1. Bringing a touch of exotic to Boxing Day board games, these handmade limited edition backgammon games were created for the luxury hotel group Oetker Collection, with designs bearing the name of advanced sites such as the ‘Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc and Jumby Bay. Designed by London artist Alexandra Llewellyn, who fell in love with the game while watching it play on the streets of Cairo, the sets use hand-applied lacquer, leather and marquetry, while the pieces are made of white jasper, turquoise or malachite. , wrapped in polished brass. From £ 1,400 for travel size, £ 5,700 for full size; oetkercollection.com
2. Another hotel-artist collaboration, this time between The Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar, Scotland, and Sussex furniture maker Tom Aylwin, has produced this oak souvenir box (£ 995) whose lid is cut in a topographic model of the Cairngorms. The Sussex artist uses digital map data to accurately cut any landscape into wood, with significant points (in this case, the hotel) marked with a silver needle. Aside from their Fife Arms project, their small boxes start at £ 195 for popular peaks such as Ben Nevis, Everest and Matterhorn, while bespoke boxes from any other location cost from £ 295. thefifearms.com; contourboxes.co.uk
3. Having been virtually wiped out by the incoming tide of cheap polystyrene boards, the traditional wooden “belly tables” are back. Designed to be mounted in a prone position, they are suitable even for shallow waves and are much easier to master than surfing. “Bellyboarding is between riding a foam boogie board and doing body surfing – it’s the best feeling,” says Cornish maker Dick Pearce & Friends. Produce handcrafted bellyboards in your Newquay workshop in a variety of classic colors, or you can design your own. Size for children from £ 55, adults from £ 65; dickpearce.com
4. The trend of new types of natural remedies to boost the brain, CBD oil to help relaxation and herbal drinks that improve mood, such as psychedelic water, is expanding in products that relieve the stresses of traveling. London Nootropics specializes in instant drinks that “improve cognitive performance,” combining coffee with “adaptogens,” natural active ingredients. His Mojo mix (£ 15 for 12 sachets) is made with cordyceps, a type of fungus that contains cordycepin, which an initial study suggests may help restore the body clock and therefore help with jet jag. Meanwhile, Disciple’s Miracle CBD patches (£ 30 for 30), meanwhile, are a non-alcoholic alternative to this rigid pre-departure drink to reduce anxiety in nervous frills. Londonnootropics.com; disciplelondon.com
5. It may seem like they’re reinventing the wheel, but you can’t question the popularity of Den Kit Company’s children’s packages, which contain a rope, canvas, mallet, pegs and other pieces to build outdoor burrows, and 20,000 were sold in the UK. last year. In time for Christmas there are two new additions, a Forest Den kit (£ 65), which includes a camouflage net and face paint, and a Fire on a Plate kit (£ 24.50), to teach fashion secure the lighting of the fire. thedenkitco.com
6. Canada Goose, the Toronto-based outerwear brand, has launched its first footwear collection this season while collaborating with Chinese designer Angel Chen to redesign its classic padded parkas. The very angular Cropped Snow Mantra parka (£ 1,295) has a huge hood that can be zipped open and the coat is worn upside down “for a demanding look”. canadagoose.com
7. With the reduction of pandemic restrictions, many travelers will spend their festive holidays planning adventures for next year. Eager to cheer them on, tour operators have come up with creative ways to pack travel vouchers as Christmas gifts. Black Tomato has partnered with luxury luggage maker Globe-Trotter in a set of colorful suitcases, briefcases and trolleys from pistachio to pink, which are offered with tickets for a tailor-made trip to the interior (from £ 5,000, travel included). Vouchers for the Canopy & Stars glamping specialist worth £ 200 or more come with a copy of their new book, Stay Wild (worth £ 35), while Kip Hideaways keeps membership vouchers (worth £ of £ 14) which give access to their collection of small designer pieces. took the holiday homes to the Christmas dream (£ 66) or travel gift sets (£ 53), which also contain toiletries and an embroidered bag. blacktomato.com; canopyandstars.co.uk; kiphideaways.com
8. Amid a handful of new distilleries set up in the mountains of the English Lakes District, The Lakes Distillery began producing gin, whiskey and vodka on a Victorian farm near Bassenthwaite Lake in 2014. It now offers tours. and tastings, as well as an email. – Order service. Their Lakes Crackers (four for £ 20) are perfect for Christmas Day – containing miniatures of caramel vodka, pink grapefruit gin, whiskey or gin, they would be a sweet reminder of any hiking adventure made in the region this year . lakesdistillery.com
9. Palm Heights, a new original boutique hotel in the Cayman Islands, has a “design aesthetic of a 1970s mansion.” He has created a modern version of the towel gown with his unisex Palm Heights X Bode jackets in yellow or brown stripes. Made with recycled towels, they were designed by Emily Bode Aujla, who won a Council of Fashion Designers of America award in 2021. Starting at $ 800; palmheights.com
10. Those who carried a sad travel tube during their backpacking days can appreciate a new handheld electronic device, the Bosch FreshUp (£ 250), which claims to be the first device in the world to dissolve the odors of clothes without using water. , solvents or detergents. . Instead, Bosch says it uses “plasma technology” to break the bonds between odor molecules when the device passes over the fabric. Alternatively, try the Kair (yes, really) hip clothing brand finishing sprays (£ 14) to refresh your clothes with scents of wild juniper and bergamot. bosch-home.co.uk; kair.care
11. Red Paddle Company’s new 12’0 “compact inflatable stand-up paddle board (£ 1,499) is ideal for those who want to explore a remote coast or lake. With a stretched shape for improved sliding and a bungee for loading, packs up to half the size of a standard touring paddle board, thanks to a patented method of folding along a split deck, and can be carried in a light weight. backpack with lumbar support.red-equipment.co.uk
12. Ordnance Survey, the 230-year-old UK mapping agency, has been expanding its range of gifts for potato growers. New this Christmas are sets of dry bags (£ 40 for three) that include maps of Scafell Pike, Snowdon and Ben Nevis, perhaps useful if your actual map is wanted, and “packing cubes” (£ 33 for a set of three) to separate you. toiletries, technological items or clothing in the backpack. ordnancesurvey.co.uk
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