Skip the Crackers — Instead, Finish Your Christmas Setting With One of These Thoughtful Table Gifts They'll Actually Want to Keep

Move away from paper hats and lame jokes and give your guests something a little more meaningful

close up of table set for christmas with white plates, silver candlesticks and white candles, a patterned tablecloth, stacked dessert, red ribbons and grapes
(Image credit: Bed Threads)

There’s a particular pleasure in a beautifully set Christmas table — the kind where every detail feels intentional and considered. This year, alongside layered linens and mismatched glassware, hosts are embracing a new essential: the table gift.

A small, exquisite token placed on each setting, it’s the successor to the traditional Christmas cracker — more stylish, more thoughtful, and far more likely to be treasured long after the last roast potato has been eaten. Think of these pieces not as party favors, but as take-home design moments: a scented miniature guests will actually want to use, a beautifully boxed chocolate that feels almost too pretty to open, or a tiny decorative object that would look great as part of their own Christmas table decor.

We’ve edited the season’s most elegant finds, complementing a considered table without overwhelming it. Each is smart enough to sit proudly on your place settings, and compact enough to slip into a handbag on the way home.

Whichever of these gifts you choose, think of it as the final layer of your Christmas table collection: the piece people notice first when they sit down, and the little moment of delight they take away with them when they leave.

Because Christmas dinner, in truth, isn’t only about the menu or the decor. It’s about the atmosphere you create. A beautifully chosen table gift carries that sentiment forward, transforming a simple place setting into a memory, long after the candles have burned down.

Seraphina Kyprios
Contributing Editor

Seraphina is a contributing editor at Livingetc, writing Advice features on design, renovation and organisation. Seraphina is a qualified Interior Designer from KLC School of Design having worked at London-based interior design agencies Anouska Hempel and ND Studios. Seraphina has also completed her MA degree in Magazine Journalism at City, University of London, with previous experience including writing for Homes & Gardens, Women's Health, Food & Travel and Fabulous Magazine.