Inflatable Scream
Few works of art better catch the mood of the year than Munch’s masterpiece. Now you can exorcise the demons of 2020 by placing one of these 18-inch versions in the corner of your bedroom/office/prison. For extra life-like ghoulishness, fill it with water and watch it wobble. theunusualgiftcompany.com, £15.99
Where’s Dom? book
Created in the style of the eye-straining Where’s Wally books, this garishly illustrated publication takes you to the year’s biggest hotspots, from the super-spreading Cheltenham races to Barnard Castle. Just keep your eyes peeled for the most vilified political figure of the year. firebox.com, £8.99
Laure Prouvost coffee-stained lambswool blanket
Keen to avoid the disappointment of spilling coffee on your expensive lambswool blanket? Simply buy this one by the French artist instead. It’s got coffee stains pre-knitted in, allowing you to snuggle up with whatever precarious vessel you fancy. houseofvoltaire.org, £620
Vilac My First Chess Set
The Queen’s Gambit made you want to be a grandmaster, but then you realised that chess is actually really difficult. So treat your kids to Swedish illustrator Ingela P Arrhenius’s beautifully designed set of wooden pieces and they’ll be doing the Ruy Lopez in no time. alza.co.uk, £22.90
Hip-Hop Cocktails recipe book
Whether it’s sippin’ on Gin and Juice or downing a Brass Monkey to bring out your Beastie side, this book allows you to drink like your favourite rapper. Warning: contains no expletives. bluemondaypress.com, £12
Billie Eilish signature ukulele
A chance to take the first step to becoming a global pop phenomenon. For a not particularly small amount of money, you can strum the first instrument the Therefore I Am singer learned to play, thanks to this collaboration between Fender and Eilish that comes in black, plastered with her trademark Blohsh motif. shop.fender.com, £239
Dolly Parton Cup of Ambition
What’s ambition? It isn’t selling over 100m records, setting up a children’s book club and building a theme park. Ambition is doing all that and helping to produce the Covid-19 vaccine, which is what the 9 to 5 singer did in 2020 while you were patting yourself on the back for making a loaf of sourdough. etsy.com, £13
Uncut Gems jigsaw puzzle
Prepare for the inevitable next lockdown with this stylish opal puzzle that looks almost as stressful to put together as watching the Adam Sandler film it’s based on. Comes in a nice tin so you can store it next to your stockpiles of loo roll. shop.a24films.com, £30.80 (with shipping)
Antony & Cleopatra oven gloves
Is it a stretch to say that the words uttered by Cleopatra as she whipped out her dagger – “Quick, quick, good hands” – work perfectly well for putting a hazelnut traybake in at 170 degrees? Perhaps. Nevertheless, this is the perfect gift for the Shakespearean Bake Off lover in your life. shop.nationaltheatre.org.uk £12
Accidentally Wes Anderson
Wally Koval has amassed photographs of places from all over the world that seem to have tumbled out of a film by the Hollywood auteur, from art deco hotel foyers to elegant swimming pools devoid of ripples. Smell the faded grandeur. Soak up the pop-pastel colours. waterstones.com, £25
I Am Viable clothing and accessories
Phone covers, baby clothes, leggings, face masks and much more – made by freelance artists to help them survive what has been the bleakest of years. A neat way to show solidarity. my-store-10329929.myteespring.co, from £16
Tim Vine 2021 calendar
“Buy 12 months, get two months free!” screams the front cover of the comedian’s charity calendar and who can argue with that kind of deal? Although, if we’re going to have a longer year, can we please not make it like 2020? timvine.com, £10
Bella Freud’s 007 collection
The maker of irreverent knitwear has given the James Bond franchise an upmarket spin, with sparkly jumpers for the high rollers (er, £295) and a snazzy “The name is Bond” tea towel for the rest of us, perfect for drying your (nine-carat) Goldfinger mug. 007store.com , from £25
Ghostbusters trap incense burner
Is the class-five, full-roaming spectre in your bedroom making it hard for you to truly relax? Well, solve both problems with this burner designed to look like the box-traps in the movie. Just close the flaps and watch the smoke creep out. geekstore.com, £59.99
Lady Gaga Rather Be Dry wellies
Use the money you saved from the summer of cancellations to let the festival-goer in your life look the part at next year’s sludge-a-thons. These striking yellow boots, inspired by Gaga’s Rain on Me with Ariana Grande, mean you’ll always be able to spot the wearer in a crowd. shop.ladygaga.com, £90
Transport for London face masks
Remember trains? Well, why not recreate the thrill of pressing up against sneezing strangers with these design classic homages to the seats on the District and Victoria tube lines, as well as the iconic Routemaster bus. ltmuseumshop.co.uk, £18 for three
Martin Parr breakfast tray
Wake up to the master of the deadpan shot, with this tray bearing an image from British Food, the photographer’s exploration of social issues and national identity via the medium of sausage, bacon, egg and more. shop.tate.org.uk, £55
TouchMe human synthesiser
Lost touch with human contact this year? Well, ask for this ingenious gadget that lets users play their own body – and any item they can find around the house – as an instrument. Your chance to become a virtuoso on the frying pan! shop.playtronica.com, £75
Yinka Ilori homeware
It’s hard to craft dinner trays, tablecloths and cushions that give a powerful sense of positivity, but somehow the “colour-obsessed” British-Nigerian designer manages it with this vibrant collection. Even his socks look joyful. shop.yinkailori.com, from £32
Taylor Swift scrunchies
If anyone can say they had a good year, it’s fans of Taylor Swift. With not one but two albums recorded and released during lockdown, the country crossover’s also got her own branded set of scrunchies too. storeuk.taylorswift.com, £15
Flemish Bond socks
No architect can afford to be without a pair of these socks, adorned with a pattern inspired by the most popular way to stack bricks in Europe. Stronger and more attractive than the Running Bond which, if put on a sock, would probably fall apart. shop.architecturefoundation.org, £8.29
Saint Connell candle
Got a crush on the monosyllabic, bedroom-wallpaper-challenged star of Normal People? Now you can take things to the next level with this vegan prayer candle. “I’m never lonely when I’m with you,” it says beneath an image of the actor with pink roses in his hair and barbed wire around his heart. Bless. aintsaint.co, £19
Build-a-Beano personalised comic
The giftee of your choosing can be inserted into The Quest for the Ultimate Joke, a 36-page adventure that includes a maze, a quiz, the 50 funniest gags ever – and a Certificate of Awesomeness signed by Dennis and Gnasher themselves. shop.beano.com, £24.99
Baby Yoda child light
To bed and sleep well now go. Send your little Mandalorian to the land of Jedi-knight nod bathed in the gently geeky glow of this bedside light. May the force of two triple-A batteries be with you. firebox.com, £12.99
The Madman’s Library: The Greatest Curiosities of Literature
From the Qur’an written in blood (Saddam Hussein’s apparently) to books that hoaxed the planet or are invisible to the naked eye, Edward Brooke-Hitching’s gorgeously illustrated work is a must-have for bibliophiles, chronicling the strangest works in publishing history. waterstones.com, £25
