Christmas Gifts for Creative People Who Already Own Everything
The difficulty with buying for a creative person at Christmas is not that they are fussy. It is that they already own the obvious things, they have opinions about materials, and they will notice if something was chosen quickly.
They are also, usually, the person least likely to buy themselves anything. Which is the opening.
The rule: buy what they would not buy themselves
Creative people tend to spend money on tools and nothing on objects. They will replace a broken lamp with the cheapest working lamp and then spend three hundred euros on something for work without blinking.
So the gift that lands is not the thing they need. It is the thing they would look at, want, and then decide against buying because it is not necessary. You are giving permission rather than solving a problem.
Practically, that means: an object rather than a consumable, a material rather than a feature, and something they would have to justify. All three of the sections below are built on that.
Objects with taste
Wooden Toaster Coaster and Phone Stand — €125.83
The best gift on this list for someone who notices how things are made, because the whole joke is executed in material rather than paint.
The slice of toast lifts out and becomes your coaster. The toaster it came from holds your phone. Every colour on it is the wood itself: North American maple for the body, black walnut for the toast, purple sandalwood for the eyes, red rosewood for the feet, cherry for the cheeks. Five species, cut and fitted, nothing stained and nothing printed.
A designer will pick it up and work out what it is made of before they work out what it does. Keep it out of the dishwasher.
Magnetic Levitation Floating Bulb Lamp — €129.35
There is nothing holding it up, and people will check. The bulb sits in the air above its base with a real gap underneath, powered without contact, switched by touching the base. 2W, rated for around 40,000 hours, CE certified.
Choose a round base for something softer or square for something more architectural, both 15cm. Two practical notes: it needs a level, stable surface, and keep it away from cards with magnetic strips.
Thread-Bound Blank Sketchbook — from €103.83
Hand-stitched with traditional Chinese thread binding, stitches left visible along the spine. The reason that matters is not decorative: a sewn book lies flat across the gutter, which is the one thing that counts when you are drawing across a double page. Glued spines fight you.
320 blank pages, 160 sheets at 27 by 19.3cm. Choose kraft paper for pencil, charcoal and gouache, or off-white for ink and fineliner. The leftover length of rope is the bookmark.
This is the safest gift here for anyone who draws, because it is genuinely good and it gets used up, which some people prefer to another object.
Abstract Stylised Figure Sculptures — from €71.27
Ten cast resin figures at the figurative end of abstract: one asleep across a swan, one with a pigeon, one standing in something like defiance.
One of them is a wine rack, where the bottle becomes part of the composition instead of being awkwardly held. That is the one most people buy, and it is a better present than it sounds, because it is a functional object that does not look like a novelty gadget when it is in use.
Sizes and poses vary considerably between designs, so look at the photograph for the one you are ordering.
Rotating Perpetual Desk Calendar — €43.99
The best value on the list. Machined aluminium alloy, not moulded, with enough weight and resistance that turning it to the date becomes a small morning ritual. Perpetual, so there is no page to tear off, no refill and no battery.
Only the English wheel is stocked. Message us first if you need the Chinese lettering.
For someone who is not putting up a tree
This is the section nobody expects, and it solves a real problem.
The Christmas Deer, Snowman and Tree Figures from €221.74 are not tree ornaments. At 37 to 53cm they stand on the floor, a hearth or a side table and become the decoration themselves — which is the answer for a flat where a full tree is not happening, or for someone who likes Christmas but not pine needles in the rug until February.
The styling is rounded and contemporary rather than rustic red and green, so they read as decor that happens to be seasonal instead of a box of things tolerated for one month a year.
- Christmas tree — 53cm
- Fawn — 40cm
- Snowman — 37cm
Sold individually, so buy just the fawn if the fawn is the one. All three together make a scene.
The countdown
The Christmas Advent Calendar with Animal Block Figures at €47.51 is worth buying in November rather than December, for obvious reasons.
Behind each door is a handful of pieces and no indication what they make until it is built — roughly ten minutes, which is the right length for a morning before school. By Christmas there is a shelf of animals instead of an empty plastic tray, and the pieces come apart for another round. Aimed at four to six year olds. Contains small parts, so not for under-threes.
Chocolate calendars are over in thirty seconds a day. This one is the alternative that does not feel like a punishment.
Buying for several people at once
Two things here that make December easier.
The sketchbooks come in boxed sets of five or eight. If you are buying for a studio, a workshop, a class or several people who all draw, that solves the whole list in one order and each book still arrives as a proper object.
The under-€25 band covers the rest. Twelve products, and the ones that work best as multiples are the Famous Painting Micro Block Set at €21.11 (it comes with its own display case), the Meditating Figure Resin Sculpture at €23.75, and the Hexagonal Ceramic Dessert Plates at €19.35.
See Gifts Under €25 for all twelve, and our guide to gifts under €50 for the reasoning on why some inexpensive gifts read as considered and others do not.
If you are posting it abroad
One thing genuinely worth checking. The Magnetic Levitation Bulb is mains-powered and the plug type is a choice at checkout — EU, UK, US or AU. Select the one for wherever the gift is going, not where you are.
Most other electrical items here are USB or battery powered, so they travel without adapters. The Christmas figures at 37 to 53cm are large and will be priced accordingly to ship.
Order earlier than feels necessary. December delivery estimates are not promises anywhere.
What not to buy a creative person
Worth saying plainly, including about our own products.
- Not a big project, unless you know they want one. The miniature house kits and 3,000-piece engine sets are excellent gifts for the right person and a source of guilt for everyone else. A creative person's evenings are usually already committed to something.
- Not something that duplicates their tools. If they paint, they have opinions about paint. A watercolour set is a lovely gift from someone who knows their preferences and a slightly awkward one from someone guessing.
- Not RGB colour-changing anything. Warm white or nothing.
- Not a novelty gadget that has one joke. The test is whether the object still works on the fortieth day. The wooden toaster does, because it is a coaster. A thing that is only funny is not a gift, it is a bin item with a delay.
Common questions
What is the best Christmas gift for a designer?
The Wooden Toaster Coaster at €125.83 if you want an object, or the Thread-Bound Sketchbook from €103.83 if they draw. Under €50, the aluminium Rotating Perpetual Desk Calendar at €43.99. We have a fuller list in Gifts for Designers.
What if they say they do not want anything?
They mean they do not want anything they would have to find space for or maintain. Buy something small and well made, or something consumable like the sketchbook. Avoid large decorative objects for this person specifically.
Is there anything here for under €25?
Twelve products, from €14.95. The micro block art sets and the resin sculptures are the ones that hold up best as gifts rather than stocking filler.
What works as a host or hostess gift?
The wine rack version of the Abstract Stylised Figure Sculptures from €71.27, or the ceramic dessert plates at €19.35 if you want something lighter.
Can I buy Christmas decorations rather than gifts?
The Christmas Deer, Snowman and Tree Figures are sold individually and are floor-standing rather than hanging, so they work as decoration in their own right. They are the only explicitly seasonal decor we stock.
Start with Gifts for Designers, Gifts Under €50 or Home & Living.
The short version: buy them the object they would want and then talk themselves out of. Choose it for the material. And do not give anyone a three-thousand-piece project unless they have specifically asked for it.