12 days of Christmas: Present ideas for all the family inspired by this classic festive song

Yes, we found a gift for every single day…

Calling birds, gold rings, drums – we’ve got them all right here  (iStock/The Independent)

‘Tis the season to be jolly and all that – and how many of us love a good festive tune?

One of the classics is the “12 Days Of Christmas” (you know the one) and so here at IndyBest we’ve taken some inspiration from it and come up with our own gift ideas based on this classic seasonal ditty.

If you’re wondering when those 12 days actually are, it starts on 25 December and ends 5 January.  

But we’re in no way suggesting you save any of these pressies for after the big day – though, that’s entirely up to you.

For now, enjoy our run-down of the best gifts out there for the 12 days of Christmas. 

They’re mainly for kids, but, don’t worry, we’ve thrown a few in for the grown-ups too because let’s face it, we all like pressies, right?

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

A partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens…

No real partridges need be harmed for this gift: we’re focusing on the pear tree bit instead with this lovely Sassy Le Vertueux (£6.15, Masters of Malt), made with 100 per cent pears. You’ll find it in our round-up of the best low and alcohol-free drinks, so a great gift for anyone who’s going easy on the booze this festive season (though it’s not alcohol-free, just low at 2.5 per cent). Our reviewer commented simply that “wow, it is brilliant”.

A crisp, low-alcohol pear-flavoured treat (Sassy Le Vertaux)

If beauty’s more your bag,  we think this Dove set (£9.95, Amazon) is a staple gift for family members at Christmas: well priced with smart packaging.

This one includes bath soak, body lotion and a scented candle, perfect for unwinding at the end of a busy Christmas day.

Enjoy some downtime with this Dove bath soak set (Amazon)

For the little ones, we highly recommend this Cachempil stackable wooden hen to (£14.95, Tickety-Boo) for our “french hen” offering. It’s a wooden stacking toy to help your child with hand-eye coordination, aimed at 18 months+. It featured in our guide to the best wooden and plastic free toys, with our reviewer noting: “Our two-year-old tester is a farmyard fanatic, so this pleased her no end. But the best bit? This broody hen is sitting on a hidden egg – a little surprise once you’ve unstacked!”

Your little one will learn and have fun with this colourful stacking toy (Djeco)

Four calling birds, five gold rings, six geese a-laying…

These Little Live Pets (£14.95, Smyths Toys) are a bit of a “wow” toy when your child first gets them: it has 20 cute bird sounds (callin birds) and is interactive, so the more you pet it, the more noises it makes. Birdy also features a recorder so your child can speak into it and it’ll repeat what you say (endless fun). Good news too: the batteries are included so no need to worry about Christmas Day no-power mishaps (phew!).

Enjoy the sweet tweet of this songbird all Christmas long (Smyths Toys)

It’s great to get a bit of bling come Christmas, and this lovely delicate bracelet (£34.95, Seol and Gold) will be a welcome gift for anyone who loves their jewellery. As our reviewer for best independent jewellery labels tells us, it’s “timeless and classic”. She suggests paring it with another bangle for added “wrist art” or wear on its one as a simple but beautiful statement.

This delicate bracelet can be worn alone or layered (Seol and Gold)

Another one for the adults here: this goose-down jacket (Berghaus, £230) is the perfect number if you’re giving to anyone who’s looking for a stylish way to stay warm this winter. Testing it for our pick of the best insulated jackets of 2020, Sian Lewis advised it’s “most definitely the cosiest jacket we reviewed”. Even better news is that the down for these jackets is ethically sourced.  

Keep cosy with this stylish  goose-down jacket (Berghaus)

Seven swans a-swimming, eight maids a-milking, nine ladies dancing…

A soft toy is a bit of a must-have for lots of kids at Christmas and Jellycat is such a well-loved name when it comes to “cuddlies” we simply couldn’t resist this rather regal Flamingo Swan (£33, Selfridges). 

It’s suitable for 12 months+,  has a super-furry body and an oh-so sparkly crown: the perfect snuggly accompaniment for Christmas night. We’d probably avoid the “swimming” bit with this one though.

Everyone loves a new cuddly toy for Christmas, right (Selfridges)

Orchard Toys has featured in a number of our round-ups, including our feature on what to put in a homemade Christmas Eve box, so we figured its farmyard jigsaw puzzle (£7.90, Amazon) would be perfect to include here for the “maids-a milking”. 

It’s definitely one for the littles (18 months+), with just 12 pieces, and the animals are clearly defined on a green background so they'll hopefully be able to do it fairly easily, and feel very proud of themselves when they finish.

This simple farmyard puzzle will keep little hands busy (Orchard Toys)

Musical toys are a lovely gift for children at Christmas, as long as you don’t mind the day-long noise: or should we call it “merriment"! This lovely baby band set (£18, Jojo Maman Bebe) will introduce your baby to the wonderful world of music (hence ladies dancing, but it’s for boys too of course). It’s suitable from 6 months+ and has four instruments including a shaker, maraca, Clip Clap and Cage Bell. 

Get everyone dancing with this colourful kids’ band set (Jojo Maman Bebe)

The brand who made this one, Halilit, won our Best Buy award for best musical toys for babies with a very similar set, about which our reviewer said: "They are super durable and are fine for little ones to put in their mouths. Our little testers adored these and we adored the price.”

10 lords a-leaping, 11 pipers piping and 12 drummers drumming…

Remember the song this article’s inspired by? Well you can listen to it over and over again with this noisy 12 Days of Christmas book, (Blackwells, £5.65) which we think is great for toddlers and could just get them leaping all over the place. As you read the book, symbols relating to the song will come up and your child presses them to hear a corresponding noise. 

Enjoy the 12 Days Of Christmas again and again with this wonderfully noisy book (Usborne)

We  highly recommend Usborne: they too featured in our Christmas Eve box piece: and we know (from experience) the batteries seem to never run out on this book. Ever.

Another one for the adult “pipers” here, ie, the next-level baking enthusiast. This Russian nozzle icing set (£11.99, Lakeland) means you can do floral piping, in case you want to fancy up your banana  bread. 

We included this in our favourite piping nozzles, where it won the Best Buy award. Our reviewer was delighted to see that “these patterns work incredibly well with more than one colour of buttercream, especially the tulips. Accompany the flowers with some small leaf details for some stunning and life-like floral arrangements."

Treat the baker in your house with this eight-piece piping set (Lakeland)

And finally, one more musical offering to suit any “drummers drumming”. If you’ve got a budding Ringo Starr at home, this music set (£25, Argos) could be just the ticket. It comes with a tambourine, cymbals, maracas, clacker, tone blocks and a triangle.

It’s suitable for age three+ , though one word of warning from our tester who featured them in our best musical toys guide: “The instruments are durable but the paint may chip if thrown about too much.” Let’s hope for no musical differences, in that case.

Dance to the beat of your own drum with this nifty music set (Argos)

If you’re looking for smaller gifts for kids, check out our stocking filler guide or our Christmas beauty sets if you’re buying for a grown-up