Useful Gifts That Won't Annoy People

Dec 04, 2024

Here are some brilliant things that I use on an almost daily basis and would really miss if I didn’t have in my life. Would have to replace instantly, in fact, if they went missing. I’m telling you about them because they are all infinitely useful and therefore make the most excellent, non-frivolous Christmas presents.

Great for people who feel aggrieved at the idea of receiving little luxuries they have absolutely no need for, and say things like “but what would I do with cashmere socks?!” People who find joy in the functional and the practical. All of the things on my list serve an important purpose but pleasingly, a lot of it is also nice to look at and/or luxurious to the touch! Which is a bonus…

[Ad info: no paid or sponsored content. I currently work with Good Hair Day but this is not part of that paid work. Affiliate links are marked *.]

The Miraculous Hair Towel

Good Wash Day towel. This ethically sourced organic jersey cotton towel (pictured below) helps hair to dry more quickly, but with less friction and therefore less frizz. I bought one a year or so again and have never looked back - it’s gentle, soft and incredibly lightweight, which means you can wrap up your hair whilst you do your makeup without needing the neck muscles of Hulk Hogan.

Loads of colours and prints, this is the ideal present for beauty-lovers who think they have everything, but evidently haven’t. Smoother hair awaits them. And now is the time, if you’re after the frizz-free life: I have a 10% off code for subscribers, RUTH10 which gives 10% off until 10th December!

Shop Good Wash Day towels here

Good Wash Day are a very small independent brand and work hard to be the most sustainable they can possibly be within very tight margins. Giving this discount is a huge deal for them when they’re up against companies who can regularly afford to slash prices because their manufacturing costs are so small and I’m really honoured that they’ve done it exclusively for my readers! The towels come beautifully wrapped and so can be sent directly to the recipient to save you the packaging-up and postage hassle.

The Must-Have Brush

I feel as though some people spend an absolute fortune on expensive hair-smoothing products but don’t take care of the simpler, basic things that make a difference. The Good Wash Day towel being one, a proper detangling brush being another. The Wet Brush (in black below) glides through washed hair like a dream, detangling painlessly, reducing breakage and never pulling. I like it because the bristle bed (if that’s the term!) is spongey and flexible.

See also the OG of the detangling brush world, Tangle Teezer, (in Burgundy above) and the more ergonomic (really gentle) Manta brush (pictured in white) that fits in your palm and feels as though it’s massaging your scalp as you brush. All are fantastic, Manta is now my most-used detangler, especially for travel, my daughter loves Wet Brush.

Find Wet Brush Pro Detangler here* (different types, but I like the Pro version - £13.99)

Shop Tangle Teezer* (loads of varieties, the Christmas edition is £14)

Manta brush is here online* (currently £25.50 instead of £34)

The Time/Space Portal Magnifying Mirror

This mirror from SimpleHuman is both a blessing and a curse. It’s like looking through a portal into another world. Pores become craters. Eyelashes, the dead trunks of alien trees. You can see everything and it’s possibly the worst thing you can do for your self-confidence. However, it is also true that nothing gives me more joy than a hair-plucking session at five times usual magnification. Swings and roundabouts.

There are loads of versions. I have one that folds itself beautifully into a travel case - it’s called the Sensor Mirror Fold - and is 10x magnification. They don’t seem to champion this version anymore but it’s on Amazon and it’s half the price of the one that doesn’t fold itself away. I really like being able to take it off my desk and stow it, because it’s magnifying and so not pleasant to keep catching your reflection in anyway!

The one I have is £102 here* - Robert Dyas also have it in gold, if you prefer that to Stainless Steel.

Anyway, this is the gift that keeps on giving. I bought mine in 2016 and still looks brand new. I rarely have to charge it (via USB) and think it will probably survive me, unless my chin-plucking sessions have to become a twice-daily affair. Which can’t be ruled out…

The Case for Precious Things

Daisy Jewellery do these very, very visually-pleasing jewellery cases. Gone are the traditional jewellery boxes of our childhoods, with the wind-up ballerina in the lid: we all know what happened to our necklaces once that box was closed. The ballerina obviously came alive and spent every hour of darkness intricately knotting all of the chains together to form one giant metal chain-ball.

HOW ELSE DID THIS HAPPEN?!

Today’s jewellery cases have clever compartments and hanging areas for necklaces and little cushioned sections for bracelets and boards with holes in to stick your earrings through. It keeps everything perfectly ordered and untangled and is also travel-friendly, easy to store but even easier to keep out and stare at.

I love these striped cases from Daisy - you can have them personalised too. The larger ones are £79 here*.

The Cheapest Useful Thing You’ll Find

I rolled my eyes when my Mum said that toaster tongs would change my life in a very small way but on an everyday basis. She was right, though - and I don’t really know why using wooden toaster tongs is quite so satisfying. Is it the fact you’re not, for once, dicing with death by sticking the metal fork into the toaster to retrieve the crumpet? Is it the snap-snap lobster claw action that is irresistible to perform whenever you hold any type of tong in your hands, whether it’s straightening irons or those gigantic BBQ scissors?

Whatever. The key is, for ultimate pleasure, to make sure that the toaster tongs are magnetic so that you can stick them to the side of the appliance when not in use. My God, it’s just pure functionality p*rn at this point.

I have these ones here* - £6.99

The Suit-All No-Cook Cookbook

I just think that Nigel Slater’s Eat (above) should be in every kitchen. It’s more of an ideas book than a recipe one, so you can just amble along through it thinking of ways of using up the stilton you have lingering in the fridge, or dip in to find out what interesting things you can do with a salmon fillet. It’s - and I hate to use this phrase when it’s almost literal - food for thought. No complicated techniques or lengthy ingredients lists, just ways of plonking things together on a plate lovingly and tastily. Low-key culinary genius.

Obviously not a book for people who rarely set foot in the kitchen, have no enjoyment of cooking and eat every meal courtesy of Deliveroo, because you need to have some kind of passion for flavour and wonderful ingredients, but for almost everyone else it’s a delight.

Eat, by Nigel Slater is here* online and at all good bookshops.

Remember, also, that my Books n Chocs post will give you loads of good ideas if you want a simple-yet-thoughtful gift that won’t break the bank.

The Bed of Nails

Yes, you read that right. A bed made of nails. We’re onto my husband’s one recommendation (that he’s been allowed, because everything was power-tool-centric) and obviously it involves something vaguely eyebrow-raising.

But look: he swears by this Bed of Nails. He’s never been a good sleeper and also gets migraines, fidgety legs, pretty much anything that is annoying to whoever has to sleep in the same bed, but ten or so minutes lying on the bed of (short, non-life-threatening) nails seems to sort him out every time.

I have tried to lie on it but can’t - apparently it’s a mind over matter sort of thing - and so you will have to take his testimony in lieu of mine. He says that after the initial mild discomfort he gets a warming sensation that’s really very pleasant and relaxing and often at this point falls straight asleep so we have no idea what would happen next. I’m sure you’re not actually supposed to sleep on it, especially not for the length of time he manages, but so far he seems unharmed. He’s been doing it regularly for well over a decade and apart from having a back that looks like a sieve he’s entirely normal.

Bed of Nails is £70 at Cult Beauty here*.

Let me know in the comments if you have any useful presents to add - I’ll round them up for next year. Even though I can barely think about this year. And remember to press the like button if you enjoyed reading. And subscribe, if you haven’t already, so that my emails can pop annoyingly into your inbox when you least expect it, rather than on a Tuesday as originally promised…