Here’s where we stand on lockdown gifts. Send them. Just use your judgement: you know if a well-timed drop-off or package in the post could make the difference between a bad week and a good week for your friends and family.
As long as you don’t go overboard then one of these ideas could do the trick. Plus check out our edit of the best subscription boxes to send as lockdown gifts.
Ticket to Ride
While the same old Zoom quizzes, escape rooms and treasure hunts can get tedious rather fast, there’s a more lo-fi solution that offers a near-endless range of choice – board games. In particular, we like Ticket to Ride – a game about making your way around the world (one can but dream) and creating rail routes as you go. The challenge comes from how you construct these rail routes and whether you’re pesky fellow players attempt to get in your way. Ticket to Ride comes in a range of regional versions, whether you fancy fantasizing about building your way across Europe or the USA. There's even a Stay at Home (PDF) edition, that offers quite a bit less escapism, instead letting you plan your routes from the fridge to your desk (no, really).
Price: £34 | Amazon | Zatu | Argos
Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Turntable
If you know an audiophile in need of a new turntable to do justice to a well kept record collection, Pro-Ject’s Debut Carbon offers a modern but thoughtful solution. Back in the 90s, the first Debut turntable was a step-forward in its own right and it’s the “Carbon” element that adds a new dimension to this contemporary model. The Carbon tube for the tonearm brings added stiffness and gets rid of unwanted resonance. On top, there’s increased platter size and weight for a smoother rotation – with the complete package bringing even better audio quality. The Debut Carbon is available in a range of colours to suit any audio setup – from eye-catching pinks and greens to understated black and wood styles. (Use the code PLAYWITH15 for an extra 15% off on eBay right now).
Price: £256 | Ebay
Pongori Table Tennis Set
Lockdown has meant that playing sport with mates as a regular occurrence hasn’t been a thing for quite a while now. But, while you still can’t get out onto a pitch with a big group of friends for a kickabout, you can still scratch your competitive itch at home. Yes, we're talking about table tennis. Decathlon has an adjustable net that can be fitted to a range of surface sizes, turning the dining table into a sports venue in a flash. You’ll have to pick up these paddles and balls too but, for £20 all in, you get hours of fast and furious at-home fun.
Posts and Net: £10 | Decathlon
Paddles and 3 balls: £10 | Decathlon
Sony WH-1000XM4
Got a mate who is stuck in a busy house or flat? Then, a decent pair of noise-cancelling headphones could be a life-saver. Sony has the very best around, with its latest take on its premium over-ears. These headphones do come with a premium price to boot but they really are worth every penny for their combination of audio prowess and range of handy features – from noise-cancelling and audio passthrough to remarkable battery life and easy-to-use touch controls. Like all good modern smartphones, these headphones have swift fast charging tech too, giving you five hours of use from just 10-minutes charge when you're caught short.
Price: £329 | Amazon | John Lewis | Argos
Lootcrate
Sending a subscription gift box used to be a sure signal of a last minute gift. Now? Super thoughtful. If you know someone who used to love browsing those figurine-filled stores in the before times, Lootcrate might work. Each month, you’ll get a selection of nerd culture goodies – with the ability to choose from franchises from video game series and Marvel to Star Trek and Harry Potter. With a surprise included in every pack, the edit often comes in the form of clothing, figures and collectibles from novelty socks to comic book character miniatures.
Price: From £19 per month | Lootcrate
Singer Heavy Duty 4411
The advice to at-home mask makers is to make sure the fabrics used are dense enough that you can’t see much light when you hold it up in front of a bright bulb. Encourage responsible sewing with this heavy duty, metal-framed Singer, which runs at 1,100 stitches per minute and can also handle denim and canvas. The 2020 motor has been treated to a power boost, too. More vintage workhorse than cutesy crafter.
Price: £279 | Amazon | Singer Outlet
LEGO Imperial Star Destroyer Ultimate Collector
This will take them a while. Not one for fans of the Holdo manoeuvre, this Imperial Star Destroyer – based on the opening of A New Hope – has 4,784 pieces and well, it’s massive. Over three feet long, in fact. It’s as detailed as you’ll get from Star Wars LEGO with the bridge tower, deflector shields, engine exhausts and even a to-scale Tantive IV rebel starship. Looking for a less intimidating project? The £180, 1,673-piece A-wing Starfighter has joined the Ultimate Collector Series for May the 4th.
Price: £650 | Star Destroyer: LEGO | A-wing: LEGO
The Resisters, Gish Jen
We prefer our fictional dystopias to be slightly off-topic at the moment, anything too on-the-nose leads to slightly shallow breathing unless we’re sure our Hollywood saviours swoop in. If you agree, consider Gish Jen’s AutoAmerica with its class divides between the 'Netted’, who get to have jobs, and the 'Surplus’ who, well, you get the idea. If your recipient is at all interested in baseball then it’s a literary home run, though that’s far from a requirement.
Price: £20.90 | Amazon
Nintendo Switch Lite + Animal Crossing
It's not too late to start [i]Animal Crossing[/I], the Switch game that was plastered all over the internet last year. It’s because the game is the best remedy for isolation blues. And it helps that the Nintendo Switch is the best console Nintendo has made since it came out with the Wii. With the Switch’s ingenious design and games galore, you’ll be kept entertained all lockdown long. If you can get your hands on one, that is. (The Switch Lite is one of your best bets right now but check stock of the new Switch Mario Red & Blue Edition too).
Price: £199 | Amazon
Lazy Flora
Suddenly that indoor garden looks remarkably important to both offline and online identities. You can send a plant in the post with Lazy Flora who have options for pet friendly, low light and unkillable plants depending on your friend’s needs and gardening prowess. For something a little fancier, there are terrarium kits — glass bowls filled with stones and a selection of plants. If you’re feeling especially generous, there’s an option to prepay for a subscription of either six or 12 months, with one plant sent every month.
Price: From £24 | Lazy Flora
Loog Pro VI Acoustic
Want to help your child learn a new skill whilst they’re stuck indoors? Loog’s endless range of kid-friendly guitars might be the perfect gift. Loog guitars like the $79 Loog Mini feature the first three strings of a guitar, meaning everything you learn on the Loog can be applied to a six-string guitar in the future. And the Loog Pro VI Acoustic (pictured) is its first six-string for 12 and up.
Price: $149 | Loog
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
The world is stuck indoors and everyone is baking. Cakes, banana bread, cookie chips. We’ve all gone baking mad. And if you’ve got a friend who has caught the bug, then getting them a KitchenAid will level up their cake game. KitchenAid’s 4.8l stand mixer comes with a stainless steel whisk, dough hook and flat beater.
Price: £599 | KitchenAid
Lelo Sona Cruise 2
No, you’re blushing. Forget the floral and vegetable and aim for a gasp on the doorstep with what seems to be the internet’s favourite sex toy, the Lelo Sona Cruise 2. This soft, silicone 'sonic’ 'massager’ is for friends who are really self-isolating with ten modes and a 60 minute run time. Your country needs you.
Facebook Portal TV
Facebook’s add-on video-chat device now no longer requires an actual Facebook account to use it. So if you’ve been video calling relatives via WhatsApp, they can connect this to their TV - possibly with some over-the-phone troubleshooting - and get going without the need to faff about with Facebook Messenger. The camera follows the speakers around the room plus there’s a 120-degree field of view to keep everyone in frame and audio smarts to minimise background noise. They can even use it as an Alexa device to chat to.
Sipsmith Sipping Society membership
With Sipping Society membership, Sipsmith will kindly send out two 20cl bottles of experimental, seasonal gins every two months alongside behind-the-scenes tidbits from its distillery. The extra £5 on top of a regular yearly subscription adds a 5cl bottle of London Dry Gin in a beautifully presented box, alongside a giftcard to start the subscription. Sign them up by the end of May to get the June delivery a headstart on summer fizz, sours and spritzes. Hic!
Price: £185 | Sipsmith
Stihl GTA 26 garden pruner
One for lockdown gardeners, here’s a power tool that will get them all hot and bothered. Power tool company Stihl has built a baby chainsaw for cutting back shrubs and branches. Well, the company actually calls it a portable garden pruner, but it looks and works like a chainsaw. The pruner will cut logs up to 4cm in diameter, and it will certainly be able to clean up the garden.
Price: £159 | Stihl
Codenames: Duet
Any coupled-up friends may enjoy a board game for two people, now they’ve realised there’s nowhere to storm out to. Codenames: Duet is the perfect game to get them working together. The two players cooperate to find all nine secret agents by giving one word clues, relating to the cards in the middle. Through word association the players indicate which cards they want the other to pick up – but if you pick up the wrong card by mistake, both players lose. It’s a cut-down version of a classic for those who like a game to stimulate the brain.
Panasonic Breadmaker
These have been selling like the hot cakes you can use them to make. The Panasonic SD-ZX2522 is our current WIRED Recommends breadmaker and a "dream, multi-purpose baking machine". It turns out perfect loaves in three sizes, features a 13-hour timer and, sensibly, it can handle both sourdough and gluten-free bread. Throw in some flour for extra brownie points.
Price: £240 | Check price on Argos
A good, old-fashioned magazine subscription
Our lockdown list, our rules. We’d be doing you and your social circles - such as they are - a disservice if we didn’t mention WIRED’s £12 a year introductory offer for print and digital. There’s also Stack (£7 per month) which sends out a different independent magazine each month and feels like a genuine letterbox treat every time.
Beer52 and NOAM lager
Someone missing the brewery? Craft beer discovery club Beer52 will deliver eight beers and ales from around the world direct to the door. And if you want something extra special, then NOAM beer, which is usually only sold at the highest of high-end bars and pubs, is currently selling to normies like you and me. Now we can all enjoy a bit of premium beer from the comfort of our home. Cheers to that.
Price: £24 for eight beers (Beer52) | From £15.80 (NOAM) Beer52 | NOAM
100% no-contact lockdown gifts
Masterclass seemingly has every creative celeb we could pin a face to - and some we couldn’t. The idea is to let Neil deGrasse Tyson teach you scientific thinking or, if you must, Gordon Ramsey teach you cookery. On this course, Neil Gaiman, the author of American Gods, Good Omens, Sandman and a shocking list of other excellent works talks about developing storytelling ideas, tackling comic book plots and dealing with writer’s block over the course of 19 lessons. A neat gift for anyone who is at a loose end right now.
Price: £170 for two passes (all access) | Masterclass
With a Readly subscription, magazine junkies can get their fix with unlimited access to a selection of publications. Current and previous issues of magazines like Time, Delicious, and (in our unbiased opinion) the best magazine ever, WIRED, are on the platform. There are options for three, six- and 12-month subscriptions for you to pick the one best for your budget - and whether you trust Twitter or Medium more for your social distancing timeline predictions.
Price: £8 per month | Readly
There’s such a huge back catalogue on Disney+ to get stuck into, including every single episode of The Simpsons and all of Pixar and Star Wars. There’s no option to buy gift subscriptions in the UK yet, but you can offer the gift of your Disney+ password - Disney+ lets you stream on four devices simultaneously.
Price: £5.99 a month/ £59.99 a year | Disney+
If your friend is stuck watching the same old channels on Freeview, then a gift card for one of Now TV’s packages will surely brighten their day. You can give them a two-month Sky Cinema gift card for £15 or a two-month entertainment pass for £10 - maybe chuck in a recommendations list too, you can steal ours. Send them the code or hold it up to the webcam: you’ll figure it out. They’ll never have to watch daytime TV again.
Price: From £10 | Now TV
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
