Brilliant Christmas gift ideas: the best books to give in 2026

A perfect gift for the romance reader in your life

Make festive romance a daily December ritual with this twenty-four-day advent calendar. Twelve original Christmas novellas alternate with twelve handmade gifts, bringing a fresh surprise to every day of the countdown. Individually concealed paperbacks feature bespoke covers and numbered spines, while postcards, bookmarks, baubles and posters take inspiration from the stories.

A perfect gift for Gruffalo- and Julia Donaldson-loving children and their families

Count down to Christmas with this book advent calendar for kids, containing twenty-four mini activity, song and rhyme books, based on the bestselling picture books by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

A perfect gift for book lovers and those embracing a more analogue approach to planning

This dateless, customizable and pocket-sized week-to-view planner offers ample space for notes (and book reviews) and can be started at any time of year. Each two-page spread features a carefully chosen quote from a classic work of literature, alongside gorgeous illustrations.

A perfect gift for friends and family who just can’t look away from their screens

From immediate offline wins (think guided meditations and quick smoothie recipes) to creative deep dives and reflective prompts (like drawing your family tree or writing letters to your past/future self) this book offers 110 simple, mindful tasks to unplug from virtual noise and tune back in to the real world.

A perfect gift for followers of celebrity culture

The incredible unofficial story of the inspirational chef and photographer. . . This inspiring illustrated book introduces adults to Brooklyn’s journey to the top, showing the power of networking, gifting and how having the courage to quit and start again can lead to even better things.

A perfect gift for fans of Blue Planet

Packed full of sustainability tips to help the ocean at home and work, this book from marine biologist Emily Cunningham is an inspirational read for nature fans wanting to take practical action.

A perfect gift for wannabe AC-12ers; Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey

This is your chance to step into the shoes of Superintendent Ted Hastings. This officially licensed puzzle book combines gripping, entirely original scenarios with mind-bending puzzles that test logic, observation and nerve. Can you find the bent coppers?

A perfect gift for players of Cluedo, Murdoku and puzzle lovers everywhere

Which of the party guests was last seen in the billiard room at Edgemore Mansion before the body was found? Read each suspect’s accounts, use sudoku rules to fill in the grid, and flex your powers of deduction to solve the case! 

A perfect gift for those who love literary fiction, books with a strong sense of place and lyrical writing

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2026, John of John is the third book from Douglas Stuart, the author of the 2020 Booker Prize-winning novel Shuggie Bain, and is just as emotionally rich and beautifully written as his earlier works. When John-Calum Macleod goes back to the Isle of Harris, he finds himself caught between his deeply rooted, religious father and his freer, more questioning sense of self. As tensions simmer within family and community, Stuart paints a vivid portrait of love, repression, and identity.

A perfect gift for true crime fans

This is a gripping true story that exposes the hidden forces shaping modern London, and the latest compelling read from the bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing. When teenager Zac Brettler falls to his death from a luxury riverside apartment, his parents uncover a secret double life and are drawn into a world of extreme wealth, deception and danger. Patrick Radden Keefe blends forensic reporting with emotional depth, revealing how a global city’s glittering surface can conceal darker truths about power, identity and inequality. It’s both a heartbreaking family story and a sharp portrait of a city in flux.

A perfect gift for those who want to catch up with the book that's made headlines around the world

Careless People pulls back the curtain on one of the most powerful companies of our time: Facebook. A young diplomat from New Zealand, Sarah Wynn-Williams believed in the platform's potential to change the world for the better. But as she ascended the company’s ranks, she discovered a vastly different reality – one in equal parts absurd, maddening, and jaw-dropping. From wild schemes hatched on private jets to narrowly avoiding prison abroad, her memoir is both darkly funny and deeply unsettling. But Careless People isn’t just a story about tech – it’s a warning about what happens when responsibility is outsourced and ambition goes unchecked.

A perfect gift for psychological thriller fans

The new novel from bestselling author Alice Feeney is a dark, clever read built around the ultimate domestic deception, set in a fictional Cornwall village. Artist Eden Fox returns to her new home, Spyglass, from a run, to find her key doesn’t fit, and a woman who looks eerily like her answering the door. Worse, her husband insists this stranger is his wife. . .

A perfect gift for children and Gruffalo fans

The Gruffalo said to his daughter one day, 
“Your Gruffalo Granny is coming to stay.”

Return to the deep dark wood with the first new Gruffalo story in over 20 years, and, at the time of writing, the UK's biggest-selling book of 2026. Meet Gruffalo Granny as she visits the Gruffalo family – but not before the return of some familiar and much-loved characters.

A perfect gift for anyone who wants to make smarter decisions with money

Shifting the focus from numbers to behaviour, The Psychology of Money uses a series of engaging, story-driven chapters to reveal how emotions, habits and personal history shape the way we earn, spend and invest. Rather than offering rigid rules, Morgan Housel provides timeless insights that help you think more clearly about risk, wealth and long-term success. A personal finance book that is an accessible and enjoyable read as well as thought-provoking and immediately useful.

A perfect gift for fans of the TV series and Pride and Prejudice

This delightful Christmassy edition (with exclusive content) of the bestseller-turned-hit-TV-series ties in perfectly with the TV Christmas specials coming in December. This is the story of Mary Bennet, the 'plain' sister from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. As she watches her sisters get married one by one, it seems Mary is destined to live out her life at Longbourn with only her books for company, until her father dies and the house is inherited by the reviled Mr Collins. But when that day finally comes, there might be hope for Mary after all . . .

A perfect gift for someone who wants something lighthearted, but not lightweight

Despite discovering that the man she thought was her soulmate has stolen her life savings, her home, and her confidence, Maggie refuses to be anyone’s victim. When she meets Flick, a young reporter eager for her big break, the two set off on a wild journey across Europe to find the man who deceived her. Along the way, amid mischievous adventures and an unlikely friendship, Maggie begins to realise that revenge isn’t the only thing worth chasing. This is the brilliant new novel from the author of Confessions of a Forty-something F**k Up.

A perfect gift for fans of The Cazalet Chronicles and family sagas

It is December 1962, and the Cazalets are gathering for Christmas at Fakenham Hall, where old tensions, private desires and generational differences come sharply into focus. As England edges towards the Swinging Sixties, the older generation watches familiar certainties fade, while Polly, Louise and Clary confront the pressures and possibilities of midlife. Written by Elizabeth Jane Howard’s niece, Louisa Young, this continuation of the Cazalet Chronicles combines period detail with emotionally acute storytelling.

A perfect gift for fans of folklore and rituals

Told through the pagan wheel of the year, The Ancient Ways explores how nature changes throughout the seasons, looking at solstices, equinoxes, legends and festivals, and how these stories and traditions can help you deepen your connection with nature. Hedgewitch Seren Hawley-Plows weaves these myths and stories together beautifully with tools and inspiration of how to bring the power of ancient tradition into a modern world. With stunning illustrations, seasonal recipes and more, whether you live in a sleepy village or a bustling city, be taken on a journey of untamed landscapes, old communities and connection.

A perfect gift for someone with style

Few British designers have built a career as distinctive, enduring and defiantly independent as Sir Paul Smith. In Threads, he looks back on the unconventional journey that took him from leaving school at fifteen with dreams of becoming a professional cyclist to creating a global fashion empire from a tiny Nottingham shop. Along the way, he shares stories of dressing figures including David Bowie, Daniel Day-Lewis and Sir Alex Ferguson, protecting his company’s independence and remaining close to the customers who helped build it. 

A perfect gift for football fanatics

This major new memoir from Sir Alex Ferguson sheds new light on the real stories behind the headlines, and is filled with never-before-seen photographs and memorabilia from his private archives. Twenty-one matches become the lens through which we view an extraordinary life in football, from winning his first medal as a Glasgow schoolboy in 1955 to watching Manchester United lift the 2024 FA Cup from the stands. 

For a truly exceptional gift, take a look at the very special edition.

A perfect gift for Moomin fans

This beautiful collection of twenty-two of Tove Jansson’s stunning illustrations is accompanied by quotes from her books, letters and diaries. Printed on sturdy, high-quality A4 card, each picture can be pulled out and framed, or the book can be read from start to finish to give a history of Tove Jansson's life and work.

A perfect gift for nature lovers

In this Korean bestseller, Kim Shinji encourages us to find happiness in everyday moments through embracing the beauty that comes with each micro season (in the ancient East Asian solar calendar there are 24). With stunning illustrations, top tips and practical guidance on how to connect with nature, this inspiring and beautiful guide is the perfect gift.

A perfect gift for foodies

This is a candid insider account of life on the frontlines of London's food scene from chef Alasdair Gill. Taking readers behind the swinging kitchen doors of London’s dining scene, he shows us the major contradictions in his life, from crossing paths with Anthony Bourdain and preparing dishes for the ultra wealthy to hiding in drug-fuelled kitchen dens and a wake-up call that nearly ended his life.

A perfect gift for home cooks

French-British chef and mother-of-three Claudine Boulstridge is passionate about family food. In this books, she shows you how to transform daily meals into flavour-forward, vibrant and healthy home-cooked dishes you, and your children, will love at any age. Packed with tempting and creative recipes and practical ideas for a balanced, varied diet, Family will make mealtimes more delicious and help you to nourish adventurous eaters at the same time.

A perfect gift for poetry fans

Carol Ann Duffy's annual Christmas poems are always a joy. This year, she takes us back to 1646, and the Puritan ban on Christmas has cast a dark pall over the city of London. Cromwell’s men enforce the decree that no one may so much as savour a mince pie, but the people have other ideas. As tell-tale scents of cinnamon and spice waft from kitchen windows, and a clandestine party gathers at The George, can the revellers keep their celebrations secret?

A perfect gift for cosy crime fans

Christmas is not always the season of goodwill. As this hugely entertaining collection shows, it can also be the season of mysterious deaths, hidden poison bottles and blunt instruments. This collection of eleven stories from the Golden Age of British crime writing features festive whodunnits by Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh. There are unexplained deaths by all manner of suspects and dastardly Christmas crimes to be solved. Each story is brilliantly plotted – some deliciously tense, others laced with humour – and each is bound to thoroughly entertain.

A perfect gift for Richard Osman readers

Join Lulu Lewis, a retired detective with a knack for uncovering secrets, and Conrad, her extraordinary talking cat, as Christmas cheer gives way to festive fear. Hoping for a relaxing festive break, Lulu sets off with Conrad on her canal boat, The Lark, to the picturesque city of Bath to visit friends. But when the pair arrive, they learn of a ruthless kidnapping plot that is plaguing parents in the area. As the kidnappers fuel panic with further demands, the pair must unravel clues faster than Conrad can charm with his witty banter. That is, if they are to stand any chance of bringing the criminals to justice in time to save the holidays.

A perfect gift for ballet fans

Some may know The Nutcracker from Tchaikovsky’s much-loved ballet; Alexandre Dumas’s version is a chance to discover the enchanting tale that helped inspire it. Beginning on Christmas Eve, it follows seven-year-old Mary as a curious new present comes dramatically to life, plunging her into a world of battling mice, curses, far-flung quests and magical lands. Dumas’s adaptation of the story originally by German author E. T. A. Hoffmann is full of imaginative adventure and fairy-tale strangeness. 

A perfect gift for literary fiction fans

An atmospheric chamber piece steeped in psychological tension and moral ambiguity. On Christmas Eve, inside a hotel on Ireland’s storm-swept west coast, two strangers share a candlelit table as a blizzard gathers outside. As wine flows, Janice and Gerry exchange confessions, unspooling past choices that carry dark, unexpected consequences.

A perfect gift for fans of Amandaland

All Laurie wants for Christmas is for you to leave her alone (after fetching her a Baileys). A working mother of two at the end of her tinsel, she needs to decide whether to go all in on the 'perfect' Christmas, or just let go so she can actually enjoy it all as well.

A perfect gift for those in need of some festive escapism

Christmas brings an unexpected fresh start in this cosy romance about finding connection after loss. Widowed Gwen is preparing to leave her beloved Christmas tree farm when nine-year-old Willow arrives needing somewhere to stay. With her moving plans unravelling, Gwen reopens the business for one final festive season, helped by an unlikely team of friends. Could the place she’s preparing to leave still hold the promise of love and belonging?

A perfect gift for romantics

A special festive hardback of the romance favourite, perfect for gifting. Lovelight Farms is a wholesome rom-com featuring a handsome, freckled data analyst, a messy, optimistic Christmas tree farm owner, and a small town with the best hazelnut lattes on the east coast. In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a child, Stella enters a contest with insta-famous influencer Evelyn St. James. There’s just one problem: she lied on the application and said that she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only . . . there is no boyfriend. Enter best friend Luka Peters. Will their fake love affair save Lovelight Farms in time for Christmas?

A perfect gift for someone who loves a good cry

The customers of cafe Funiculi Funicula may travel back in time, to any time they like, for any reason they may have. They can't, however, leave the cafe, or change the future. And they must return before their cup of coffee is cold. This is the intriguing premise of the bestselling series of Japanese novels, of which this is the first, now wrapped up in a gorgeous, special festive gift edition. Fumiko's boyfriend just broke up with her. What if she could return to that moment and handle the conversation differently? Follow her and three more heartbreaking yet life-affirming journeys to the past.

A perfect gift for someone who is not in the mood

This beautiful pocket-sized hardback gift book contains a collection of wickedly funny poetry for anyone who has ever survived the season with a mince pie in one hand and a grudge in the other. It includes poems from Wendy Cope, Philip Larkin, Brian Bilston, Ogden Nash, John Hegley, Thomas Hardy, and Charles Causley, amongst others.

A perfect gift for those who love a traditional Christmas

First published in 1843, Charles Dickens' classic Christmas novella was an overnight success. It is the tale of miserly Mr Scrooge who – through a series of eerie, life-changing visits from supernatural companions – begins to see the error of his cold-hearted ways one fateful Christmas Eve. With heart-rending characters, rich imagery and evocative language, the hopeful message of A Christmas Carol remains as significant today as when it was first published.

A perfect gift for those who like to cosy up by the fireplace

Discover myths that explore the origins of the season and the importance of embracing icy weather, alongside tales which welcome you into the warm glow of festive gatherings. Featuring beloved storytellers such as Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm as well as little-known, rediscovered treasures, this flurry of wintery tales is the perfect companion for Christmas. 

A perfect gift for someone you love

Show your love this Christmas with this meticulously chosen collection of stories about love in all its guises. O. Henry brings comedy with his tale of a busy broker working too hard to remember that he’s actually married his adored young wife. There’s Anton Chekhov’s famous story about true love and devotion, The Lady with the Dog and Katherine Mansfield writes touchingly about unrequited love in Mr. and Mrs. Dove. With stories spanning first love to enduring love in old age, from infatuation to heartbreak told by some of the best writers, Classic Love Stories makes a perfect gift.

A perfect gift for fantasy readers

From the eerie to the magical by way of the deeply strange, this collection of short stories is a the perfect present for all fantasy fans. Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince draws on the great fairy tale tradition. Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Old Nurse gives us a taste of the Gothic whilst H.P. Blavatsky journeys into the weird. The effects of war and loss are keenly felt by Arthur Machen in his moving story The Bowmen. And in Victorian times, children’s writers such as Edith Nesbit spin the most charming fantastical tales in stories like The Dragon Tamers. These amazing feats of imagination brilliantly showcase the many facets of fantasy writing.