Ten great Christmas gift ideas for family and friends

Family sat between a Christmas tree and Christmas lights

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 19 November 2021

Whether you’re buying for a beer lover or an audiophile, here’s how you can make family and friends happy this holiday season.

1. Make a beer lover’s Christmas

Pinter 2 welcomes in the next tier of fresh beer, with precision-engineered technology allowing anyone to brew 10 pints of award-winning fresh beer at home. More than 75% of the UK population is unaware that the freshness of beer is vital to its flavour. Storage, temperature changes and time all have a negative impact. When it comes to beer, fresh is best, which is why the re-engineered Pinter 2 includes the Hopper, patent-pending technology that leads to an unparalleled sensory drinking experience and flavour. Pinter 2 follows the success of the original Pinter – one of Time Magazine’s best 200 inventions of 2020 that propelled the company to become one of the UK’s fastest growing businesses.

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Mr Wheeler is a new generation of independent wine specialists – with the heritage, expertise and attentive personal service of an old-style merchant, and the tech-savvy approach and grasp of contemporary lifestyle choices you’d expect from a 21st-century online retailer. The majority of the wines at Mr Wheeler come from family-owned vineyards across the globe and often smaller vineyards that have developed across a number of generations. For Christmas, 2010 Clarets and fine white burgundy is their recommendation and speciality. Place an order for £150 or more and receive free delivery and a bottle of England’s finest fizz, Nyetimber Classic Cuvée (worth £34.95).

Known for its rich history in creating world-class audio experiences, Monitor Audio has revamped its bestselling Silver Series range to combine class-leading performance and bold, powerful sound with a refined and understated look. Delivering exceptional sound and volume, this is the perfect gift for those who love their music. The seventh generation of the Silver Series embodies decades of audio expertise and has undergone a complete upgrade in performance, design and build quality. The massive performance benefits allow listeners to indulge in clear, complex sound rarely heard in the home. Whether watching a new film or listening to that old LP for the thousandth time, these speakers ensure the listener hears everything with beautiful clarity and depth – no matter the volume.

Ascot’s final meeting of the year promises festive cheer, laughs and fun. The Howden Christmas Racing Weekend, scheduled for 17-18 December, will showcase top-quality jump racing. Private boxes are available for between 10-72 people. Every luxuriously furnished box comes with a private bar, a variety of food options and private balconies, so you won’t miss a second of the all-important action. The Parade Ring Restaurant offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the Parade Ring and a three-course a la carte lunch with views of the Winner’s Enclosure. ON5 is Ascot’s award-winning restaurant with a private balcony, roof terrace and spectacular views over the track from Level 5 of the Grandstand. There are also Royal Ascot 2022 Fine Dining packages now on sale.

Ever wondered why wine tastes so much better on holiday? Now you can create your very own Italian dream or Parisian fantasy with Vignette Wine’s multisensory wine kits. Perfect for Christmas gifting or treating yourself to some escapism, you’ll receive stunning wines and mystery aroma vials to evoke your destination and train your wine nose. A bundle of postcards inside has everything you need to travel with your senses: the perfect, easy recipe pairing for each wine, the ideal soundtrack to your night, via a Spotify QR code, and a paired film recommendation.

Give the perfect gift this year – the enjoyment of hassle-free boating with membership to Freedom Boat Club. Discover how Freedom Boat Club takes care of everything – maintenance, cleaning, repairs and storage – so all you have to do is book your boat, relax and begin creating memories with family and friends. As a member, you’ll enjoy unlimited access to the fleet of powerboats as well as reciprocal access to more than 275 locations across Europe, the US and Canada. Membership includes full Royal Yachting Association-accredited training as well as the opportunity to relax in the clubhouse in Portsmouth before and after your time on the water.

Imagine enjoying the sky full of stars while sitting on your sofa. This dream can become a reality thanks to Sega Toys and its series of home planetariums. Flux is the most powerful, most advanced model available to date, taking an incredibly popular planetarium design and refining it even further. Crafted in a satin black finish with the indicated edges of a lunar crater surrounding the lens, this powerful star projector is designed to be your first-choice home planetarium. With brilliant glass lenses and Sega’s brightest LED, everything looks vibrant and sharp as the disc silently rotates. Simply plug Flux into the wall via its USB cable and you can quite literally watch the world go by.

If your 2021 New Year resolution was to lose weight it’s still not too late, and the festive period doesn’t need to derail your goals either. Hepa Diet is a scientifically formulated 14-day meal plan with nutrients that help maintain metabolism and normal liver function through beneficial ingredients such as beta-glucans, choline and oat beta glucan. During two weeks of the diet, you'll have two Hepa shakes, two portions of vegetables and one high-protein meal a day with the addition of some oil. One Hepa serving includes 26g of protein to support muscles and 100% of the recommended daily dose of vitamins and minerals.

If you know someone who loves their cars and their technology, Nextbase has the ultimate gift. The Nextbase 622GW is the world’s most in-demand dash cam thanks to its true 4K image quality and inbuilt polarising lens, which dramatically reduces windscreen glare and reflection. The 622GW can provide your exact location – on or off the road – which could prove crucial in the event of an accident.

The Netatmo Smart Alarm System allows you to prevent break-ins from your mobile phone, giving you peace of mind when you’re away from home. The system comprises a smart indoor camera, smart indoor siren, smart door, and window sensors. If someone is trying to force entry, the system will send a notification to your phone while the smart indoor siren scares the intruder away with its 110-decibel alarm. From the app, you can also play pre-recorded noises to make it sound like there’s someone home. With its easy setup, the Netatmo system arms and disarms itself automatically when you go out and return home, too.

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