Give your debit card a workout with these top-dollar treats
There’s never a bad time to win the lottery, but take home the December jackpot and you’ll have a million ways to spread the festive cheer. And if it’s Christmas luxury you’re looking for, these premium gift ideas will point your personal shopper in the right direction.
Feeling flush this festive season? From electric bikes to top-end tellies, this is a Yuletide buying guide for the well-heeled and excessively generous.
And if decking the halls leaves your reserves running low, you can always treat yourself to something more affordable. Like one of the top Christmas gifts for less than £100.
Our pick of the top luxury Christmas gift ideas
VanMoof S5
Most electric bikes are more functional than fancy, but VanMoof’s S5 is guaranteed to draw admiring glances when you lock it up outside your favourite takeaway granola station. The sleek frame has built-in lights and is packed with anti-theft tech, while the 487Wh battery gives it a maximum range of 37 miles at full power and a top speed of 15.5mph. There’s even a Turbo Boost button in case all those mince pies are starting to slow you down.
Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E4
High-end watches that cost the same as a new car might be full of technical intricacies and microscopic works of mechanical art, but they don’t scratch the smart itch that Stuff readers demand of a timepiece. Tag Heuer’s Calibre E4, however, sits nicely in the middle of the watch nerd/gadget fan Venn diagram. There’s its 42mm steel case with ceramic bezel to please the former, while the Snapdragon 4100+ processor that powers Wear OS caters for the latter, offering all the usual phone notifications and fitness features you’d expect from a Google-powered smartwatch. That price tag is just the right side of expensive, too.
Carl Friedrik The Charging Tray
Wires might work for the masses, but big spenders have no time to faff with cables. Drop and go in classy fashion with this wireless charging tray. With an aluminium base topped by sumptuous Vachetta leather, it’s every bit the premium power solution. Compatible with any Qi-friendly device (including iPhones and AirPods), the right side of the desktop organiser delivers juice at up to 15W, while the left looks after your pens and deluxe detritus.
Ooni Karu 16
Ordering takeaway every night is one way to burn through your readies. This multi-fuel pizza stove is another. Approved for domestic use by the godfathers of Neapolitan pizza – the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana – the Karu 16 can be used straight away with wood or charcoal for a smokey dough. Or hook it up to bottles via the sold-separately gas burner. A transparent panel in the door means you can easily monitor your margarita, while a digital thermometer below lets you track internal temps. With space for pizzas up to 16in across, it’s ideal for cooking up a crispier Christmas dinner.
Devialet Dione
With its matte black finish and semi-submerged, orb-like centre channel, Devialet’s 950-watt Dione soundbar gives off real space-age relic vibes, but with 17 high-end drivers in a 5.1.2 configuration and Dolby Atmos to bounce sound off the ceiling, it’ll make your telly sound absolutely cosmic (even if you are only watching Muppet Christmas Carol for the 400th time). You can even wall mount it and turn it into a real conversation starter.
Leica M11
You could probably hire your own photographer for the same cost as Leica’s M11. But if you’re shopping for a shutterbug and money’s not a problem, this updated version of the classic rangefinder is guaranteed to go down a treat. Its full-frame sensor can shoot stills at 18MP, 36MP or a sizeable 60MP, while the electronic shutter acts fast at speeds of up to 1/16,000s. And with a generous 64GB of storage, it’ll take a happy trigger finger to fill it with festive snaps. Who knows, your recipient might be so grateful that they agree to be your personal snapper.
Astell & Kern A&Ultima SP3000
With a 5.46in Full HD display and a chassis made of 904L stainless steel, the same kind used in watches so costly you have to make an appointment to buy one, this digital music player is quite clearly only for the most committed audiophile in your life. No doubt they’ll be delighted by the Asahi Kasei AK4499EX DAC and independent dual audio circuitry inside, even if you’ve no idea what either of them do.
Philips OLED+937
It’s hard to fit a massive telly under the Christmas tree, but with its built-in four-sided Ambilight and Philips Hue compatibility you could always try and integrate the 65in OLED+937 with the rest of the decorations. Its integrated B&W sound system will make it awkward to wrap anyway, plus that’ll mean you can be engrossed in its 4K HDR screen as soon as the turkey’s in the oven.
Smeg x Veuve Clicquot FAB10
Nothing says luxury like having a fridge just for champagne – and with Veuve Clicquot’s name emblazoned across the front there’s not much chance of filling this one with scotch eggs and bottles of salad cream by accident. Measuring about a metre tall and just over 50cm wide, it’ll fit in nicely at the end of the chaise longue, so you don’t even need to go to the kitchen for a top-up.
Hydrow Wave
If you’re not posh enough to go actual rowing – and, let’s be honest, not many of us are – a machine that lets you do it in the comfort of your own home is a much better (and drier) option. Hydrow is like Peloton for rowing, with guided workouts via the 16in touchscreen, and an electromagnetic drag system that makes it feel like pulling yourself through water. Perfect for shedding that Christmas weight.
KEF LSX II
Luxury and minimalism often go hand-in-hand – and nothing combines them as well as KEF’s LSX II all-in-one speaker system. Everything you need for a proper hi-fi experience is packed into the colourful cabinets – they’re available in five finishes, including lava red and cobalt blue – with support for Apple AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast and Bluetooth, KEF’s Uni-Q driver array, and 100W to drive each one. Driving Home for Christmas has never sounded so good.
Gaggia Classic Lobster Red
True luxury is having your own live-in barista, but if you can’t quite stretch to staff, Gaggia’s Classic comes with a traditional style boiler, oversize heating element, a milk-steaming wand, and up to 15 bars of pressure, so it should produce coffee fit for the fussiest connoisseur. This one comes in Lobster Red, a nod to the original Baby Gaggia machine that was launched 45 years ago. If you know, you know.
Maeving RM1
The grown-up equivalent of coming downstairs to find a spanking new BMX under the tree, unwrapping a Maeving RM1 will soon have the CBT-holding recipient popping mental wheelies in excitement. Its near-silent electric motor and top speed of 45mph won’t turn any heads, but the old-school looks certainly will – and if you get the dual removable battery model (£6990) it’ll keep going for 80 miles before it needs charging.
Focal Utopia
Luxury isn’t just about price, it’s a feeling, and with perforated lambskin memory foam ear pads, carbon yokes, and a leather headband, you can’t beat the feeling of slipping on a pair of these open-backed, over-ear cans and losing yourself in the new Bikini Jesus album for an hour or so. Just make sure you’ve got them plugged into something that’ll let the 40mm Beryllium drivers show off what they can really do.
Apple Watch Ultra
Most rugged watches are more than happy up a mountain, but don’t fit in quite so well down at your exclusive members club. With its classy titanium case, military grade toughness, bright screen, and all the usual health and smartwatch features, the Apple Watch Ultra is at home doing both (although you might want to swap out that bright International Orange strap before heading out to see in the New Year).
