There are lots of great productions coming up next year and who wouldn’t want to receive a hot ticket? Our top recommendations include Tom Hollander in the Almeida’s production of Patriots at the Noel Coward Theatre, written by The Crown’s Peter Morgan; Jenna Coleman and Poldark’s Aidan Turner are directed by Josie Rourke in Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons and James Norton stars in A Little Life directed by Ivo van Hove, both at the Harold Pinter Theatre; the National Theatre’s Tony award-winning play The Lehman Trilogy directed by Sam Mendes is returning to the West End at the Gillian Lynne Theatre; Sophie Okonedo and Ben Daniels star in Medea directed by Dominic Cooke at the brand new @SohoPlace Theatre and Mrs Doubtfire The Musical opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre plus a new production of Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre.
Whilst we love receiving paper Christmas cards, these e-cards are so pretty and, of course, ecological, we think they are even better. Choose from sparkling angels to a partridge in pear tree for £2 per card.
If you know an art lover who would prefer to visit exhibitions at private views and hear the curator talks, then membership to a museum is a great present (young members, ie under 27, get particularly good rates too). Tate members also get access to their private member cafes and the price is currently discounted to £72 per year. V&A membership starts at £74 per year and you can bring 4 kids into exhibitions for free. National Gallery members will be able to get early access to the new After Impressionism and Frans Hals shows next year for £65 and at the Royal Academy, for £65 a young friend can take in a family member too. There are also the less crowded museums that are great value too such as the Garden Museum, Dulwich Picture Gallery and if you have kids, we highly recommend joining the Wonderlab at the Science Museum or the Natural History Museum which gets you in ahead of the queues.
One of our favourite gifts to give is a book subscription. The bookshop Lutyens & Rubinstein has a particularly good one for kids at boarding school as well as cookbooks, kids books, toddler books and general books. You can also choose the length of subscription (from 3 to 12 months), hardbacks or paperbacks as well as filling out a questionnaire on the types of books the recipient likes. So it can be cheaper or more expensive but most importantly, completely personal to the person you are buying it for. Alternatively John Sandoe has a great selection too from gardening to literary greats.
If you know somebody who loves paper stationery, then a membership to Electragram is a great idea (it’s currently reduced to $99). A year long subscription to design your own personal stationery and send fun messages, it’s a hit with both adults and teenagers alike.
A Little Bird Loves
