Twelve last minute Xmas gift ideas
A sack full of ideas for pressies from Manchester indies
We have reached that: ‘Oh fuck! It’s Xmas Eve a week today,’ point of the year. How did that happen? As we prepare to boot 2023 up the rear, I bet loads of you are still frantically buying pressies. Our busy lives make it hard to find the time. So I’ve decided to throw a few ideas your way from my favourite Manchester indies.
Here are ten ideas for last-minute Mancunian Xmas gifts.
Very daft Xmas cards from Left-Handed Night Drawings (from £2.50)
Jim Cattell is the funniest and kindest person I have ever met in my life. He’s also multi-talented: a great drummer, a brilliant impressionist and a talented artist. His LHND (left-handed night drawings) cartoons are just the right side of weird and include one Phill Jupitus among their famous fans. Every year, Jim has a range of silly Xmas cards printed. If you are over the usual Xmas schtick and looking for something a bit silly and surreal, you can’t go wrong with these. There’s still time to order some before Xmas if you get a wiggle on. Jim might even hand deliver if you live in Levenshulme.
Stray bottled cocktails (£30)
Manchester’s newest cocktail bar, Stray, opened in Mackie Mayor just a couple of months ago. The bar boasts bartending alumni from some of Manchester’s best bars and is the go-to for those in the know right now. The big drink from their small but inventive list is the tomato vine margarita which features El Tequelino tequila, Banhez mescal, Helios tomato and agave. You can now buy it in bottled form to pour five perfect drinks for you and some festive friends - you have to pop in to buy it but it’s an excuse to pull up a stool for a quick sip yourself. A better gift than that generic bottle of gin and they do digital gift cards too if you prefer.
Manchester Wine Tours gift vouchers (From £75)
Self-promotion alert (sorry) but if I wasn’t the brains behind these grape tours I’d be dropping all the hints to secure one of these in my stocking on Xmas day. ICYMI, Manchester Wine Tours are 3-4 hour tours of Manchester taking in four venues for wine along the way. Guests will taste at least five (and sometimes more like seven or eight) different wines personally chosen by me in cahoots with sommeliers at every venue. There are small but elite snacks at every venue too and a bit of Manchester (and wine) history thrown in. A brilliant experience gift in the form of a voucher (priced at £75 per ticket) or gift card (can be any amount you want to gift towards a tour). Use the code SANTAPOURS for 10% off a voucher.
A bottle of wine from your local indie wine shop (From £12ish)
One good thing about local indie wine shops is you can ask questions like: My auntie likes Rioja, can you suggest anything similar she might like? / I want to buy a decent bottle of fizz but only have a £30 budget, what’s the best bang for my buck? / My mate Kel’s a proper wine snob, can you suggest something she might not have tried? and they will be VERY happy to help. I’m not gonna suggest one place here but some of my favourite places to buy wine in Manchester are Salut, Ad Hoc, Cork of the North, Fold, Kelder Wines, Grape to Grain, Isca, Flawd, Kerb and The Beeswing / Vin-Yard. Some of them even do bottle openers, tees and other merch and many deliver locally.
A new sporting experience at Club De Padel (From £36 for two)
Sporty types can be hard to buy for if you don’t want to risk buying them lycra. If they’re the kind who are always looking for the next thing to get good at, you can show you are on the pulse (even if your fave sport is eating Pringles while shouting at footballers on the TV) by booking them a padel court for the new year. WTF is padel? It’s only the fastest-growing racket sport in the world, mate. Originating in Mexico, it’s somewhere between tennis and squash. Manchester has a shiny new venue for it at Deansgate Square called Club De Padel complete with fancy glass walls and all the equipment needed to play. Bookings are open now via the Playtomic app.
A crate of Hip Pop (From £12.50 for six)
In my early days as a food writer, I interviewed bug-loving kombucha queen Emma Thackrey who learned the art of fermentation while living in Virginia and working for none other than Dolly Parton. I was sceptical but fell in love with her delicious brew, then called Booch and Brew. Now known as Hip Pop, the brand is stronger than ever. You can buy it by the crate and it makes a great pressie for an AF friend or someone who is doing Dry January. I think it’s the best alternative to wine in terms of flavour profile and I love their CBD version.
Pod Pea Vodka (£46)
If your loved one laughs in the face of Dry January and nothing but the hard stuff will do, the most exciting booze launch of the year was Pod Pea Vodka. Made, distilled and bottles right here in Manchester, Pod is a truly local product which is popping off everywhere. The pea flavour is mild but present but peas were used partly for their truly British, sustainable quality (as you can read all about in an interview I did with co-founder Becky for Manchester’s Finest). You can pick up a bottle at the brilliant Tipples of Manchester or buy online.
Manchester Wine School vouchers (From £25)
If a wine tour seems like too much walking for your loved ones, you can’t go wrong with a tasting from Manchester Wine School. With a packed program of events throughout the year, tastings include everything from beginners’ wine tasting via some classic examples to masterclasses in various grapes, wine styles and countries. This is where I learned all about wine and the brilliant teachers here made me fall in love with wine education - now you might even find me hosting a class.
Restaurant vouchers (From £30)
For me, a restaurant voucher is one of the best presents you can buy. It ensures a lovely night out later in the year and is a lovely way to treat someone in these times of ever-tightening purse strings. If you buy from an indie, it also helps give a much needed boost to a small business in a sector that has had it really tough for the past few years. I see so many places closing at the moment, it’s heartbreaking, and people buying restaurant vouchers for the new year can really make a difference to a restaurant’s fortunes. Some of my faves doing vouchers are: Flawd/Higher Ground, Erst, Örme, Where The Light Gets In, Elnecot, Another Hand, and The Pearl but check with your local favourite as there are loads more doing vouchers.
Stinky cheese, posh bottled soups, and buttery biscuits from Petit Paris (From £10)
French deli Petit Paris on King Street has a wonderful selection of wines from France but it also does over 70 different types of French cheese if your loved ones like the stinky kind of Xmas pressies. I think Xmas is also the time of year to buy posh food things you wouldn’t normally be able to justify forking out for, this deli does this in spades. I’m thinking buttery French biscuits, artisan chocolate, top tier olive oils and vinegars and the kind of soup that comes in a fancy bottles you can keep to store dried beans in afterwards.
A season ticket for the Royal Exchange theatre (From £66)
Some of my favourite nights out this year have been to see shows at the Royal Exchange. I particularly loved untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play and Romeo and Juliet. It’s a stunning building to spend time in and the productions are always interesting. If you know someone who loves a bit of theatre or would like to do more of it, a season ticket for the upcoming season at the RX is a lovely gift. For just £66 (starting price) you can ensure a seat for Shed: Exploded View, A Taste of Honey, Sweat and The Importance of Being Earnest.
An Eat Well MCR donation voucher (From £5)
Eat Well MCR was started during the pandemic by Manchester chef Mary Ellen McTague in response to the increased need for meals for people being treated in or working long shifts in hospitals, as well as other people suffering from food poverty. Unfortunately, there is still a huge need for meals for people in crisis that doesn’t end with lockdowns or covid. If you want to give an extra special gift this Xmas, a donation voucher to Eat Well is a great way to uphold the charitable values of the time of year. Either as a gift to the charity or a gift voucher for a friend in Eat Well’s name.
Thanks for the inspo. Wino’s in Oldham and their sister shop Saddleworth Wine Vault are great for help choosing wines and independently owned.
"I am a cool AF friend" is exactly what I tell people when I first meet them 😅 ... it's great that you've mentioned a charity 👍 ... I also think the restaurant vouchers are a great idea, I think I might get one myself, cheers Kel and Happy Holidays 💜🎅🌲❄