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Shiny baubles and practical must-haves to take you through summer

From diamonds to barbecues, this week’s Spend edit has been curated with everyone in mind.

  • Eugenie Kelly
  • Christmas Gift Guide 2024
  • Spend

Luxury items for the fashionista (who doesn’t mind to pay)

Who doesn’t want to look good, smell good, feel good? Help them do it – from a $500 fragrance to a $2000 silk robe.

  • Updated
  • Eugenie Kelly
Erik Thomson will play Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at Melbourne Comedy Theatre

Crowded House to A Christmas Carol: shows to see in December

Nutcrackers and Messiahs abound this month, but a fitting way to cap this cost-of-living year might be a night with Ebeneezer Scrooge. Or there’s always Neil Finn.

  • Updated
  • Michael Bailey
  • Christmas Gift Guide 2024
  • Style

It takes a village to fill a Santa sack. These experts are here to help

From under $50 to name your price, this selection of gifts is sure to provide the inspiration you’re looking for.

  • Updated
  • Lauren Sams
  • Christmas Gift Guide 2024
  • Spend

38-diamond phone case: gifts for when the price doesn’t matter

Gift options are wide open when money is practically no object. Something from this gold-standard selection is sure to delight.

  • Updated
  • Eugenie Kelly
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This Month

A gift guide for foodies, from cookbooks to culinary rarities

A $300 pepper mill, a jar of animal fat and Gordon Ramsay’s favourite non-stick pan. Here are some must-have kitchen accessories.

  • Updated
  • Necia Wilden
  • Christmas Gift Guide 2024
  • Spend

8 glittery gifts for your partner

From signature jewellery that cries “look at me!” to subtle looks and personalised pieces, we’ve got you covered.

  • Updated
  • Eugenie Kelly

Handmade hits the premium end of the gift market

These five artisans are busy working on timeless pieces that celebrate the art of making – and that you won’t see in shops everywhere.

  • Updated
  • Hannah Tattersall
  • Christmas Gift Guide 2024
  • Design
Becker Minty Linear tumblers.

Stuck for ideas? Two top Australian designers share their wish lists

You’re bound to be inspired once you read what designer Blainey North and architect William Smart have chosen.

  • Updated
  • Stephen Todd
  • Christmas Gift Guide 2024
  • Spend
Venison ham.

The perfect Christmas ham, no pork required

From tableware to a twist on the traditional ham, and an over-the-top James Bond Bollinger, here’s what’s catching our eye.

  • Updated
  • Eugenie Kelly
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7 great gift ideas for drive enthusiasts

Our motoring writer’s line-up this year ranges from top-of-the range machines to fun merch.

  • Updated
  • Tony Davis

Max Allen picks the best wine books to give

One Thousand Vines will change the way the reader thinks about – and enjoys – wine. Plus, three vintages to sip along the way.

  • Updated
  • Max Allen
  • Christmas Gift Guide 2023
  • Food
You, too, can make  Meatsmith’s Fig and Jamon Salad featured in their new cookbook. It’s a great gift idea, too.

Jill Dupleix’s easy festive menu from three top cookbooks of 2023

Why sweat in the kitchen while everyone else is drinking bubbly and opening presents?

  • Updated
  • Jill Dupleix
Life & Leisure reporter Lucy Dean at Maccallum Seawater Pool with a few of her summer books.

12 books fiction lovers will give (or hope to receive)

We asked prominent Australian writers, readers, tome-buyers and page turners to tell us what they are most hoping to get – and send to others.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Dean
Palau_Four Seasons Explorer

6 luxury escapes including the best island holiday no one has heard of

From weekend escapes to gold-standard international adventures, travel is a gift that lasts a lifetime.

  • Updated
  • Ute Junker
  • Christmas Gift Guide 2024
  • Spend

Seven of the best wellness gifts for Christmas

You can’t go wrong with these gifts for mind, body and soul to get your new year off to a stellar start.

  • Updated
  • Eugenie Kelly
Google TV Streamer.

This beige box will transform your TV

If sky-high mortgage repayments have you thinking you might skip Christmas this year, think again.

  • Updated
  • John Davidson

This year’s highs and lows in motoring

We farewelled the Audi TT – and a car driven only by maths professors and architects – but there were good times too.

  • Tony Davis

Legends line up to be the ‘real’ winner of the Sydney to Hobart

Can Love & War, a classic yacht being skippered by the grandson of its original owner, win the Tattersall Cup for the fourth time?

  • Steve Meacham
BBC Studios and The Walt Disney Company announced the first-ever animated feature film for “Bluey”.

Bluey heads to the big screen in global release

The Walt Disney Co and BBC Studios announced a film based on the hit Australian series will arrive in cinemas in 2027.

  • Brooks Barnes
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The Lazareth North and Astrid emperor penguin colonies, both of which were only discovered in the past two years.

Forget cruises, the only way to see Antarctica is to go ‘deep field’

For a taste of the frozen continent made legend by names such as Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton and Mawson, you have to venture into its heart.

  • Ronald Mizen

A workaholic’s guide to successfully unwinding on holiday

How to mentally clock off to reap the benefits of your break from the office.

  • Luke Benedictus
Chris Lucas’ new restaurant Maison Bâtard.

Hottest new places to dine around the country right now

These much-anticipated restaurants and bars have opened their doors just in time for summer.

  • Necia Wilden
The pair of “eyes” at 12th floor terrace level.

Inside Melbourne’s latest luxury hotel

This CBD new-build is avowedly local, and intrinsically sophisticated. The essence of Victoria’s capital, really.

  • Stephen Todd
  • Gadgets With John Davidson
  • Review

This $25,000 TV breaks the extreme barrier

The Hisense 110″UX isn’t just four times bigger and four times brighter than many of the best TVs on the market. It’s four times more everything.

  • John Davidson

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/life-and-leisure