Issue 269: Ed’s Letter

You might not believe it, but when I was growing up in Italy, Christmas gift guides didn’t really exist…

It wasn’t until I moved to the UK that I realised how popular they were and how useful they could be. When I started working in magazines, the Christmas gift guide was one of my duties and I had so much fun putting it together. That hasn’t changed. I’ve also met my match in Petro because I think she actually loves them more than me – she looks forward to this issue all year and is an excellent gift-giver herself. What makes her gifts so special is her thoughtfulness and ability to think out of the box – and she’s poured that into this issue.

So, you’ll find a great range of gifts in terms of price and variety, and we’ve really tried to cater for everyone and every type of personality. There’s a whole page dedicated to the friend that has everything (page 5Gift Guide Unique Gifts For The Best Friend Who Has Everything) – we all have one of those – where we’ve tried to find gifts that don’t feel superfluous or wasteful. We asked Petro’s husband, Sam, as well as my husband and our stylish friend Jaron (who all happen to be in a WhatsApp group called ‘The Fashion Dads’) to help us compile our men’s gift guide (page 6Gift GuideStylish Gifts Handpicked For Him) to be sure we included the best possible items. We’ve also looked at those iconic gifts, the pieces that you think about all year long, whether it’s a great coat or pair of shoes (page 4Gift GuideInvestment Pieces You’ll Want To Find Under The Tree), and there’s a whole page on personalised gifts, which are some of my favourites (page 8Gift GuideGifts With A Personal Touch). Fun fact: we also don’t have stockings in Italy, so that has been another fun part of becoming an adoptive Brit. I love receiving one from my husband each year, and making them for my kids. Find our edit of the best stocking fillers on page 3Gift GuideExtra-Special Stocking Fillers, plus many more great guides throughout the issue.

There’s also the chance to win Liberty’s luxury-beauty advent calendar – my personal favourite of the season – on page 12Gift GuideGifts With A Personal Touch.

Finally, we’re delighted to be able to feature our newest ICONS Exclusives among our gift selections – the My Style Bags holdall and beauty bag (both of which can be monogrammed), four new beaded necklaces from Milne Watson, and the amazing ‘Bessette’ cashmere-blend jumper that we’ve designed in collaboration with Madeleine Thompson. They’ve all been created with you in mind, so we hope you love them as much as we do!

Happy Christmas shopping!

Laura xx