Paula’s Ibiza Square Pocket leather-trimmed raffia bucket bag, $905 and Loewe Beetroot small scented candle, 170g, $159 also in scents of tomato leaves, pea, honeysuckle, or liquorice. Roxanne Assoulin Heart & Soul gold-tone necklace, $261, Smythson Panama large textured-leather trinket tray, Forest green, $295, SOPHIE BILLE BRAHE Velvet jewelry box $160, BALENCIAGA, Loop gold-tone hoop earrings, $775, TOTEME Dark Chocolate, Belted croc-effect leather tote, $2080. KHAITE, Envelope Pleat large textured-leather tote, $3,789. Net-a-Porter.com
Olivia Bond Diamonds
Holiday gift ideas for the jewellry lover. Designs in gold, auspicious symbols and motifs from Bond, who has made a name for herself with her signature Puffy heart charm necklaces, $800-$3000. Go for a 9ct Yellow Gold Mini Heart Charm, $800, 18ct yellow gold mini heart charm $1500, 50cm 9ct Yellow Gold Summer Necklace, $1,750, Yellow Gold Twist Bracelet, $4,500, and Double Row Twist Ring, $1,800. Oliviabonddiamonds.com
Pigott’s Store
We always kick off Christmas shopping here. Perfect for the tricky person who has it all. There’s so much to choose from you could go mad. Start a collection that your friend a really well thought out collection of pure cotton, handprinted napkins, tablecloths, waterbottle or tissue box covers, wash bags, and fabric-coat hangers. Also, dinnerware (Piggots was the first to bring green Portuguese cabbageware to Australia 30 years ago. Also handblocked cotton print quilts, used by decorator to the White House, Mark D Skyes, like Moghul Rose, Indian Summer or Bumble designs, $445. Also, Fabric Tissue Box Covers in Indian Lily, $60, Mini rattan trays with handles, $70, Blue and white floral china dog bowls, $44, Bamboo Dinner Melamine Plate, sets of four, $160, Tiger-shaped ceramic tape Dispenser, $228, Dragon Fly Side Dish, $130. Gift wrapping is complementary. Pigottsstore.com.au
Pottery Barn
Gold Rope photo frames, $39, Burlwood jewellery boxes, $149, Jacquard Cotton Throw Blanket, $179, Blue Vega Ikat lumbar cushion, $89 and Tava flat round Chargers in honey, $29. Potterybarn.com.au
It’s the place to get appropriate hostess gifts for holiday parties.
P Johnson
The men in your life will delight in fashion staples that aren’t usually this comfortable. Look out for the men’s swimming trunks, ties, robes and cufflinks like Ocean Blue Nihi Swim Shorts, $245, Pilot Blue Lecco Print Tie, $225, Navy Grosgrain Bow Tie, $225, Navy Onno Print tie, $225, Light Denim Dressing Robe, $595, and Navy Hand Enamelled Bar Cuff links, $350. Nice women’s sarongs too such as Moss Weave Cotton Sarong, $225. pjt.com
Santa Maria Novella
Our favourite Italian soaps, candles, fragrances, balms, bubbles, oils, shampoos, creams and potions – based on ancient preparations dating back to the 1200s – in the most beautiful botanical scents like gardenia, magnolia, iris, musk, rose and fresia. This year we’re giving the Pot Pourri candle, made in Florence, using raw materials, $149, as well as perennial faves, like Santa Maria Novella’s famous Damask Rose Water. 250ml, $48 and the classic Melograno Scented Terracotta, $112. Santa Maria Novella
Other goodies? Rosa Gardenia 1221 Edition, Rosa Gardenia Scented Candle 1221 Edition, Pot Pourri in Terracotta Pot, and Fresia Fluid Cream
Shades of Pale
For connoisseurs of all things French, the antique emporium is filled with treasures like vintage confit stoneware pots, $495, gigantic passata bowls $895, antique French oil paintings, $795, La Brillo bowls, $695, and German glazed pots in blue and greys, $175. Plus, antique mirrors, commodes, side tables, vintage breadboard, and much more. Shadesofpale.com
Sheridan
People always love fresh bed and bath linen, and a label goes a long way. Look out from crisp white pure cotton sheets, plain quilt covers and fluffy towels in natural shades that you can bundle up in pretty ribbon. Also great beach towels, including the Cancun Beach Kids Poncho, $70, Palma Beach Blanket, $99, Peppi Hat, $69, Batteau hat in Azure blue, $44.99 and Lanham Silk Eye Mask in Mocha, $60. Sheridan.com
Spence and Lyda at Winnings
If it’s in, it’s in here. There’s a great gift section chockful of Missoni Home, George Jenson and more. Go for Missoni Giacomo 160 Soft Slippers, $200, Missoni Riverbero 100 Bath Sheets, $250, Missoni Neoclassic 160 Hooded Bathrobes, $750 and Missoni Arpeggio 381 Bath Sheet, $310, and a discount section. Winnings.com
Sunnylife
The brand represents the fun element of beachy outdoor summer designs. Well-made jacquard-style beach towels in mustard, lilac and esmeralda, from $70. Carry-all striped navy and white beach bags, $39, reclining beach chairs in casa cream that will make you feel like you’re at a resort. Fantastic inflatables from the bestselling Dino giant dinosaur sprinkler to Vacay Soft Olive stripe pool ring and oversized Luxe Lie-On Lounger white. Also, Terry folding seats for pool, picnic or beach. Sunnylife.com
Trove Store
Few gifts will feel more thoughtful than a jewellery box painstakingly crafted by hand, for the jewellery collector. Designed in Melbourne, and crafted in China using traditional lacquerware methods. It will make the experience of storing and caring for jewellery, and other precious pieces as special as the objects themselves. Trove pieces are designed to be an investment that will stand the test of time. Check out the Trunk Midnight Navy, $1,199, Mini Trunk Royal Red, $989 or Large Stacking Jewellry Tray Evening Blue, $630. Trove.com
Each Trove piece is a contemporary take on a long-forgotten art form.
Trudon – The Intersection
Nothing says Christmas glamour like a Cire Trudon candle that provides a cosy blend of the most Christmassy scent of clove, cinnamon and orange in fabulously gilded glass. The parrafin-free numbers use 100 per cent vegetable wax, have pure cotton wicks . They come in three sizes, in handblown Italian glasses. Seek out favourite scents such as Ernesto, (leather and tobacco), Gabriel (Gourmand Christmas fire), Cyrnos, (Mediterranen armoas), Abd El Kader, (Moroccan mint tea), Odalisque (Orange blossom) and others that will transport you to everything from fresh laundry to Indian jasmine. Trudon.com.au
Cire Trudon, the candlemaker to France’s greatest churches, founded back in the seventeenth century, was Louis XVI’s choice and is a big fave with Hermes, Cartier, Dior and Guerlain.
Vendome Press Books
Give the aesthete a chance to show off with the latest books on interior design for their coffee table by hot New York and London-based publisher, Vendome. Once read, their beautiful covers double as works of art, and decorative pieces, sitting appealingly atop a table. Any of these, would make great presents for yourself or any design lovers in your life. Favourite titles? Veere Greeny ‘Seeking Beauty’, ‘Paris Interiors’, Styled by Mieke ten Have, Sean Scherer’s ‘Vignettes’, ‘Daylesford Living Inspired by Nature’ by Carole Bamford, and Palm Beach Loving are all volumes meant to awe and inspire. Vendomepress.com
A brilliant source of inspiration from some of the greatest designers in the world.
Vendome Press is a great source of interiors books by some of the world’s greatest designers and tastemakers.
Watertiger
One of the best for individual, soulful homewares from around the world. Vintage timber candles, small terracotta pots, dark teak Marsala plates, small tribal statues, rattan fishing basket flasks, organic wooden stools, antique sacred jars, terracotta pots with handles, vintage glazed water jars, clay vessels and vases, from France, India, Indonesia, Morocco and China. Watertiger.com.au
