Perfino: Jewellery that carries its own fragrance

I’ve always enjoyed perfume, although my relationship with fragrance has changed over the years. There was a time when I’d happily spray myself before leaving the house without giving it much thought. These days, I’m more selective, particularly when I’m heading to the gym or spending hours working at my desk. I want something pleasant, not a fragrance that announces my arrival before I’ve entered the room.

Perfino offers an alternative to traditional perfume by combining jewellery with essential oils. A small lava stone sits inside a pendant, holding the fragrance and gradually releasing it as you wear it. Rather than applying perfume directly to your skin, you add a drop of oil to the stone.

The pendant is described as being made from recycled silver with an 18-carat gold vermeil finish. Each set comes with six lava stones and a 10ml bottle of blended essential oils. The company says the fragrance can last for several days, although that will depend on the oil and how the pendant is used.

I rather like the idea of jewellery that has a second purpose. It’s also a little more imaginative than buying somebody a bottle of perfume and hoping you’ve guessed correctly about their taste. Fragrance is personal. What smells wonderful to one person can remind somebody else of an elderly aunt’s dressing table.

Natural essential oils can still cause irritation, so anyone sensitive to fragrance should check the ingredients before using them. But as a gift, the idea is appealing, particularly for somebody who enjoys jewellery and likes trying different scents.

Stem & Glory: Because sometimes the best present is dinner

I love cooking, particularly Persian food, but I don’t love being responsible for every meal. There are evenings when I’ve finished work, collected Cyrus, thought about the following day and opened the fridge hoping that dinner might somehow have organised itself.

It never has.

That’s why I think restaurant vouchers are underrated. There’s something wonderful about sitting down, choosing what you fancy and knowing that somebody else is going to cook it. Better still, somebody else will deal with the washing-up.

Stem & Glory is a plant-based food business known for its creative vegan dishes. Its menus have featured swede gnocchi, bourguignon, kimchi pancakes and charcoal fettuccine with mushroom ‘scallops’. These aren’t necessarily the first things people imagine when they hear the words vegan restaurant, which is partly why the concept interests me.

I’m not vegan, but I’ve never understood why plant-based food should be treated as something exclusively for people who have given up meat. Some of the most interesting meals I’ve eaten have been built around vegetables, herbs and spices. Persian cooking, for example, makes wonderful use of fresh herbs, beans and aubergines, ingredients that deserve more attention than they often receive.

The business has previously offered dining vouchers, ready meals and recipe kits, although I’d check which services and locations are currently available before buying anything. A restaurant voucher is only a good present if the recipient can use it.

For somebody who enjoys trying different food, an evening out can be far more appealing than another kitchen gadget. Particularly when the person receiving it spends much of the year preparing meals for everybody else.

Climeworks: Can you give somebody a piece of climate action?

Buying presents for somebody who insists they don’t want anything can be a miserable exercise. You ask what they’d like, they tell you not to bother, and you spend the next fortnight wondering whether they’d be offended by a gift voucher.

For somebody interested in environmental issues, Climeworks offers a different proposition. Instead of buying a physical present, the idea is to contribute towards removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The Swiss company develops direct air capture technology, which uses specialised equipment to extract CO₂ from the air. The captured carbon dioxide can then be stored through processes intended to keep it out of the atmosphere for the long term.

It’s an interesting area of climate science because carbon dioxide already released into the atmosphere continues to contribute to global warming. Reducing new emissions remains essential, but researchers are also examining how carbon removal might help address emissions that are difficult to eliminate.

Climeworks has previously offered individuals the opportunity to purchase carbon removal through contributions and gift arrangements. The original promotional information suggested options beginning at around €5 per month, although current arrangements and prices would need checking.

I wouldn’t suggest that buying somebody a carbon-removal contribution reverses climate change. The technology is still developing, requires energy and infrastructure, and its environmental benefit depends on how much CO₂ is removed, how that removal is verified and how permanently it is stored.

But it could appeal to somebody who would rather support an environmental project than receive another object they don’t particularly need. It might also start a worthwhile conversation about what meaningful climate action looks like.

The Meee books: Small ideas for the everyday business of being human

I have a complicated relationship with self-improvement books. I enjoy reading about human behaviour, relationships and why we do the things we do. What I don’t particularly enjoy is being told that I could transform my entire existence if only I got up at 5am, drank something green and approached every waking minute with greater purpose.

I already get up early enough, thank you.

The Meee in a Minute series offers short reflections and practical exercises on everyday life. The collection includes Meee in a Minute: 60 Ways to Improve Your Life in 60 Seconds, Meee in a Work Minute and Meee in a Family Minute.

Each book contains 60 ideas intended to encourage readers to think about their habits, relationships and decisions. The format is designed for people who want something they can dip into rather than another substantial book that sits accusingly on the bedside table.

As a working mum in midlife, I find our relationship with time and personal development particularly interesting. We’re constantly encouraged to become better at something: better parents, better employees, better partners, healthier people. Even our spare time is increasingly presented as an opportunity to achieve something.

Sometimes I think we forget that reflection doesn’t have to result in a measurable improvement. Reading something that makes you question an assumption, reconsider an argument or laugh at your own behaviour can be worthwhile in itself.

The family edition interests me because relationships change as children grow older. What works with a toddler doesn’t necessarily work with a school-age child, and parenting has a habit of exposing our own assumptions about how people should behave. The working-life edition also has obvious relevance for anyone trying to understand the sometimes peculiar business of dealing with other people professionally.

I wouldn’t expect a book of short exercises to resolve complicated family or workplace problems, but I can appreciate the value of ideas that encourage a different perspective.

Dashel cycle helmets: For the person who would rather be outdoors

Fitness is one of the few parts of my week that I try to protect from everything else. I enjoy the gym, Zumba and exercise classes that leave me feeling as though I’ve actually done something. It’s time when I’m not thinking about work emails, school arrangements or whether I’ve remembered to buy milk.

I can understand why people who enjoy cycling become attached to it. There’s the exercise, the fresh air and the pleasure of getting somewhere without sitting in traffic. Admittedly, the North East weather doesn’t always make outdoor activities especially inviting, but that’s another matter.

Dashel is a British cycle helmet brand producing lightweight helmets with a distinctive urban design. Its products have been promoted for their ventilation, relatively slim profile and use of recyclable materials, with an emphasis on UK manufacturing.

I like the idea of fitness equipment that combines practical design with something people actually want to wear. There’s no point buying an expensive accessory if it spends most of its life gathering dust in the cupboard.

A helmet is one present where I wouldn’t prioritise appearance or environmental credentials over safety. Proper fit, relevant safety certification and suitability for the type of cycling somebody does are far more important than colour or styling.

I’d also be cautious about buying a helmet without involving the person who will wear it. Head sizes and shapes vary, and a helmet that looks lovely in its packaging isn’t much use if it doesn’t fit properly.

Vanity Studios: Because mums deserve to be in the photographs too

If I scroll through my phone, I can find hundreds of photographs of Cyrus. There are birthdays, holidays, family outings, school events and ordinary afternoons that seemed worth remembering. I have photographs of him eating, laughing, playing and occasionally looking thoroughly unimpressed with whatever I’ve asked him to do.

Finding a photograph of myself that I actually like takes considerably longer.

I suspect this is familiar territory for many mothers. We’re often the ones behind the camera, making sure everybody else is included, arranging family photographs and reminding people to smile. Then somebody takes an unexpected picture of us and we immediately start examining our hair, our clothes and whether we appear to have acquired another chin.

Midlife doesn’t necessarily improve this relationship with photographs. Our faces change, our bodies change and sometimes the image in front of us doesn’t quite match the person we still imagine ourselves to be.

Vanity Studios offers professional photography experiences, including hair and makeup preparation before a studio photoshoot. Participants can bring their own outfits and work with a photographer to create portraits.

I can see why this would appeal to somebody who has spent years taking pictures of everybody else. It’s an opportunity to be photographed deliberately rather than appearing in the background of somebody’s birthday party holding a paper plate.

But I think the appeal goes beyond having a professional photograph taken. There’s something worth considering about how women become increasingly reluctant to appear in pictures as they get older. We tell ourselves we’ll have photographs taken when we’ve lost weight, changed our hair or feel more confident. Meanwhile, the years pass and we end up missing from our own family albums.

I know from experience that being critical of your appearance can make photographs uncomfortable. Yet when I look back at older pictures of myself, I rarely notice the things I worried about at the time. I see where I was, who I was with and what was happening in my life.

That’s why I think a photography experience could be a lovely present, provided it’s something the recipient would genuinely enjoy rather than an unwanted invitation to have a makeover.

I’d also check the small print carefully. Photography packages can vary considerably, particularly when it comes to the cost of prints and digital images. A gift voucher shouldn’t leave somebody feeling obliged to spend hundreds of pounds afterwards.