For grownups
Lucky Dip Club, from £6, luckydipclub.com
Various different subscription options available
Bringing much-needed colour, fun and positivity through the letterbox each month, Lucky Dip Club finds quirky ideas from independent artists and designers.
National Art Pass, £65 (double for £97), artfund.org
Free entry to more than 240 museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK, as well as 50% off entry to major exhibitions – all in one little card.
TRX equipment and year’s subscription, £179.95, trxtraining.co.uk
For anyone sporty looking to boost their core strength from the comfort of their own home, this is the best bit of kit going. It can be used anywhere, and all that’s needed is a door or hook from which to hang the TRX. Subscription includes many different video programmes.
Like the Wind, £32 a year, likethewindmagazine.com
A stunningly produced and illustrated magazine for runners, featuring original illustrations – and, of course, stories about running, all done by runners. Each issue is a mini work of art (and you can buy prints from the magazine at the online shop, too).
Sock Exchange, from £20, thelondonsockexchange.net
One pair of socks might be a boring Christmas gift, but a rolling subscription of fancy new ones is quite a different story. Some of them have pandas on them. What more could your lucky recipient desire?
HonestBrew, from £48, honestbrew.co.uk
Small batch beers from around the world delivered to their door. The gift subscription comes with a pack of six and a glass to start them off, plus a voucher for the selected number of months.
Delayed Gratification, £36 a year, slow-journalism.com
The news cycle being as it is these days, sometimes it’s nice just to slow down. Delayed Gratification revisits the news after the dust has settled to provide analysis and explanation, in beautifully designed and illustrated style.
Willoughby book club, from £29.99, thewilloughbybookclub.co.uk
Personalised book club for all tastes – cookery books, gardening books, picture books for kids ... you just chose the genre and fill in some info on their favourite authors and subjects and the rest is taken care of for you.
Lakeland curry club, £28, lakeland.co.uk
Three month subscription
The first package arrives with a spice kit and a voucher for two more. As well as the fresh, ready measured spices, there are step-by-step recipe cards to make tasty curries, breads and more.
Partisan Cheese Club, from £23.99 a month, partisan-deli.co.uk
Monthly cheese delivered to your door, including tasting notes and suggested pairings. You can select preferences (eg no blue cheeses) and your recipient can even vote for new cheeses to try.
Stack, £20 for three months, £70 a year, stackmagazines.com
Can’t decide which magazine subscription to opt for? Why limit them to one? Stack will send a different independent magazine through their door every month, all independent titles guaranteed to broaden their horizons.
For kids
Letterbox lab, from £9, letterboxlab.com
Subscriptions or single boxes available
Wonderful themed science experiment boxes in different age groups (6+ and 8+) with clear instructions and thoroughly enjoyable results.
Mrs Wordsmith, £19.95 a month, mrswordsmith.com
Workbooks, cards and a binder of 1,500 storytelling words – including charming illustrations – to improve reading and writing skills and stimulate imagination. Also suitable for children with dyslexia.
Trunkaroo, from £20, trunkaroo.com
Single boxes or subscriptions available
Hands-on projects for three- to eight-year-olds, with a strong emphasis on STEAM subjects (Science, Technology Engineering, Art and Maths). The boxes contain everything the kids will need to make anything from Christmas decorations to their own games.
Code Kingdoms, £24.99 for three months, £59.99 for a year
Code Kingdoms teaches children (recommended age is between eight and 14) to learn how to code Minecraft mods on their own computer server. Over 100 projects, all using a simple drag and drop interface.
The Week Junior, £18.99 for 13 issues theweekjunior.co.uk
Anorak, £25 for four issues (one year) anorakmagazine.com
Two very different but excellent magazines, the former explaining world events to children (suggested range is around 8-14) without ever patronising, the latter encouraging imagination, creativity and fun (around 6- to 12-year-olds).
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