On the one hand, Black Friday is a tawdry US import designed to snatch what little cash you have left after buying Christmas presents and putting the heating on. On the other hand, it’s saved some of us a fortune. I’ve finally got the gym membership and cat food subscription I’d been holding out on until their prices dropped, and you’ve leapt with similar gusto on some newly discounted Filter recommendations.
Not all your Black Friday favourites are big-ticket items (two are card games that cost less than a tenner), but it definitely seems that you’ve waited to snap up expensive stuff at Black Friday prices. Our top-rated hybrid mattress, heated clothes airer and Christmas tree are among the products you flocked to buy once the discounts landed. You loved some of the more gift-able items so much that they sold out, such as the gorgeous Lucien table lamp. Here are a few more whose stocks you haven’t drained – yet.
The best fake Christmas tree
Habitat 6ft mixed tip Christmas tree
£84 (with code XMAS30) at ArgosHabitat’s stunningly lifelike tree left its rivals for dust in our test to find the best artificial Christmas trees. My husband and I found it blissfully easy to put up, and the hardest part of taking it down and reboxing it was the pain of saying goodbye. The best consolation is seeing how much you loved it, especially after its inevitable price drop as December rattles towards us faster than a supersonic sleigh.
Our favourite bed in a box
Otty Original Hybrid double mattress
£533.58 with code THEFILTER7 at OttyHere’s another big-ticket item I was lucky enough to review, by which I mean sleep on for months. It’s the most comfortable foam-and-springs hybrid mattress I’ve ever tested, and also the best value – even before its Black Friday price drop. The Otty has proved popular with you, too, but if you’re still holding out, use the special Filter code for an extra 7% off.
The ultimate game of Uno
Uno Show ’Em No Mercy
£5.99 at John Lewis £5.99 at Amazon“Like the game we all love, but with special rules and new action cards,” said our food columnist Yotam Ottolenghi when picking this Uno edition as a Christmas present worthy of space under the tree. By “special”, he means positively dastardly, with penalties such as a 10-card draw and the option to plead mercy if it all gets too much. A brilliant Black Friday bargain at less than £5 (tick ‘Apply £1.32 voucher’), so I’m not surprised you bought more of it than any other toy or game we’ve mentioned recently.
The camera that prints in an instant
Fuji Instax Mini 12
£69 at John Lewis £69 at Amazon“My dream present would be a mini instant camera because you can take selfies with your friends and stick them on your wall,” said 13-year-old Alisha in our guide to the best gifts for 13-year-olds, proving that analogue isn’t dead (when a teenage girl says so, you know it’s true). This pastel-hued Polaroid-style instant camera was a hit with you, too, and it fell to £69 in John Lewis’s Black Friday sale.
Our top-rated beard trimmer
Philips Series 9000 Prestige beard trimmer
£89.99 at John Lewis £80.99 at AmazonThis handsome device is worthy of its self-congratulatory name, wrote Edward Munn when crowning it “best overall” in his guide to the best beard trimmers. “It delights in its simplicity and offers everything you need from a beard trimmer,” he added, and you didn’t need any more convincing. You already swooped to snap it up at its full price of £128.99, so apologies if you bought it before John Lewis wiped almost £40 off.
The fiendishly addictive card game
Flip 7
£9.99 at Waterstones £8.48 at Amazon“Seriously addictive and refreshingly simple to understand,” wrote the Filter team in our gift guide – OK, I’m sold. So are you, judging by how quickly you raced to buy this blackjack variant that challenges you to flip over cards one by one without flipping the same number twice. One for all the family, it could be useful for clearing the air after a particularly depraved game of Uno Show ’Em No Mercy.
The scoop that slices rock-hard ice-cream
Zeroll 1020 ice-cream scoop
£40.78 at Nisbets £26.76 at AmazonWhen Guardian columnists were asked for their top gift ideas, food writer Meera Sodha suggested this brilliant ice-cream scoop that uses heat-conducting fluid to let you serve straight from the freezer. You so loved the idea of scooping rock-hard rum ’n’ raisin without sending chunks flying across the room that you bought more of this than other kitchen gadget in the Black Friday sale, despite its modest discount.
The travel mug that won’t spill your coffee
KeepCup Commuter mug
£23.80 at KeepCup £31.95 at AmazonAs chic as a reusable cup can possibly be, the KeepCup Commuter beat all comers in Pete Wise’s test to find the best travel mugs, keeping drinks piping hot (or fridge-cold) and not spilling a drop. KeepCup’s UK store has undercut Amazon with a 30% discount on its medium (12oz/340ml) size mugs in all colours (and there are lots of colours), and you were justifiably impressed.
The umbrella that’ll make you wish for rain
Oswin Hyde Joseph handcrafted umbrella
£49 at Debenhams £49 at BurtonAfter standing in the rain for a month and nearly being blown off the top of Mam Tor in the Peak District in his bid to test the best umbrellas, Pete Wise chose this stunning creation as the “best looking” brolly and also praised its ability to keep the drizzle off two people at once. You’re a stylish lot, so it’s little wonder this was the umbrella you rushed to buy, especially once it dropped from £75 to £49 in the Debenhams sale.
The eye cream that really works
Charlotte Tilbury cryo-recovery eye serum
£35.25 at John Lewis £35.25 at Charlotte TilburyIf it’s good enough for the models beautified by celebrated makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury, it’s certainly good enough for you, especially with a Black Friday discount. Charlotte’s cold therapy “appeared to instantly reduce the puffiness of the skin around my eye”, wrote our tester Sabine Wiesel in the best eye creams. With party season coming up, you couldn’t resist.
Be your own bartender
Guinness Nitrosurge
£30 at Tesco £19.99 at AmazonAnother one of our (and yours, as it turns out) favourite Christmas gift ideas, this portable and rechargeable device is a handy conversation-starter for the festive season, and it’s seen a solid discount from its £26.85 average price. As a Guinness fan, I’m tempted to get one for myself, if only to find out if its “ultrasonic technology” really can pour the black stuff as well as a bartender. I’ll report back on the other side of Christmas.
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This week’s picks
‘Visually perfect and exceptionally fresh’: the best smoked salmon, tasted and rated
Don’t buy new tech this Black Friday: expert tips for buying refurbished phones and laptops
The best Black Friday deals under £50: hair wavers, coffee machines and the perfect umbrella
The best Secret Santa gifts under £15: fun ideas they’ll actually want to keep
The best sustainable Christmas gifts: 19 presents that give back
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Editor’s pick
What do teenagers want for Christmas? If trying to work out what’s fashionable with teens makes you feel as old as I did when I was researching this piece, our gift guide for teenagers – as chosen by teenagers – is here to help. (Hint: most of them seem to want joggers.)
Monica Horridge
Deputy editor, the Filter
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In case you missed it …
Cold-water swimming starts to live up to its name at this time of year. What was a nice bracing swim outside only a few weeks ago has become a battle to endure the Arctic-feeling water – and leaves you “yelling and screaming” a la Prince William. Ella Foote, expert and author of How to Wild Swim, put thermal swimsuits to the test in swimming spots around the world, and rounded up all the kit you need to beat the cold, from Stanley flasks to swimming caps and hammam towels.
PS, we are loving Clean Sheet, a new toilet roll subscription that donates 100% of its profits to organisations combating the climate crisis, supporting workers’ rights and campaigning for better housing. In its first year, it will support three: Acorn, a community union; Migrants Organise, a migrant support group; and Tipping Point, a community-led climate campaign. We tried a roll here at the Filter and can report it was nicely textured, strong and lasted a good while. If you buy a pack of 48, you’ll be helping to get the brand off the ground. Bottoms up!
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Get involved
New year, new fridge, as the saying goes. How do you keep yours organised, and what are your tips and tricks to keep food lasting longer?
Let us know by replying to this newsletter or emailing us at thefilter@theguardian.com.
