Christmas gift guide

Buying guide

When should you start your Christmas shopping?

Start in October with a list of names and a budget against each, then buy in three waves. Small, cheap things go first while there is the most choice. Big things wait for Black Friday on 27 November if you want to watch for a drop. Everything else is ordered by early December.

The single most useful habit is to check the retailer’s last order date before you add to basket. Cut-offs differ by retailer, by seller and by delivery option, and marketplace sellers often ship from further away. If a product page does not show a Christmas delivery estimate, treat it as a risk.

If you are buying anything that needs to arrive before 1 December, such as the LEGO City Advent Calendar on our gifts for 5 year old boys list, buy it in November at the latest.

How much should you spend on Secret Santa?

Spend exactly the limit, or a pound under. Going over makes the next person look mean, and going far under looks like an afterthought. Our four lists match the usual office limits.

At under £5, small and useful wins: HotHands hand warmers, a two-pack of LED keyring torches, waterproof playing cards for the pub. At under £10, touchscreen thermal gloves lead, with a little desk vacuum for the colleague who eats at their keyboard.

At under £15, the Contigo Byron travel mug is our top pick and an LED beanie hat suits dog walkers. At under £20, you can stretch to the Soundcore Select 4 Go speaker or a Gerber Dime pocket multi-tool. A mug warmer is the safe bet for the tea drinker who leaves it to go cold.

Prices on these lists move daily, so check the card before you buy. Something a few pence under £10 in October can tip over it by December, and that matters when the rule is a tenner.

How do you budget for the whole Christmas list?

Write every name down, put a figure next to each, and add them up before you spend a penny. Most overspending happens because the total was never written down, not because one gift was too dear.

A simple split works for most households. Partners and children get the main budget. Parents and siblings get a middle band, often £20 to £50. Friends, colleagues and in-laws get a fixed small amount, and that is where the Secret Santa and stocking filler lists earn their keep, because they are full of things that look considered at under £15.

Keep a note of what you have bought and where, with the order number. When something arrives late or not at all in mid-December, that note is what lets you chase it or reorder quickly. If one of the big presents is on our Black Friday watch, leave its slot empty until 27 November and decide then.

What makes a good stocking filler?

A good stocking filler is small, cheap and used before New Year. Novelty that is funny for ten seconds tends to end up in the bin by the 27th.

For adults, stocking fillers for men starts with two decks of Bicycle playing cards and includes beard oil, a rechargeable LED torch, a metal brain teaser set we rank for Boxing Day, and a credit card multi-tool under £5. For teenagers, stocking fillers for teenagers leads with app-controlled LED strip lights, then the Flip 7 card game, claw hair clips and a mini shower speaker. Most of these are under £10.

For a younger child, smaller items from the age lists work well in a stocking: the Natural History Museum dinosaur torch, stacking cups for a baby, or a speed cube for a 10 year old.

What are the best Christmas gifts for him?

Buy him something he will use in January, not something that gets admired on the 25th and boxed by the 28th. Our men’s lists are ranked with that in mind.

The gifts for men list puts the Philips Multigroom 3000 first, a beard, hair, nose and ear trimmer under £25. Gifts for dad leads with a meat thermometer for barbecue season, followed by a car jump starter, which is the kind of present that earns its place on a cold January morning. For a boyfriend or brother, the HyperX Cloud III headset tops both lists.

If he is hard to buy for, try gifts for men who have everything or tech gifts for men. For grooming and hobbies in more depth, the gifts for him hub breaks it down further.

What are the best Christmas gifts for her?

Warmth and photos are the two themes that come up again and again in our women’s lists. They are easy to get right without knowing her size or taste.

A PROALLER heated throw tops gifts for women and sits near the top of most of the others. A WiFi photo frame leads gifts for mum, the Kindle leads gifts for wife, and the Instax Mini 12 leads gifts for girlfriend. For a sister, the Instax is ranked for nights out and the throw for nights in.

A first Christmas with a baby needs something different. The gifts for new mum list starts with an insulated bottle for night feeds and a hooded dressing gown, both under £20. For wearables and beauty tech, the gifts for her hub goes further.

What should you buy the kids this Christmas?

Buy for the age they are now and think about Christmas morning itself. Anything that needs charging, an app or an account should be set up before it is wrapped, or you will spend the morning on a Wi-Fi password.

Our age lists run from the first birthday to the teenage years, and the table below gives the top pick from each so you can see the shape of the year at a glance.

A baby’s first Christmas is mostly for the adults, so keep it simple. The 1 year olds list is led by the VTech First Steps baby walker, which grows into the new year as they start to stand, and the Fisher-Price first blocks and Oball are both under £10 if grandparents want something small to hand over too.

For a first gadget, read the dedicated lists. The kids tablet list is led by the Amazon Kids Tablet 8, the kids camera list by the VTech KidiZoom Duo FX, and the kids smartwatch list notes which calling watches need a mobile plan. That running cost carries on long after the wrapping paper has gone.

Kids’ gifts by age at a glance

Each row is the item ranked first on that age’s list, with today’s budget band. Prices move daily, so check the card on the list before you buy.

The toddler lists are not split by boys and girls, and neither are the kids tablet, camera and smartwatch lists, so they work for any child of the right age. From five upwards our school-age lists are written for boys, but much of what is on them, such as LEGO, magnetic tiles, walkie talkies and science kits, suits any child who likes building or being outdoors.

Which cosy gifts are worth giving in winter?

Anything that makes a cold evening better gets used straight away, which is rare for a Christmas present. An electric blanket or heated throw is the clearest example, and Silentnight leads both lists.

A digital photo frame suits grandparents who will not be at the table, and an e-reader suits the long quiet days between Christmas and New Year. For the family gathering itself, an instant camera, a karaoke machine, a projector for a film night or a Bluetooth speaker all get used on the day.

How do we pick our Christmas gifts?

We rank from UK retailer listings, verified buyer reviews and published review research. We do not test products by hand. A pick has to be in stock in the UK, fairly priced and suited to the person on the list. Our methodology page explains the process in full, and the commission we earn from links never changes the order.