LOVE LIST.
Sounds good, looks good.
Leading Danish design brand HAY have given the Sonos One wireless speakers a bit of a limited edition makeover. You can now get the stylish system in five brand new colours – Forest Green, Pale Yellow, Soft Pink, Light Grey, and Vibrant Red – with each shade tailored for a specific area of your home. For instance, the green hues are meant to remind you of plants or pots by the window, while yellow generally fits nicely in bathrooms and kitchens. The end result is a wireless sound system for the home that truly blends in.
Sonos x HAY Sonos One wireless speaker available from sonos.com, priced £229
Brewed to perfection.
As the mornings get colder you’re going to need even more reason to leave the warmth of your snuly bed and avoid hitting the snooze button for a fourteenth time. For us, it’s the smell and taste of freshly brewed coffee that kick starts our day, and now iconic brand Smeg have released their own version of the drip filter coffee machine. It comes with their trademark sleek design and bright colours, giving you something truly beautiful for your sleepy eyes to be welcomed by first thing in the morning. Oh and with a 10-cup carafe, there will be plenty of caffeine to get you out the door and on your way.
Smeg DCF01 Drip Filter Coffee Machine is available from smeguk.com, priced £179.95
The future is bright.
When it comes to the iPhone XR it’s not just the lower price tag or more exciting colour options that’s a big draw, but the fact it comes with plenty of the fantastic features found in the iPhone XS. There’s an even faster Face ID that will have you authorising a payment in milliseconds, and the most powerful chip in a smartphone giving it optimum performance. That allows it to achieve Portrait Mode without a dual lens using some very clever artificial intelligence. The results are genuinely impressive. Add the all-new Liquid Retina display and you have an iPhone that’s as incredible as it looks. iPhone XR is available from apple.com/uk, priced from £749
Things keep getting better.
If you’re anything like us you’ve spent way too many nights weeping on the sofa this year. Not because you’re upset, of course, but because that super emotional moment on Netflix’s Queer Eye reboot has got you yet again. Well now you can get all the advice you need from the Fab Five in this official tie in book to the series. Whether that’s hair and grooming tips from Jonathan, some life coaching from Karamo, a handy DIY tip from Bobby, some style advice from Tan, or even Antoni’s secret guacamole ingredient, this Queer Eye book is here to help you create a happy and healthy life.
Published by Headline, priced £25
Gotta catch ‘em all... again.
Get ready to head back to Kanto in Pokémon’s first adventure on the Nintendo Switch. Pokémon Yellow has been given an HD facelift with Let’s Go, Pikachu! And Let’s Go, Eevee! editions, introducing the classic 90s instalment to a whole new generation of fans. There’s a new battle system and a new way to catch the original 151 critters which falls more in line with the phenomenon that is the Pokémon Go smartphone game. With a few new monsters to collect, and the ability to customise your characters, this familiar story will have you rediscovering what made you fall in love with the franchise 20 years ago all over again.
Available from store.nintendo.co.uk, £49.99
Never forget.
Telling the remarkable true story of the small town that welcomed the world, smash-hit Broadway musical Come From Away arrives in London’s West End this January. Playing at the Phoenix Theatre, it tells the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded air passengers during the wake of 9/11, and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. With a pre-premiere opening in Dublin this December, learn the stories and names of those that helped shape the course of history on 12 September, 2001. Come From Away won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and features a book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, and is directed by Christopher Ashley.
Tickets are on sale now for the West End premiere at comefromawaylondon.co.uk
Liars and cheats.
The United States of America, 1899: the era of the wild west is drawing to a close. Eight years on from the original, Rockstar Games presents the new and improved Red Dead Redemption 2 which sees Arthur Morgan flee the law and manage gang politics in a huge open world. Beautiful and fully realised, RDR2 see’s Rockstar’s best storytelling to date, combined with a meticulous attention to detail that will make returning to other open world games very difficult.
Available from amazon.co.uk, £49.90
You’re free to close your eyes.
We’ve teamed up with home furniture brand dwell to showcase three LGBTQ artists aimed at supporting the community, with a donation from each sale going to the Albert Kennedy Trust. Here we have an incredible piece by Achraf Amiri, depicting two male lovers kissing lustfully while flipping the finger to homophobia. Sensual, strong and striking, it’s an unapologetically queer piece of art that would add some artisanal flair to any home.
Artwork available from dwell.co.uk, £399
Now you can spritz your spritzer.
Here’s a new one: what if we said there’s a fragrance that is blended like a traditional perfume, but you could also use it to garnish your alcoholic beverage? That’s precisely what Smith & Sinclair have created. Whether you go for Watermelon & Citrus or Pear & Vanilla, a spritz of this spray will freshen you up while also enhancing the flavour of your fruity cocktail or glass of Prosecco by 80%. And if you’re worried that the sweetness could leave your skin feeling a bit icky, fear not because it actually uses a nonstick formula.
Edible Fragrance is available from smithandsinclair.com, priced £20
Sip sip.
It’s time to ditch the plastics from your life. No, not your copy of Mean Girls on DVD, but rather anything that is one-use and disposable. The future of the environment depends on it. With that in mind, Fortnum & Mason has created an elegant silver-plated straw for you to sip your G&T with this Christmas. Yes it’s extravagant, but it’s also environmentally friendly and will look fabulous in that very special glassware you’ll have out on the table this festive season.
Available now from Fortnum & Mason, priced £15