Guardian gift guide: tested Christmas present ideas for dads, grandads and uncles
The Guardian's Filter rounds up gifts for dads, grandads, uncles and friends, with every item tested over months by a reviewer who is a 34-year-old father of a toddler.
At a glance
- The Guardian's Filter published a Christmas gift guide for dads, grandads, uncles and friends, tested over several months.
- Picks include an AeroPress, a waterproof Ultimate Ears speaker, a Yum Asia rice cooker, whisky, low-alcohol beer, running socks and books.
- The reviewer, a 34-year-old dad with a toddler, says he included only products he reached for almost daily.
The Guardian's Filter has published a tested guide to Christmas gifts for dads, grandads, uncles and other father figures, after its reviewer spent several months using each item. The writer, who describes himself as a 34-year-old dad with a toddler, says only products he reached for almost daily made the list — including an AeroPress coffee maker he uses several times a day.
Pockets, garden and outdoors
The guide suggests a recycled-canvas wallet from Roka London with three compartments for cards, coins and receipts, which the reviewer says kept its contents dry in a downpour. Chilly's latest water bottle comes with a telescopic brush for cleaning its seals and stainless steel straw, and is described as leak-free, with a flip lid for one-handed drinking and insulation that Chilly's rates at up to 45 hours.
A personalised print from Good Team On Paper recreates a chosen team's memorable kit, from non-league to national sides; the reviewer's Arsenal-supporting brother confirmed an early-1990s yellow-and-black JVC away shirt was rendered accurately. Gardeners are pointed towards a brightly coloured spade for breaking up hard borders and dividing perennials, while a Pott candle made with Isle of Wight Tomatoes brings a tomato-vine scent indoors in a reusable pot with refills.
Among the technology picks are Ultimate Ears' small portable speaker, which carries an IP67 water and dust rating and survived being submerged and dropped in sand, and Happy Ears' earplug discovery pack, which helps buyers find a size that stays in overnight and also suits swimming and gigs.
Kitchen, drinks and clothing
Kitchen suggestions include the AeroPress, a Joseph Joseph knife sharpener with coarse and fine ceramic wheels, a tri-ply stainless steel frying pan, a Sichuan chilli crisp, a Hario glass cold-brew brewer, a Yum Asia rice cooker with settings for white, brown and short-grain rice, and an 8in Wüsthof chef's knife that the reviewer acknowledges costs more than £100.
For drinks there is Bruichladdich's 10-year-old The Classic Laddie single malt, a loose-leaf tea infuser, a handmade 400ml mug from Villa Bologna, a Korean soy and garlic barbecue sauce, a premixed negroni from Black Lines, beers from Jiddler's Tipple and Rothaus, Forest Feast dark chocolate cashews and a 2018 Vina Real Rioja Gran Reserva Especial. Yeti's Rambler reusable cup can be personalised with a message for an extra £8.
Grooming and travel items include a Lifejacket face cleansing bar, a Horace moisturiser with SPF30, a refillable shower gel applicator and bar set from Bob and a compact wash bag with a hanging loop. The list closes with Hoka running socks, a Nike ACG base layer, an Arc'teryx fleece, a vegetable-forward cookbook, Elizabeth Strout's Booker-shortlisted novel The Things We Never Say and a nonfiction bestseller by Patrick Radden Keefe.
Source: The Guardian Technology.
Questions and answers
- What does The Guardian recommend as Christmas gifts for dads?
- Its Filter guide lists around two dozen tested items, including an AeroPress coffee maker, a waterproof Ultimate Ears speaker, a Roka wallet, Chilly's water bottle, a Yum Asia rice cooker, whisky, beers, socks and books.
- How were the gifts tested?
- The reviewer, a 34-year-old dad with a toddler, used each product for several months and included only items he reached for almost daily, such as the AeroPress, which he says he uses multiple times a day.
- Are the recommended gifts expensive?
- Most are everyday-priced items, though the guide notes the 8in Wüsthof chef's knife costs more than £100 and that adding a personalised message to Yeti's Rambler cup costs an extra £8.
