Last-minute Christmas gifts for teams, clients or friends
It’s not too late to find an eleventh-hour present. Here are seven gifts that you still have time to buy – all without needing to visit the shops.
Coffee subscriptions
Many working in PR depend on a steaming cup of coffee (or four) to power through their hectic days. Gifting these java junkies a coffee subscription will help them save money on their daily caffeine fix by having great beans, pods or bags delivered to their door.
Opt for a local, indie brewsmith such as Northampton-based Yellow Bourbon or Shoreditch staples Grind. Or let your recipient savour the best of everything with a Rise subscription, which sources its coffee from a range of UK independent roasters, with 1% of sales donated to coffee-growing communities in Uganda.
- Yellow Bourbon’s espresso blend starts at £8.25
- Rise has a three-month coffee subscription from £123
- Grind has whole bean and ground coffee subscriptions from £16.95; 60 Nespresso-compatible pods from £27.25
A course or workshop voucher
PR professionals are always looking for ways to sharpen their skills. That’s why many might appreciate a voucher for a course or workshop this Christmas. As a boss, you’d have to be a real micro-managing meanie to gift one of your underlings a course in social media strategy or content creation. Instead, focus on what your colleague or client is passionate about: Eventbrite has courses in everything from Algerian dance to being a barista, through to Shakespearean storytelling and beyond.
- Check out Eventbrite’s list of courses.
A museum membership or National Art Pass
We all need creative inspiration working in the media. Sadly, these days that means going to ChatGPT and typing ‘Give me five ideas on a campaign to promote a new protein shake brand’. Visiting an art gallery is much more likely to expand the mind. The likes of London’s V&A and Design Museum, The Tate (London, Liverpool, Cornwall) and the National Galleries of Scotland all offer a year’s membership. Other than that, a National Art Pass offers free (or half-price) entry to hundreds of museums and galleries across the UK, such as Cardiff Castle, the British Museum, National Gallery, the Hepworth Wakefield, Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum and more.
- Find out more about the National Art Pass (price: £62.25; £37.50 for under-30-year-olds)
- The Design Museum offers annual memberships from £55.
- The V&A offers annual memberships from £122 (£55 for under-26-year-olds).
- The Tate offers annual memberships from £78.
- National Galleries of Scotland offers annual memberships from £45.
Flowers
“I can buy myself flowers” sung Miley Cyrus in her 2023 chart-topper. Well, maybe she could. But Miley – like most of us – would probably much rather receive some beautiful blossoms instead. A flower subscription is a considerate gift that brightens up any desk, office or remote workspace. Bloom & Wild offers a letterbox flower subscription service where you can dispatch bouquets, seasonal blooms and even plants such as cyclamens to teammates or clients.
- Bloom & Wild has three-month flower subscriptions from £70.
A natty notebook
What PR wouldn’t like a premium notepad to help them organise their manic schedules or to whip out on a desk when in a brainstorming session with a client? Or maybe elevate their daily journaling routine? Leuchtturm917 is the gold standard when it comes to swanky stationery. Their notebooks come in exclusive editions ranging from Bauhaus to collabs with Monocle magazine. They also feature ‘writing-tech’ such as chamois paper to improve readability, a gusseted pocket and sticker sets for labelling.
- Find out more about Leuchtturm1917 notebooks.
Christian Koch is an award-winning journalist and editor who has written for the Sunday Times, Guardian, Evening Standard, Metro, Director, Cosmopolitan, ShortList and Stylist.