Unique Christmas ideas: Gifts for people who are difficult to buy for

Personalisation is a great trick to employ when shopping for tricky recipients, as it really shows you've put in some thought and effort. Notonthehighstreet.com has an entire section dedicated to personalised gifts, including chopping boards, wine stoppers and diaries, but we love these truly customisable journals and diaries from Under Cover, which come in rainbow shades.

Personalised recycled leather diary, £36.50
By Under Cover
Buy online at undercoveruk.com Photograph: PR

There are very few designer labels beloved by everyone, but we defy you to find the woman who would not be happy with a gift adorned with Mulberry's iconic postman's lock fastening and tree logo - they somehow pull off the rare trick of appealing to all ages and all styles. This chocolate colour is elegant and classic, but there are also brighter options available.

Long locked purse, £225
By Mulberry
Buy online at mulberry.com Photograph: PR

Sticking with the theme of customisation, how about these two-wheeled wonders? For best results buy a voucher and let your recipient design away to their heart's content. Even more fun than finding a bicycle with a bow on it next to your stocking.

Customised bike, from £375
By MyVelo
Buy online at myvelo.co.uk Photograph: PR

As the leftovers disappear, the toys start to break and the holly wreaths begin to sag, don't we all start pining for a holiday to look forward to? Hotel du Vin have fourteen elegant and individual hotels nationwide, each with an extensive wine cellar for guests to sample, and a variety of gift packages available. You may want to wait for the New Year's Eve hangover to subside first though ...

Bistro, bed and breakfast for two people, £195
By Hotel du Vin, various locations
Buy online at hotelduvin.com Photograph: The Travel Library / Rex Feature/The Travel Library / Rex Feature

A great gift for the fussy chap who yearns for made-to-measure without the funds to back it up ... Bivolino offers a design-your-own shirt service. With a range of striped, checked and floral fabrics and free monogramming, you can design his perfect shirt - or buy a voucher for him to do it himself.

Design your own shirt, from £49
By Bivolino
Buy online at bivolino.co.uk Photograph: PR

Would your recipient enjoy a walk with a hawk or a prowl with an owl? Imagine them, striding across the fields with a hawk majestically perched atop their gloved arm. Is this their bag? If so, there are centres nationwide that offer a basic introduction to falconry.

One-day falconry experience, £125
By The International Centre for Birds of Prey, Newent, Gloucestershire
Buy online at icbp.org

One-day birds of prey experience, £130
By The Hawk Conservancy Trust, Andover, Hampshire
Buy online at hawk-conservancy.org

Owl Experience, £105
By Cheshire Falconry, Sandiway, Cheshire
Buy online at cheshirefalconry.com Photograph: PR

It is a sad truth that by 27 December vast family-sized tins of chocolates will be reduced to a handful of strawberry creams and those ones with the green foil that no one likes. This kit lets frustrated pastry chefs create their very own chocolates. With organic raw cacao and agave nectar, the resulting chocolates will be a far cry from your average Christmas chocs, and they are suitable for diabetics too.

Chocolate-making kit, £13.99
By The Chocolution
Buy online at thechocolution.com Photograph: PR

Aaaah, would you look at this lovely chap? No, £10 won't get you an actual polar bear (they're tricky to house train anyway) but it will buy a blood testing kit, so that the WWF can carry on their work to help understand and protect this endangered species. If they aren't going to be happy with anything you buy, then at least a charming bear will benefit from this particular gift.

Bear Necessities polar bear health check, £10
By WWF
Buy online at wwf.org.uk Photograph: Joseph Napaaqtuq Sage/AP

One for perhaps the more, ahem, self-centred individual: a chance to step into the shoes of Elizabeth Bennet or Mr Darcy. You can substitute the names of six leading characters, so friends and family can join in to romp through the novel in their finest corsetry. If Pride and Prejudice isn't your classic of choice, Gift Republic offer a whole range, including Dracula and The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Personalised Pride & Prejudice, £19.99
By Gift Republic
Buy online at giftrepublic.com Photograph: PR

Still stuck for ideas? Here's a great gift for the grinch who likes gadgets - this tiny little HD camera is perfect for sports lovers (small and light, you can film while you run, ski or ride) and also for those fed up with over-complicated instruction manuals, as it's incredibly easy to use.

Flip HD cam, £180
By Flip
Buy online at gift-library.com Photograph: PR

Is there someone in your life who is never satisfied with your attempts at fashionable gifts, and who always asks for the receipt so they can return? Then why not give them vouchers for a dressmaker to get something designed to their exact specifications. If they're not happy then, they've only got themselves to blame ...

Vouchers, from £10
By Designer Alterations
Details at designeralterations.com Photograph: Alicia Canter/Guardian

Naming a star after someone is so last decade. This year's naming gift is this ingenious (or possibly even genius) one. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have built a machine that creates and proves new mathematical theorems. For £15 you can have one named after your loved one. And if it turns out to be a really useful one, they might just see their name in school textbooks in years to come. See, we told our parents that maths homework was pointless ...

TheoryMine theorum, £15
By TheoryMine
Buy online at theorymine.co.uk Photograph: PR

Record tokens are passé, and iTunes vouchers are uninspired. This gift, however, is genuinely cool, and bound to please. Each month your giftee will get an exciting package in the post, containing the must-have album of the moment, as selected by the connoiseurs of hip at Rough Trade. And if you're lucky, you'll get to listen too.

The Album Club gift membership, from £24
By Rough Trade
Buy online at thealbumclub.com Photograph: PR