Don’t just go for her usual perfume, or the chocolates she’s always pleased to receive without giving you the ecstatic response you’d like. Gift something she’ll appreciate long after the tree decorations are stored away for another year, either by capturing her style and personality with a keepsake, or by spoiling her to an experience or membership that will lift her spirits in the New Year. So, to make it count, in this year’s gift guide two of the Arb’s leading ladies, Rebecca Lipkin and Jess Baldwin, have some recommendations they’d really like…
Dower & Hall – Locket Collection
Gift a jewellery keepsake by Dower and Hall that she will treasure for years to come. Crafting fine jewellery since 1990, the locket collection, handcrafted in their London studio and featuring recycled materials, will both surprise and delight the recipient when they open it to reveal pictures of a loved one or special memories. You can also personalise lockets with initials or a meaningful message.
Whether she prefers contemporary or traditional jewellery, the locket collection designs are available in sterling silver or gold vermeil, with a variety of chain lengths. Capture her personality with the Sculptural Pebble, Treasured Heart, Queen Bee or Tree of Life, with a range of designs elevated with sparkling blue or white sapphires, such as the Oval, Round or Heart Lumiere – while a single diamond, set in a striking starburst design, is the stone of choice for the exquisite True North Diamond Locket. Offering the wearer a timeless style that will always remind them of you, choose to present your special gift in either a Dower and Hall ribboned gift box or soft velvet travel pouch.
Prices from £195 to £325, with each piece guaranteed with a 1 year warranty. For more information please visit www.dowerandhall.com.
Award-winning Afternoon Tea at The Milestone
If you’re looking to surprise with a memorable experience in 2025, it doesn’t get more indulgent or majestic than Champagne Afternoon Tea for Two at The Milestone, a luxury Red Carnation Hotel in the heart of the Royal Borough of Kensington and just opposite Kensington Palace and Gardens. Honoured with an Award of Excellence in 2024 for the second consecutive year, enjoy every moment of the hotel’s award-winning Afternoon Tea, served in the sumptuous Park Lounge with its beautiful oil paintings, cushion-piled sofas, antiquarian books and roaring fire in winter.
Alongside a chilled glass of Lanson champagne, a Royal Warrant holder since 1900, choose from an extensive selection of classic and seasonal loose leaf teas like the aromatic Apple and Cinnamon. Your three-tier cake stand will feature a dainty selection of finger sandwiches and warm freshly-baked fruit and plain scones, accompanied by the finest Cornish clotted cream and homemade preserves. The grand finale is a delectable array of tempting patisserie such as French macarons and cream-filled choux.
Gift vouchers for Champagne Afternoon Tea for Two at The Milestone (£225.40) are valid for 12 months and can be purchased here
Farmstead Lodges – A Countryside Escape
Guaranteed to delight nature and outdoors lovers, a luxury self-catering break at Farmstead Lodges in Suffolk is the ultimate way to treat someone you love to a restorative and energising escape to nature. The eight detached, stylishly designed and dog friendly 1 or 2 bedroom wooden, cabin-style lodges offer open plan living and beautiful surroundings for guests trading the hustle and bustle of everyday life for the serenity of the English countryside. Prepare meals in the fully-equipped handcrafted kitchen after a visit to a local farm shops, or why not use the barbecue for a more rustic experience? Either way, you won’t have to do the washing up thanks to all lodges having a dishwasher, in addition to a washing machine and tumble dryer. Other modern luxuries include free WiFi and a Smart TV, while each bedroom has an ensuite with shower, heated towel rail and natural toiletries. But personally I’d opt for a blissfully relaxing soak in one of the copper bathtubs, a choice in itself when every lodge has an indoor and outdoor tub!
With none of the regular demands on your time you can maximise on the peace and tranquillity of your new environment by immersing yourself in a good book on the spacious veranda, gazing at the stars, or cosying up in front of the log burner on cold winter nights. Explorers can lace up their boots and, armed with the Farmstead walking map, ramble through the local woodlands and riverside paths. Woodbridge is the closest town, while historic sites, Heritage Coast villages, traditional pubs and restaurants, bird watching spots and golf courses are also within reach. Check the website for last minute Christmas and New Year availability.
Discount Code for Arbuturian Readers: a 10% discount on stays of two nights or more (not in conjunction with other offers) when booking directly via the email listed below and quoting ‘Arbuturian’. Gift Vouchers: Farmstead Lodges also offer vouchers which can be redeemed for a monetary value. Contact: email enquiries@farmsteadlodges.co.uk or call 01728 746699.
National Trust Membership – The Gift That Keeps Giving
“Some gifts are impossible to wrap. Dramatic views of coast and countryside. Tranquil moments in gardens and parks. Hidden secrets in historical homes.” Gift an Individual, Joint, Family, Junior or Lifetime National Trust membership and broaden the horizons of the recipient(s) with free access to over 500 sites across the UK including historic houses, windswept coastlines and dramatic British landscapes. Better yet, every membership purchased counts as a donation to help the National Trust look after each site for future generations, ensuring that they remain special for everyone, for ever.
Members also receive the current National Trust Handbook, the beautifully illustrated National Trust Magazine three times a year and free car parking on every visit. There is also an online Members’ Area full of behind-the-scenes features and first look previews. Information: the last day for guaranteed Christmas delivery of the National Trust gift membership pack is Thursday 12 December, but you can still treat someone to a gift membership after that date. Simply buy a gift membership, download the printable Christmas cards from your confirmation email, pick from a range of designs and print the one you want to give them on the big day.
For more information, including details of prices and inclusions, and to purchase, please visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk.
Fairmont Windsor Park’s Ultimate Diamond Facial
If you’re box ticking, pop to your local spa and buy your loved one voucher for a facial – it’s not life changing but it beats pyjamas. If you’re out to impress, pack them off to Fairmont Windsor Park’s award-winning two-storey spa to indulge in their mind-blowingly decadent Ultimate Diamond Facial. For Londoners, it’s hard to beat when it comes to a convenient bucolic spa break, with the sprawling estate set so close to Windsor Great Park you can almost hear the stags rutting.
When it comes to wow factor it doesn’t let the team down either; home to one of the largest spa complexes in the entire country it boasts 18 treatment rooms, 4 relaxation areas, a heated indoor pool, a well-equipped thermal suite and an enormous outdoor hydrotherapy pool. The facial itself utilises the radiant actives in Natura Bissé’s acclaimed Diamond Luminous range, along with LED therapy, to address everything from wrinkles to hyperpigmentation. Add in a tension releasing myofascial massage and an a healing onyx microcurrent gua sha and you have a facial fit for a queen.
For more information on Fairmont Windsor Park’s award-winning spa, or to book the 60-minute Ultimate Diamond Facial, priced at £200, visit www.fairmont-windsorpark.com.
A Post-Christmas Pamper Day at Champneys
Help a loved one eschew the festive hubbub this year, with a twixmas spa day to remember. Thanks to the undisputed bastion of British wellness, Champneys, savvy spa trekkers can bag with a treat-packed Post-Christmas Pamper Day for just £139. This limited-edition package includes full use of their spa facilities, a 50-minute treatment, lunch and unlimited access to their classes – it even includes complimentary branded flip flops and tote to take home with them!
Running from 27th-31st December all of the brand’s locations are up for grabs, but if you’re stuck in decision paralysis, pack them off to their award-winning flagship resort in handsome Tring. Located in leafy Hertfordshire, the extensive resort is set within 170 acres of rolling parkland and is an easy jaunt from the capital – oh, did I forget to mention that it bagged the prestigious Best Spa for Wellness award at the Good Spa Guide Awards last year? Silly me.
To snap up one of Champneys Post-Christmas Pamper Days for just £139, visit www.champneys.com.
A Gift Voucher to Gravetye Manor
Know someone that needs to recharge their batteries this Christmas? Treat them to a gift voucher for glorious Gravetye Manor. Despite being just an hour from London, this iconic country house hotel feels world’s away from the Big Smoke, with 1,000 acres of fields and forest to get lost in. Set in Sussex’s misty High Weald, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Elizabethan manor is perfect for a winter getaway; all roaring log fires, wood-panelled lounges and atmospheric snugs.
Oh, did I mention that it also has a Michelin-starred eatery? Gravetye’s glassy jewel box of a restaurant sits overlooking its famous gardens, which were put on the map by its former-owner, the infamous botanist William Robinson. With the hotel’s magnificent kitchen garden providing almost all of the food served, this critically acclaimed restaurant sees acclaimed chef George Blogg take field-to-fork dining to the next level. Now that beats another pair of socks!
For more information on Gravetye Manor or to purchase a gift voucher, visit www.gravetyemanor.co.uk.
