NE1's Christmas Gift Guide: What to Buy for the Hard-to-Please

Experiences

Whether someone is into sport or food or just fancies a fun day doing something unusual, there’s almost certainly an experience package to suit. The new Wings Hospitality Suite at St James Park has a variety of packages for the Magpies fan in your life that would definitely brighten up their Christmas morning. 

If you’re buying a gift for a foodie, how about one of Triple A’s walking food tours? There’s some great tours based in the city – the Newcastle Food Tour, Grainger Market Food Tour and Ultimate Cheese & Wine Tour all meet in the city centre and take in 5-6 varying stops along the way that give you a chance to taste some of the best produce and dishes the city has to offer.

Or perhaps they’d enjoy a chance to try something new and unusual (and potentially cathartic!). Axe throwing is having a real boom at the moment and Newcastle has both Hatchet Harry’s and Game of Throwing available to help your giftee unleash their inner Viking in a carefully controlled environment. 

If their tastes are more contemporary, Point Blank Shooting offers the perfect redneck experience – shooting big guns in a bar! Using replicas of some renowned firearms tricked out with lasers rather than bullets, they can blast the hell out of the range while enjoying a few beers and some bar food. 

Or if they’d rather dispense with the niceties of pretending it’s a competition, they can just break stuff. Smash Space gives participants (thankfully, fully kitted out in safety gear, including motorcycle helmets) 15 minutes to really go to town on everything from glass bottles and PC keyboards to office phones and TVs, using a suitably heavy object. Recommended for the frustrated office worker in your life!

Less cathartic but equally fun are escape rooms, which have become quite a big deal over the last couple of years. Like a fiendish blend of The Crystal Maze and puzzle-based computer games, these escape rooms enable a group of friends to assemble in cleverly constructed chambers and test their wits trying to solve clues to win their escape. Newcastle has two centres -  EXIT or Escape – both of which offer a variety of rooms and packages for perfect gifting!

Workshops & Classes

Another way to give someone a gift that appeals to interests or enthusiasm they hold is by booking them onto a workshop or class of some kind. Blackfriars' Cookery School offers tonnes of hands-on classes in how to master all kinds of cuisines and dishes - from Malaysian and Middle Eastern to tapas and tacos. There are classes to suit all abilities and availabilities, and you might just be invited to taste what they come up with afterwards so it’s a win-win.

If you’re giving someone a cookery class, you probably want to make sure someone else gets a cocktail masterclass too, thus creating the perfect evening for yourself as they thank you for your generosity! Some of the city’s most popular bars have classes available, such as The Alchemist, Leila Lily’s, 3SIXTY and Lola Jeans. They can learn the mysterious art of mixology from some of Newcastle’s finest cocktail masters and get to enjoy the results of their training! All four bars offer a variety of packages, often aimed at groups of friends.

Perhaps you know someone who has artistic talents they’ve neglected – or never explored – and you’d like to give them an opportunity to reawaken them. Newcastle Arts Centre hosts a variety of classes for all abilities and interests - from life drawing and ceramics to sculpture and woodcuts - all led by expert art educators and all with materials and equipment provided. 

Or why not book a budding jeweller onto a workshop at Glamourous Owl? These all-ability classes will have your giftee creating beautiful rings or pendants in no time, either at one-off classes or extended silversmithing courses.

Hampers

Hampers are a lovely gift if you’re unsure what to get someone - who can resist a package full of deliciousness? There’s a vast range of options out there too. Fenwick does a range of its own hampers, such as the Christmas Day Feast Hamper or the Savoury Hamper (and there are gluten-free and vegan options too) as well as stocking hampers from such luxury brands as Cartwright & Butler and Whittard of Chelsea.

You might want to really go for it and get someone the Marks & Spencer Indulgence Of Christmas hamper, an absolute behemoth stuffed with booze, cheese, snacks and sweet treats. There are plenty of more modest but equally lovely options too.

Spanish restaurant Kaltur has a variety of hampers available, each pairing the best of Iberian drinks and snacks – cheeses, hams and preserves and the rest - and offer customers the opportunity to create bespoke hampers too.

The French Quarter – that charming market-meets-bistro by the station - offer create-your-own hampers too, alongside a range of pre-assembled hampers (or 'paniers' as they call them) featuring all sorts of French treats perfect for gourmands everywhere.

Luxury Gift Boxes

Lots of stores in Newcastle have amazing luxury gift boxes that are perfect for pampering a loved one this Christmas. Rituals sell gift boxes themed by size (S, M, L, XL) that are packed with their sumptuous products - balms, fragrances, candles and the like - and have price points to suit every budget. The White Company, meanwhile, have a range of classically simple gift boxes with options that offer scents, candles and nightwear sets.

Molton Brown has a massive array of gift sets available at all kinds of prices that are packed with body and hand care products, fragrances and bath/shower gels. Finally, John Lewis has a great range of gift sets from some very high-end brands - including Dior, Creed and Estee Lauder - and prices that run into the hundreds of pounds for some remarkably lavish collections, but plenty of more affordable options from the likes of Charlotte Tilbury and Lancôme too.

Spa Days & Treatments

Sending a loved one off for a spa day is a guaranteed Christmas gift success, and these days they’re not just aimed at women either. Malmaison has a range of spa days and treatments available, ranging from all day indulgences to one-off treatments such as facials and massages and even a few overnight spa options too. Crowne Plaza is another hotel-based spa and offers several gift voucher options – for specific packages such as the Eastern Escape or Mineral Moments packages or just as a contribution towards a package they can choose themselves.

Spa experiences are exactly what City Retreat in Grey Street Hotel is for and they have a tempting range of packages available offering massages, facials and 'foot rituals'. House Of Savannah is a combined salon and spa, so you can gift someone a combination of the two from the extensive services on offer. Choose from treatments like facials, massages and a mani-pedi and sit back and wait for the gratitude that’s coming your way.

‘Save the Date’ Gifts

Sometimes things can feel a little deflated after the Christmas holiday and one way to give someone a reason to get excited is a future event or meet-up to look forward to. 

If you're buying for a theatre fan, Theatre Royal has some fantastic shows coming in early 2024 including much-loved musical Blood Brothers, Life Of Pi, a Scottish Ballet production of Cinders! and a stand-up show from comedian Stewart Lee. There's an equally exciting programme of shows across town at Tyne Theatre & Opera House - pop star-turned-vicar Rev Richard Coles is appearing, as are Keegan, Waddle and Beardsley in an evening of Newcastle Legends. Comedians like Miles Jupp, Ed Byrne and Javed Ali are all performing early next year too.

If they’re music fans, there are plenty of big names hitting the city in 2024. Utilita Arena has tonnes of big-name acts appearing - Bring Me The Horizon, Rick Astley, James Arthur and Girls Aloud included. Over at O2 City Hall, January is all about tribute acts - to everyone from Artic Monkeys and The Smiths to The Doors and Coldplay - but there are great upcoming gigs from the likes of Roisin Murphy, Bombay Bicycle Club, Bowling for Soup and Mother Mother too.

If you've a foodie in your life that you really want to shower with love this festive season, why not book a table at one of the city's fancier restaurants? Places like House of Tides, 21 and Hotel du Vin & Bistro all turn a meal into an event with lavish presentation and remarkable food that your lucky recipient won’t forget in a hurry.

Hopefully, we've helped you come up with a few Christmas gift ideas for the more hard-to-please friends and family members on your shopping list. From rocking music gigs and lavish gift boxes to fun workshops and hampers full of mouth-watering treats, there surely something for everyone here?