The ultimate Sydney Christmas gift guide 2023

This festive season, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) has created an online gift shop where 100 per cent of the profits from every purchase go directly towards empowering refugees and people seeking asylum to rebuild their lives. From ethically sourced food to homewares, clothing and bespoke lifestyle products, the shop is filled with beautiful gifts in environmentally friendly packaging. Shop the full range here. 

Whether you're after some last-minute stocking stuffers or are keen to splurge on a spenny gift set, Mecca has a range of holiday products perfect for all budgets. From chic lip gloss and face mask sets to $500 kits that are chock-full of the brand's most popular products, you're sorted. Shop the full range here.

For your loved one who likes to make a fashion statement, go for eye-catching, fun jewellery pieces and accessories from Haus of Dizzy. The First Nations brand has a huge range of bold and playful earrings, with designs that celebrate Australian Aboriginal culture (with plenty of ally friendly options), as well as pieces that are straight-up sassy and fun. Think lots of colour, glitter and joy-sparking adornments to brighten any ‘fit. You can shop their range at their website or from the Australian Museum.

Sydney restaurants The Charles and Loulou have teamed up to create bonbons you can eat. Each one is filled with four festive handmade petit fours: a hazelnut rocher; passionfruit caramel lollipop; cherry and raspberry marshmallow tea cake; and a chocolate gingerbread. Give them as a gift on Dec 25 or buy some for the table – we reckon everyone will be impressed. Order here.

For a present with a positive impact, order a bottle (or a six-pack) of Kakadu Kitchen x OzHarvest’s newly released Conscious Drink. This lightly sparkling zero-alcohol wine is made from beautiful rescued blueberries, which have been made into a refreshing drink with wild-harvested native botanicals, ethically sourced from First Nations-owned companies. Every bottle sold enables OzHarvest to deliver two meals to people in need, while Kakadu Kitchen will plant a native edible for every case sold. A limited release of Kakadu Kitchen X OzHarvest ‘Conscious Drink’ is available here.

Score yourself extra brownie points this Christmas by buying your friends or family a voucher for Sydney’s coolest ceramics studio, Clay Sydney. You can purchase one-off class passes online for $85, which cover sessions including their wildly popular Wine and Clay night, Make a Keep Cup sessions, or weekly wheel throwing classes. Clay Sydney also offers $125 specialty hand-building sessions where your extra special mates can create their own dinner set, teapot or cheese set, along with four or six-week courses for those die-hard ceramicists. Trust us, these gift vouchers will impress even those friends who are impossible to buy for. Get one here.

A majestic exhibition which draws on the Powerhouse’s vast design archives – 1001 Remarkable Objects is an unforgettable exhibition. Just in time for gifting season, the Powerhouse has dropped a limited-edition publication. The 620-page book beautifully illustrates all 1001 items, alongside 15 narratives, for which 11 Australian authors were invited to interrogate a specific slice of the exhibition. Covered in linen fabric, metallic foiling and gloss edging, the 1001 Remarkable Objects book is a gorgeous design object in itself, that will level up anyone’s coffee table. You can buy one at the museum store or order here.

Manly’s Mexican go-to joint Chica Bonita are now selling their Classic Margaritas at nearby natural vino shop Winona. The canned cocktail is made with Batanga blanco tequila by Casa Orendain, distilled using 100 per cent agave. And it’s a double serve – so you can grab two glasses, chuck some ice in, and you and your mate are good to go. Order here.

Some may grumble at the mention of socks and Christmas presents used in the same sentence, but socks from Paire are certainly worthy of a spot underneath the tree. The Melbourne ethical loungewear brand has crafted the cosiest socks, using natural materials like merino wool and eucalyptus fibres to create a breathable, temperature-regulating and very comfy result. Plus, they have cute slogans on them. Socks aren’t usually worth much excitement, but these deserve the hype. Shop on the website.

For an interactive gift that can be played during your Christmas Day celebrations, pick up a bottle of vino by Healesville winery Innocent Bystander. Five varietals (pinot noir, pinot gris, prosecco, rosé and moscato) will feature a QR code; scan it to play Who of Us, a game that offers quick-fire questions and scenarios to determine who among your group is naughty or nice. Order here.

By now we’re all pretty good at avoiding single-use plastics like cutlery and coffee cups, but what about your stationery? Left-handesign has taken things further with this mini colour pencils set made from recycled paper, which can be planted and grown into lush herbs. Each colour represents a different plant (think basil, marigold, onion and more), and it's sure to delight your eco-conscious pals. Get yours here.

Daily Food is a female-founded brand based in Byron Bay, all about fun, functional, healthy and fudge'n delish snacks! In good news for chocaholics, it's just launched its range of Holy Truff chocolates – mouthwatering spherical truffles of Peruvian dark chocolate ganache made from organic and plant-based whole ingredients. The heaven-sent treats come in flavours like Berry Spiked Double Choc, Salty 'n' Nutty Caramel and Hazelnut Choc. To get your hands on this swoon-worthy stocking filler, head to the website.

If you or the person you’re gifting to hate the idea of adding to the world’s clutter by buying more things, Give the gift of experience, with the Palace Gift Card, for use at Palace Cinemas across NSW. Gifts cards are available at Palace box offices, or you can purchase an E-Gift card online.

Palatable Tea Towels have created beautiful maps of Australia’s wine regions in tea towel from, illustrated by Caroline Keys. Your chosen recipient will take a virtual trip to their favourite wine region every time they dry the dishes, for less than the cost of an Uber to the airport. Find them here.

Elevate your pool sesh this summer with one of these environmentally friendly and colourful inflatable vessels by Australian company Pool Buoy. They come in all sorts of eye-catching colourways, including retro floral prints, turquoise and orange gingham or rainbow speckles. Pools start at $150, but you can also shop inflatable rings from $40 and day beds from $80. Browse the range here.

Let the Good Day People sort you out with a good gift this Christmas and forget about the mad dash to the shopping centre. The Australian-owned business sells gift hampers you actually would want to get (and give), all filled with locally made premium products in slick and colourful packaging. There are more than 80 gifts to choose from, including ones for your beach- and booze-lovers, and they start from $35. Sounds like a pretty good idea to us. Check out the gift hampers here.

Social enterprise Two Good Co have partnered with the always perfect candle company Hunter Candles to create a gift that delivers a delicious scent to those in its vicinity, and a positive social impact further afield. For every one of these (beautifully designed, divinely fragranced) candles sold, 50% of profits will be reinvested into the Two Good Foundation, to provide support and employment for women at risk of homelessness. You can buy a candle via the Two Good Co website here.

If you're not yet familiar with the skincare brand Grown Alchemist, its ethos is offering products and services that treat the skin from the inside out and are free from harmful synthetics. All natural beauty is the go, and if you have any skincare aficionados in your life, you can introduce them to the brand with the hydrating skincare gift set, for plump, juicy skin. Browse the full range of holiday gift sets here.

Ponder is a female-owned, founded and operated Aussie company that designs modern jigsaw puzzles that look like coffee table books. Each one speaks to a different social trend, with one puzzle playfully jabbing at consumption culture and another encouraging thought and discussion around body image. Shop the range here.

For a gift that can be opened time and time again, choose Wild Turkey Bourbon’s new limited edition Master’s Keep Voyage. This ten-year-old bourbon whiskey is inspired by the tropical isle of Jamaica and boasts a secondary maturation period in Jamaican rum casks, marking the first rum cask finish in Wild Turkey’s history. The tropically influenced whiskey bursts with a palate of fruits, caramel and aged oak, and a warm finish of chocolate and spice, making it the perfect Christmas tipple. You can find it at Dan Murphy’s, First Choice, Liquorland and selected independent retailers.

Lazy days at home are vastly improved when spent in a dressing gown, and while ultra-plush robes are great in winter, it's essential to have a breezy linen one in the warmer months. Linen House offers super breathable kimono-style linen robes in colours like clay, navy and wasabi starting from $150. Browse the range here.

Give the gift of maximum comfort this Christmas with affordable bedding sets by Sheet Society. Choose between fabrics like stone-washed cotton and 100 per cent mulberry silk, and colourways like pink gingham, powder blue, coral stripes and more. Browse the range here.

It’s one of Australia’s top online florists – with that, Lvly also prides itself on locally-sourced, eco-friendly floral bundles that come in various sizes and price points. You’ll also get same-day delivery for orders placed before 5pm. For the festive season, there is an exclusive Christmas collection range featuring gift bundles like the Big Foodie + Flowers ($175), with gourmet snacks like organic olives and charcoal crisp bread.

For the loved one that enjoys their skincare as much as their fashion, this limited-edition collaboration between two cherished Aussie brands is the way to go. There are a bunch of skincare sets to choose from, but the congestion combatting minis set is our favourite because it comes with an adorable fleece bow headband. Order online here.

Established in 2005, Kangaroo Island Spirits is Australia’s first dedicated gin distillery, and since then their tipples have won many awards, including a Gold Outstanding medal for their O Gin at the 2023 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC). In short, they make some damn fine liquor, and we reckon their latest release, a spiced pudding gin, is a mighty gift idea for your loved ones this Christmas. The luxe drink, which features notes of cinnamon, cloves, mixed spice and dried fruit, has been created by Kangaroo Island Spirits' master distiller, Brett 'Doogie' Christophers, who has more than 25 years of experience. Why just eat your cake this year, when you can drink it, too? Buy a bottle here. 

By the end of the silly season, we're all in need of ways to de-stress as much as possible. Kit is a newcomer to the Aussie skincare scene, and is the self-care centred solution for those of us who don't have time for a 15-step skincare routine. The Unwind set is a simple, nightly wind-down ritual, with a face oil, body balm and stainless steel gua sha for a relaxing facial self-massage. Shop the range at your local Mecca or on the website. 

Give the gift of a boozy beverage minus the hangxiety with Tanica, a low-alcohol spirit that comes in flavours like salted plum and ginger or desert lime and thyme. A two-bottle gift box starts at $104 and comes with recipes for refreshing cocktails that are perfect for summer. Learn more here. 

A sexy fragrance is a go-to gift for the person who has it all, but you don’t have to go to the big name brands to find a high-end scent. Milla Milla’s gender neutral fragrances smell like a holiday, and are ethically produced in Sydney from natural ingredients including locally grown Australian botanicals. They also happen to be beautifully branded – a treat for the eyes and olfactory system. You can buy a bottle (or a sample set, if you’re not ready to take the leap) here.

It doesn't get more flashy than a golden bottle of Champers, right? It helps that this one actually happens to be filled with the good stuff. Champagne Tsarine, from the world’s second oldest Champagne house Chanoine Frères, has brought its most opulent bottle yet to Australia for the very first time – the golden Tsarine by Adriana, which has won multiple international awards since its launch. What a centrepiece! Get yours here.

If you’re keen to recreate the aesthetically pleasing magic of a Stories to Gather spread at home, their perfectly presented tins of treats are here to help. The meticulously curated boxes are delicate in appearance (crowned with a perfectly plush satin bow), and abundant on the content front: loaded with locally made and internationally sourced sweet treats. For the sugar fiend who won’t be best pleased with your messily made mince pies, these are the tins to turn to. Order here.