Cracking Christmas gift ideas for farmers in 2017
© Godong UIG/REX/Shutterstock Farmers aren’t always the easiest of people to get gifts for. Quiz them on what they want for Christmas and they’ll either ask for better prices, better weather or simply say they don’t know.
To help inspire you for this round of Christmas shopping, we’ve picked out loads of great gifts for all the farming family.
From the practical and edible, to the cute and quirky, we’re confident we’ve got at least one gift here to suit all tastes.
See also: 11 things that make Christmas different on the farm
We’ll keep hunting in the weeks to come and update this list with more Christmas present ideas for farmers, so don’t forget to check back later.
If you’re a farm business with a gift you think would be perfect for farmers, please email details and photos to Community editor Oli Hill at oli.hill@reedbusiness.com.
Food, drink and home
Friesian cow jugs
Now you can get milk from your Friesian dairy cows in a whole new way, with these fantastically lifelike jugs from Quail Ceramics.
Designed in the UK, they are hand painted but safe to put in the dishwasher and come in small, medium and large sizes, so you can have your own jug herd.
The ideal gift for your favourite dairy farmers this Christmas. Milk not included.
Price: £16.60 (small), £19 (medium) and £25 (large)
Church Farm beers
A selection of craft and cask beers are always a safe bet for a great gift for Christmas.
Set up on a family farm in Warwickshire, the Church Farm Brewery has a small but tasty range of hand-brewed beers on offer.
In November 2012, the Reynolds family sold their dairy herd and converted their milking equipment into a microbrewery.
This microbrewery on the edge of Warwick brews beer the traditional way, using water from the farm’s well and locally sourced malt and hops.
They currently have four cask beers including a light, amber ale called Harry’s Heifer, and three craft beers.
Price: £21-30 for a case of 12 bottles (330ml)
Festive foodie hampers
We all know farmers love their food, so why not give one of these bumper hampers as a gift this festive season.
Darts Farm Shop has a Festive Indulgence Hamper that’s almost overflowing with a hand-picked selection of the most festive and delicious artisan food and drink, including all the Christmas essentials, such as luxury mince pies, brandy butter and a Christmas Pudding.
Based just outside Exeter in Devon, Darts Farm Shop has been in business for decades, selling fresh fruit and vegetables alongside the produce of hundreds of the West Country’s food and drink producers.
If you fancy giving something with even more of a south-west flavour, there’s always the luxury West Country hamper, which includes locally made chocolates, a delicious onion and pineapple chutney and a bottle of white wine.
All hampers come presented in a Darts Farm wooden crate, which actually makes a great gift in itself.
Prices:
Luxury West Country hamper: £85
Festive Indulgent hamper: £159
Tea lovers collection
Give the gift of a great cuppa this Christmas with The Hop Shop’s exciting collection of teas.
Previous winners of Diversification Farmers of the Year at the Farmers Weekly Awards, the Alexander family know a thing or two about growing lavender and hops at Castle Farm in Kent.
The tea lovers hamper includes the shop’s popular peppermint and lavender herbal tea and lavender grey tea developed by its master tea blender.
You also get a hand-designed fine bone china mug to drink your tea from and some scrumptious all-butter lavender shortbread biscuits.
You’ll also get a small hand-tie of the farm’s dried lavender spring.
Price: £33 including delivery
Onion pickling kit
If you know somebody who loves a pickled onion or two then these popular kits are the ideal fun Christmas present for them.
Parrish Farms have been growing onions and shallots on the rich, sandy soils of the Greensand Ridge in Bedfordshire for 30 years.
They offer a complete pickling kit including a 4kg net of pickling onions or shallots, 5 litres of malt vinegar and a special blend of aromatic pickling spices.
Price: £11.95 for the onion pickling kit, £12.95 for the shallot pickling kit
See also: Video: How to set up a fertiliser spreader properly
Spanner cheese knife and beer bottle opener
It’s the ideal multi-functional Christmas present for any farmer who loves tinkering with machinery as much as they enjoy a crisp beer and some tasty cheeses.
At one end you have your typical spanner affair, but flip the took 180 degrees and you have either a handy bottle opener or a cheese knife at your disposal.
Price: £14.50
On the go
Farming phone cases
These stylish phone cases are a great way to keep your phone from getting damaged. These beautiful pastel designs are done by artist Grace Scott, who grew up on a small farm in rural Northern Ireland.
You can buy Grace’s artwork on slim cases to fit a long list of mobile phones, including iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Sony models.
Aside from the decorative phone protection, you can also getGrace’s designs on everything from mugs and placemats to cushions and bags.
Phone case price: £10
Power bank
Farmers want to check Facebook, do a bit of tweeting and post a selfie on Instagram as much as anyone else, but long days with poor mobile signal tend to burn down smartphone batteries far too fast.
The answer? This high-capacity power bank from Logic3 for on-the-go charging. This little juice box gives you enough power to recharge a smartphone or tablet from flat and has two ports so you can recharge more than one device at a time with a normal USB cable.
It has a small LCD screen to tell you how much power it has left and will recharge itself in just eight hours. A built-in torch is also bound to come in handy.
Keep this power bank in your tractor cab, truck glovebox or back pocket and you’ll have enough charge to get your smartphone through the longest of days on the farm.
Price: £49.99
See also: 5-step guide to reducing silage loses
Clothing and accessories
Indestructible socks
Sock are an essential stocking filler. Described as “tough socks for tough jobs”, these hardwearing garments ought to be able to withstand the punishment of being on a farmer’s feett day after day.
HJ Hall’s “Indestructible” popular range of socks are made from a blend of manmade fibres for an unrivalled combination of comfort and durability.
Available in three colours and in sizes 6-13, they come with a 12-month guarantee and are ideal for wearing at work in steel toe-cap boots or wellies.
Price: £5
Pheasant and cartridge cufflinks
These cufflinks from La di da Interiors, Luxuries & Gifts are a snazzy gift for any farmer who loves to go shooting in the winter.
They come in their own presentation box and you have the choice of either pheasant heads or cartridges.
A perfect Christmas present for any wannabe country gentleman.
Price: £15
Farming-themed bow ties
For all the snazzy dressers out there, how about these fantastic farming-themed bow ties from Bryony’s Bows?
Handmade in Warwickshire by Bryony Winter, she’s got a fun bow tie to suit any farmer – from dairy cows and sheep to tractor print and the obligatory tweed.
Bryony’s collection of patterned wing collar dress shirts mean you can also get one to match the tie.
Prices:
Bow tie: £15.00 inc delivery
Shirt and bow tie set: £50 inc delivery
See also: How to get your scraper tractor ready for winter
Kids’ gifts
Farmer Christmas book
Farmer Christmas is a new children’s picture book written by Devon-based farmer’s daughter Catherine Baddeley and beautifully illustrated by Somerset-based artist Sophie Baugh-Jones.
Together they decided to self-publish this book and launched it earlier this year at the Mid-Devon Show.
The story follows three children setting off on a festive countryside adventure, with loads of fun pictures along the way of Farmer Christmas and his tractor and trailer full of presents. It’s the perfect gift for all little farmers.
Price: £8.99
Child’s Tractor Ted onesie
If your kid is tractor-obsessed then they’ll love this snuggly Tractor Ted onesie, which is perfect for staying warm on a chilly winter’s night.
It’s machine washable and has press-stud fasteners so your little farmer can get themselves dressed without much effort.
This onesie comes in sizes to fit ages two to six years.
Price: £18
Mini John Deere ride-on tractor
No Christmas gift guide would be complete without a ride-on tractor. We all remember our first one and the uncontrollable excitement of unwrapping it on Christmas Day.
This mini John Deere is for children aged one to three years, has a horn and the bonnet opens up to reveal storage space which is ideal for keeping tools, toy tractors, or blankets in.
Simple assembly is required, but nothing that should cause parents too much stress on Boxing Day.
Price: £62.95
Farm duvet set
Your little farmer will be the envy of all their friends with this brilliantly bright and colourful farming-themed duvet set.
Made to fit a single bed, this set is guaranteed to brighten up your child’s bedroom with its fun farmyard design that includes tractors, sheep and cows on a blue and green countryside background.
The duvet cover is machine washable and can be tumble dried and ironed.
Price: £14.98
Essential reading this Christmas
Farmers Weekly subscription
Get a year’s subscription to Farmers Weekly magazine, tablet edition and unlimited access to FWi.co.uk for £153 (+VAT) – you’ll save 50%.
Diehard magazine-only readers can save 20% when they take out a year’s subscription to the magazine only for £133 and if you just want to give the gift of unlimited access to our website, it’s £80 (+VAT) for the year.
YFC members can get 35% off subscription prices and if you are a student we will give you 50% off. Just head over to our student subscriptions page for more details.
Prices:
Print, tablet and web: £153*
Print only: £133
Tablet only: £133*
Web only: £80*
*All prices exclusive of VAT
Festive cards and wrapping paper
Don’t forget the Christmas cards and festive wrapping paper. Farmer’s daughter and Cambridgeshire-based artist Sophie Botsford has an array of beautiful country-themed prints and homeware, but also has a range of wrapping papers and cards.
Sophie grew up on an arable farm, which has served as inspiration for much of her artwork today.
She gained a degree in Rural Enterprise & Land Management from Harper Adams University in 2013 and later decided to use her artistic talents to forge a career.
From festive Highland cow print wrapping paper to snowy sheep Christmas cards, Sophie has a wonderful selection to complement any gift.
Prices:
Christmas wrapping paper: £2.00 per 50cm x 70cm sheet with two gift tags
Christmas cards: £2.00 each or £10.00 for a mixed pack of six cards