Gift wrapped perfection
If you’re invited to dinner or drinks why not gift your host one of these festive red bow vases by Barcelona-based DOIY Design? This fashionable bow ceramic collection will dress the table in minutes and spells festive in pillar-box red. The vase, 20cm high, costs €30, while the salt and pepper cellars are €18, from April and the Bear, Rathmines, D6. aprilandthebear.com
Seafood medley or kisses over dinner?
Jennifer Slattery Textiles napkins cater to both. Choose from newly launched, crisp linen mistletoe motifs if you fancy puckering up to someone special or prawn cocktail perfect napkins that bring a sense of fun to the table. Priced at €30 each, the napkins also come in a gift box set of four for €110. You can have them monogrammed for an additional €5 per napkin; the cut-off date to order this service is Monday, December 16th. jenniferslattery.com
A pearl of a present
The oyster lover in your life will enjoy this seafood set, €59, from Article Dublin, which includes an oyster shucker, shell cracker and four seafood forks, for getting every bit out of crustaceans. It is available in the Powerscourt Townhouse store only and is not online. article.ie
It’s a wrap
Interior designer and Tír Chonaill native Collette Ward is a firm fan of McNutt of Donegal, which has just launched lambswool throws, recycled from the weaving company’s own remnants. These cost €115. mcnuttofdonegal.com; collettewardinteriors.com
The Young Offenders Christmas Special review: Where’s Jock? Without him, Conor’s firearm foxer isn’t quite a cracker
Restaurant of the year, best value and Michelin predictions: Our reviewer’s top picks of 2024
When Claire Byrne confronts Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary on RTÉ, the atmosphere is seriously tetchy
Classic luxe
If you have a large, round table, this 280cm wide, white-and-gold star-motif, 100 per cent cotton tablecloth, €195, is the perfect base for these hand-beaded art-deco-style gold placemats, €24.50 each; white linen napkins with gold embroidery, €72 for a set of four; and gold antler napkin rings, €28, also for a set of four; all from The Designed Table. thedesignedtable.com
Occasions bubbles
Spark smiles with an already stylishly packaged bottle of champagne, a gorgeous gift to receive that is meant to be shared. This bottle of Veuve Clicquot comes in a tin with Dublin and Limerick options, €85, as well as personalisation options. And instead of a card, how about also including this match book? Price €10. brownthomas.com
Diary date
Interior designer Susan McGowan of Ashen & Cloud wants Irish artist Eadaoin Glynn’s 2025 diary and notebook set, €30, for a Christmas present for herself. “It is for those who find joy in beautiful things,” she says. “The lucky recipient will thus enjoy the gift for the whole year.” She’s also hankering after Indy Parsons Power Sines, a new refillable marble candle vessel range. Priced at €220, with refills a further €40, “it is the type of gift that has longevity, will be cared for, and can be passed along.” eadaoinglynn.com; sinesstore.com; ashenandcloud.com
Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin
Interiors stylist Brian Conway is nostalgic for his Kilkenny roots and for the peat fires of his childhood. “Now living abroad in London for almost a decade, I crave the things I had growing up. I also love the ironic cottage, pub and post office.” Prices from about €30 from The Peat Incense Co, based in Lurgan, Co Armagh. Made of ceramic, they include tiny morsels of turf that you burn in the chimney to evoke a winter’s night in the West and across rural Ireland. To ensure delivery before Christmas, purchase before end of Dec 18th. turfpeat.com; briconstyle.com
Wood with heart
Interior architect Roisin Lafferty loves wood-turner Richard West’s work and recently used some of his pieces in the Woodlands suite at the Montenotte hotel in Cork and for some private clients. The pieces pictured were made from a storm-felled pine tree. They are just over 30cm high, dyed with a water-based dye, and finished with limed wax. Both pieces are hollowed and suitable for dried flowers only. Also pictured is Enhance, a luxe bedspread by interior designer Maria Fenlon.
West’s shop Studio West, Knockbrack, Cleggan, Connemara, Co Galway, H71 RH96, is open from 10am to 7pm, six days, closed Wednesday. Prices range from about €250 to about €1,000. richardwestwoodturner.com; roisinlafferty.com
Last-minute lovelies
The Irish Design shop on Dublin’s Drury Street is a gorgeous place to browse. It stocks much of Ireland’s top independent talent. Ankas Crochet handmade decorations, €16 each, can be used as toggles for gifts or as decorations for your tablescape, with the recipient able to add them to the tree after they open their present. irishdesignshop.com
Say cheers
Lennon Courtney & Kilkenny’s new home range includes Together, their riff on the classic hi-ball glass, which features a wash of colour on the rim that will enhance the look of any beverage; €35 for a set of four. kilkennydesign.com
