We’re all searching for the perfect Christmas gift, ticking off festive to-do lists to slide into the end of year. We asked five of our favourites to share what makes Christmas special for them – and for some gift giving ideas and tips to ensure your Christmas gift won’t be returned this Boxing Day.
Darren Palmer – Interior Designer, TV Presenter, Author, Speaker
What Christmas means to me: “It’s about gathering together. When it’s a family Christmas we generally travel somewhere, either Queensland to visit my family where it’s prawns and baked ham and more food than you can eat for the week. If we travel to France where Olivier’s family is, we’ll have a large Christmas Eve dinner at 1am which is far too late for me but traditional for them. If we’re in Sydney for Christmas, we either have a lunch with our friends or alternatively with my family, but either way there’s merriment.”
On my wish list:
Shark TurboBlade Ultra Powerful Bladeless Tower Fan: It looks good, fits into spaces well – physically and visually, and has so much functionality, it’s legitimately cool in every sense. The biggest challenge you’ll have is whether to get the light or dark option.
Jai Vasichek Print: I love Jai’s paintings and he sells prints of his work often with size options, sometimes framed, so you can have a little bit of his elegant bohemian chic in your home to suit your space and budget.
Under $30: A YourTown Christmas prize home ticket (you can actually get two for $30) and with a tax free prize of $5.875m and a 1 in 800,000 chance you could change lives, both for the person you gift the ticket to and also to the young people that are assisted every day with proceeds of ticket sales through services like Kids Helpline. If you’re buying some for someone else though, you’d better buy some for yourself too.
I’d also add in there that Jono Fleming has a new book (A Visual Feast) as does Steve Cordony (Moments at Home) so you can pass a little design inspo on to your nearest and dearest to suit their tastes.
For the person who has everything: An experience. Buy either a voucher for a favourite restaurant, or arrange a special experience where you can build memories together or they can bank memories thanks to you.
Heather Nette King – Stylist and Writer
What Christmas means to me: “Christmas morning is going to feel extremely nostalgic this year as our eldest daughter will be living at home with us for the first time in a decade (she’s saving madly for a home deposit). Can’t lie – I’m thrilled – as I love having all of us together first thing in the morning. No matter how old they get (28 and 26) they still demand chocolate advent calendars. I tried to lose that tradition when they were in their late teens and you all probably heard the howls of protest. This year I think I have outdone myself as I bought some really fancy ones overseas, so I might suggest these are the final ones – stand by for the outcry.
“There will be suitably inappropriate breakfast treats – likely champagne and chocolates, before we head down the coast to have lunch with my sister and her family, followed by an ocean swim then pudding. I can’t wait.”
On my wish list:
I’d love a beautiful ceramic piece from either Pepite Store or Craft Victoria. But honestly, I’d be happy with a packet of seeds for my balcony garden or some lovely organic potting mix.
Buying for someone I don’t know well: I don’t think you can go wrong with a book voucher. Who doesn’t love a book, and it’s always a nice feeling knowing you have a voucher up your sleeve to treat when you need it.
Jono Fleming – Interior designer, Stylist, Author, TV Presenter
What Christmas means to me: “Christmas for me is all about slowing down and leaning into the small rituals that make the break feel extra special. We normally start the day with a swim in the ocean before heading around to my parent’s house, grazing all day long whilst my sister and I put on the original Star Wars trilogy. I love the feeling of the house coming alive with food, flowers and family dropping in. It’s a moment to pause, look around and feel grateful for the year that’s been.”
On my wish list: A refillable car diffuser from Gentle Habits, practical, chic and such a good scent for summer drives.
These Maison Balzac Bloody Mary glasses with the glass celery stirring stick, a bit playful and very me.
The Bamboo and Rattan Cordless Touch Lamps from Alfresco Emporium, perfect for soft ambient light on summer nights.
A gift I’m giving this year: Dads can be hard to gift for but this year I’m giving my dad the Lark Distillery Christmas Cask flight set. It’s got their limited edition Christmas whiskey and a little tasting glass. The perfect gift for dad! Oh, and of course a few people will be getting a copy of my book, A Visual Feast.
Lucy Gough – Stylist, Author, Founder
What Christmas means to me: “I’m from Australia and my wife is from London, so we’ve always had very different ideas about what Christmas should feel like. I grew up with summer Christmases – family gatherings, seafood platters, bright blue skies and long outdoor lunches (and often a slip and slide outside!). Yet as a child, all the Christmas cards featured snowy, wintery scenes!
“Fast-forward to spending more than 10 Christmases in London. Flying home to Australia was always too expensive at that time of year, so we usually visited in October instead. Christmas there felt cosy and magical- layers of coats, roaring fireplaces, roast dinners with Yorkshire puds, and inevitably dozing off on the sofa during the Queen’s speech.
“Two completely different worlds.
“Now that we’re back in Australia, I feel lucky to have experienced both. I love that we can now celebrate a hot, sunny Christmas here with our gorgeous boys, with fairy lights, a snowy tree and Yorkshire puds – truly the best of both.”
On my wish list:
As a stylist, I always need to wear comfy shoes on set, but I also need some that are stylish enough that I can wear casually with tailored black trousers. These tick all the boxes for me!
Every year I ‘donate a plate’ to Wayside Chapel, who continue to do amazing work for vulnerable people all year round. My mother in law and I donate a plate every year on the other’s behalf, instead of a gift to each other.
My coffee of choice is a Piccolo and when I was at the Salamanca Markets in Hobart earlier in the year I spied the gorgeous work of Chris Salmon – her designs embody the Australian landscape. She hand makes the most beautiful cups and she had the perfect piccolo cup but a woman grabbed it just as my hand was about to pick it up! So I am adding this to my wish list!
What I’m giving this Christmas: As we are heading back to the UK for our first Christmas there in four years (excited!), we can’t take very much with us in our suitcases. The boys have requested 3D pens (my kids are 7 and 9 and love craft) and I always give someone a subscription to Positive News magazine in hard copy. Such a wonderful magazine- it’s proper positive journalism – not fluff pieces – about amazing things being done around the world that are never covered in mainstream media.
Kayla Gex Bartlett – Interior/Prop Stylist
What Christmas means to me: “Christmas means coming together with family and cousins who live quite close to us so we don’t have to travel far. Christmas has always been such a magical time to me so it’s hard to be far away from my family back in the States where we have cosy gatherings and remember Guatemalan traditions. Now that I have a family of my own, I want to share that joy of Christmas with my sons so I am starting to make new traditions with them and they love it. We switch off each year between Australia and California so that my boys can experience both sides.”
On my wish list:
- Sennelier Oil Pastel Set $118 (They also sell individually for $5 if you’re on a budget!)
- Salad Servers from the DEA shop $39
- Pepper grinder by Built Editions $240
- Under $30: This bird ornament
Inspiration for teacher’s gifts:
- Joint gift voucher for a nice dinner spot (split it with with a few other parents so the teacher can get a bigger gift)
- Pretty Christmas ornaments and a posy of flowers from the garden
- A box of chocolates from our local chocolate shop Woodstock Chocolates.
Follow Darren, Heather, Jono, Lucy and Kayla on Instagram
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