© The Art of Framing
Small gifts that are actually useful, good things to eat, and a few extra reasons to get outside this winter.
FIELD NOTES / CHRISTMAS 2026
Christmas presents seem to get bigger every year. We decided to go the other way. If you’re putting together a DIY Advent calendar for someone who loves hiking, surfing, camping or simply making coffee outside, these 24 ideas are a place to start. You can mix useful little gifts with food, handwritten notes and plans to spend time together.
There’s no need to fill twenty-four doors with random gadgets bought because arriving empty-handed felt socially unacceptable. We’ve all done it. Sometimes, frankly, you’re better off bringing something good to eat, something good to drink, and putting it straight on the table. You know exactly what we mean. We’re not here to give you a lecture.
One of my best friends is into ultra-trail running, hiking and bivouacs. If I were making an Advent calendar for him, I wouldn’t search for twenty-four things with ADVENTURE printed across them in fluorescent orange. I’d look for the small things he might actually use: something that disappears into the bottom of a backpack until the day he is very glad it’s there.
For my 40th birthday, that same friend gave me a handheld wind meter because I kitesurf. Possibly not the sexiest birthday present ever invented. But arrive at a spot where your weather app refuses to load and the wind has you questioning your kite choice, and that little object suddenly looks rather brilliant. Nobody wants to discover their inner flying squirrel by accident.
The first time I properly used it, I took a photo and sent it to him. Small thing. Someone who knows you. Absolute banger.
That’s the idea behind this list. Because we also know the opposite problem: they surf, they run, they hike, they already have everything, and their equipment looks like it requires a postgraduate qualification. Five days later, they get another pair of supermarket socks. A perfectly respectable gift, admittedly. But let’s see what else we can find.
Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Some of the Decathlon equipment featured here was provided by the brand. We identify items we use ourselves; the other entries are gift ideas, rather than claims that we have tested every product.
IN A HURRY? START HERE
| Who you’re buying for | A good place to start |
|---|---|
| The person who is always out before sunrise | A compact headlamp* — no. 2 |
| The friend whose phone is permanently at 2% | A power bank* — no. 5 |
| The coffee person | Good beans*, a mug* or an AeroPress kit* — nos. 10–13 |
| The outdoor cook | A small spice kit* or cooking utensils* — nos. 14–17 |
| The surfer | A small dry bag* — no. 19 |
| The person who already owns everything | A dinner you cook* or a day together* — nos. 18 and 24 |
HOW TO BUILD AN OUTDOOR ADVENT CALENDAR
Our starting point was simple: useful, personal and likely to make it into the bag. Some ideas are inexpensive extras; others work better as the main present. For anything too large to fit inside a calendar pocket, put a numbered note inside and wrap the gift separately.
We’ve avoided equipment that demands detailed knowledge of someone’s shoe size, bindings or preferred trekking-pole diameter. A few things still need checking, particularly stove fuel, charging connections and repair materials. If choosing the right version turns into a research project, coffee is waiting patiently further down the list.
And you don’t need to buy twenty-four products. Six thoughtfully chosen presents, divided bags of trail snacks, a recipe and a few handwritten invitations can make a much more personal calendar.
SMALL OUTDOOR GIFTS FOR EVERYDAY PROBLEMS
1. Gear Repair Patches
A rip in a jacket, backpack or tent rarely happens at a convenient moment. A few repair patches take up very little room and may help keep something well loved in use for longer. Choose patches suitable for the material; an inflatable sleeping mat may need its own repair kit.
Tiny gift. Potentially expensive problem addressed.
Good for: Hiking, camping and travel.
[EXPLORE GEAR REPAIR PATCHES →]
2. A Compact Headlamp
Nobody unwraps a headlamp on Christmas morning and screams with excitement. Then it’s 6:12 a.m., completely dark, and the car keys have reached the geological bottom of the bag. Suddenly, the gift makes sense.
For ordinary camp tasks and early starts, we’d look for something compact, easy to operate and straightforward to recharge or power. For running or more demanding outings, check what the person actually needs. Finding your coffee spoon and navigating a mountain trail are rather different assignments.
Good for: Camping, early walks and dawn surf checks.
[EXPLORE HEADLAMPS AT DECATHLON →]
3. A Protective Waterproof Pouch
Phone, keys, passport, cash: four things that generally perform better when they aren’t floating around in water. A small protective pouch can be useful for boats, beach days and wet journeys. It’s hardly revolutionary, which is part of the appeal.
Check what the particular pouch is designed to withstand before buying. Keeping rain off a passport and carrying a phone into the surf require different levels of protection.
Good for: Boat trips, beach days and travel.
[EXPLORE PROTECTIVE POUCHES →]
4. A Pocket Wind Meter
This is the present that inspired the article. For a kitesurfer, sailor or someone developing a slightly unhealthy relationship with weather forecasts, a pocket wind meter adds a reading from where they are standing. It’s one piece of the picture, alongside the forecast, the spot and their own judgement.
Mine was a gift from a friend who understood how I spend my time. That’s a fairly good brief for a Christmas present.
Good for: Kitesurfers, sailors and committed weather nerds.
[EXPLORE POCKET WIND METERS →]
5. A Compact Power Bank
Completely boring at 100%. Exceptional at 2%. Between maps, weather forecasts, photographs and messages, our phones have become part of the travel kit, and my own power bank has earned its place.
Around 10,000 mAh is one size to consider for a compact gift, with the weight and connections checked against the person’s needs. Wireless or magnetic charging may be useful if their phone supports it. Particularly if losing charging cables has become a personal tradition.
Good for: Travel, hiking and surf trips.
[EXPLORE COMPACT POWER BANKS →]
FOR PEOPLE WHO START BEFORE SUNRISE
6. Merino Hiking Socks
Yes, socks for Christmas. We’ve come full circle. But a comfortable pair chosen for someone’s actual activity is a considerable improvement on whatever happened to be beside the supermarket checkout.
Look at the thickness, fit and intended use, especially if they’ll be worn inside hiking or running shoes. Socks may struggle to dominate the unwrapping ceremony. They can still have a very successful career afterwards.
Good for: Hiking, camping and winter outings.
[EXPLORE HIKING SOCKS AT DECATHLON →]
7. A Neck Gaiter
A neck warmer, a headband, something to pull over your ears when the wind gets up: a gaiter earns its place through being simple. Choose a light or warmer version according to where the person goes and what they do. This is also one gift where technical compatibility largely amounts to having a neck.
Useful for catastrophic hair, too. Although that feature rarely appears on the packaging.
Good for: Walking, running, cycling and travel.
[EXPLORE NECK GAITERS →]
8. Reusable Hand Warmers
For photographers waiting for the light, people watching a winter surf session, and anyone whose fingers resign as soon as November arrives. Hand warmers make a small, thoughtful addition to a winter kit. Check how the reusable version is reheated or recharged so it fits the person’s routine.
Small object. Potentially substantial improvement in mood.
Good for: Photography, cold mornings and winter outings.
[EXPLORE REUSABLE HAND WARMERS →]
9. A Sunscreen Stick
A compact sunscreen stick is easy to keep in a jacket pocket or day bag. For someone who already has a favourite, replacing it can be a more thoughtful present than introducing another unfamiliar product. Practical gifts are allowed to be that straightforward.
Choose a product suited to its intended use and follow its application instructions. A stick takes up very little room, but it still needs to leave the bag to be useful.
Good for: Beach days, mountain trips and time outside.
[EXPLORE SUNSCREEN STICKS →]
COFFEE GIFTS FOR OUTSIDE ENTHUSIASTS
We have no scientific evidence that coffee tastes better outside. We do have considerable enthusiasm for continuing the investigation. These are a few things that belong in the research budget.
10. Really Good Coffee
Whole beans for someone with a grinder, ground coffee matched to their brewer, or individual filter bags for a simpler setup. A little knowledge of their routine goes further than buying the most elaborate bag on the shelf. Coffee is a particularly satisfying gift because it eventually disappears, having done its job.
What remains is a good moment. And possibly someone explaining tasting notes while you’re still trying to wake up.
Good for: The coffee person in your life.
[EXPLORE COFFEE AT COFFEE CIRCLE →]
11. An Outdoor Mug They’ll Keep Using
We use the Quechua Mug 900 insulated mug in our outdoor setup. Coffee outside, road trips, breakfast before the day gets going: it has become one of those objects that keeps coming with us. That’s the sort of equipment we like.
For a gift, think about how it will be carried and used. An open mug for sitting beside a stove and a sealed cup thrown into a backpack have different jobs.
Good for: Coffee, camping and travel.
[VIEW THE QUECHUA MUG 900 →]
[READ: MORNING WITH A VIEW — IBIZA →]
© The Art of Framing
12. A Small Camping Stove
An expensive bag of coffee, a beautiful mug and a precision grinder become rather conceptual if nobody can heat the water. A small camping stove can bring the whole arrangement together. You do not need to open a coffee shop halfway up a mountain.
This one deserves a compatibility check before buying: the correct fuel must be available where the person will use it. We’ve been reminded of that ourselves while trying to source a cartridge for our mini burner in Morocco. A useful little lesson, although we would have preferred a coffee.
Good for: Camping, van trips and outdoor coffee.
[EXPLORE SMALL CAMPING STOVES →]
© The Art of Framing
13. An AeroPress Coffee Kit
An AeroPress, suitable filters and good coffee make a gift somewhere between “useful travel equipment” and “I have developed opinions about extraction”. You can put the kit together yourself, choosing coffee that suits the person receiving it. Check whether they already have the brewer before buying another.
If they travel with scales, a hand grinder and three brewing recipes, you probably know who you’re dealing with. The hipster 3000 in your life deserves Christmas too.
Good for: Coffee enthusiasts who like a portable setup.
[EXPLORE AEROPRESS OPTIONS AT COFFEE CIRCLE →]
SMALL GIFTS FOR BETTER OUTDOOR COOKING
Outdoor food doesn’t automatically have to emerge from a silver pouch with the texture of building insulation. A few simple ingredients and utensils can make a meal much more enjoyable. They also make good additions to a calendar without filling someone’s kitchen with equipment.
14. A Tiny Spice Kit
Good salt, black pepper, chilli and smoked paprika can rescue an alarming number of meals. Fill a few small food-safe containers with spices the person actually likes and label them. A homemade kit leaves room for personal taste and whatever is already in your cupboard.
Sometimes the missing piece of outdoor equipment is a pinch of salt.
Good for: Camp cooks and enthusiastic picnic organisers.
[EXPLORE TRAVEL SPICE CONTAINERS →]
15. A Small Bottle of Good Olive Oil
Not especially technical outdoor equipment. More of a general life-improvement device. Bread, tomatoes, pasta, vegetables: good olive oil has plenty of opportunities to earn its place at the table.
Choose a small bottle that closes securely and is practical to carry. Pair it with a handwritten recipe if you want to turn it into something more personal.
Good for: People who enjoy cooking wherever they are.
[EXPLORE OUR OLIVE OIL PICK →]
16. Compact Cutlery
Some people can spend twenty minutes comparing the weight of two titanium spoons. We’re happy to leave that particular investigation with them. A straightforward set of cutlery that stays in the picnic or camping bag is already useful.
Especially when dinner is ready and everyone is looking at the food, then at each other, then back at the food.
Good for: Camping, picnics, van trips and travel.
[EXPLORE CAMPING CUTLERY AT DECATHLON →]
17. A Small Cooking Utensil Kit
The Quechua MH500 cooking utensil set is another piece of equipment we use. Having the small tools together makes packing for an outdoor meal easier. It’s the sort of thing you appreciate when you start cooking and discover that what you need is already there.
Before buying a complete kit, consider what the person owns. Sometimes a missing spatula is a better present than a second set of everything.
Good for: Outdoor cooking and camping.
[VIEW THE QUECHUA MH500 COOKING UTENSIL SET →]
[READ: PASTA WITH A VIEW — IBIZA →]
© The Art of Framing
18. John Lemon: Dinner for Two
This present involves lemon, butter, Parmesan, a few mint leaves and an unreasonable amount of attention paid to a sauce. John Lemon is our contribution to the calendar: a recipe you can turn into dinner for someone you like. The creamy finish comes without cream.
Print the recipe, add the ingredients you can sensibly wrap, and write down when you’re going to cook it together. If it becomes dinner outside, even better. Somewhere nobody booked a table. A little stove, a useful utensil or a fine grater can become part of the gift if they’re needed. The invitation to dinner is already a good place to start.
Get the John Lemmon Recipe
GIFTS FOR SURF TRIPS, TRAILS AND DAYS OUT
19. A Small Dry Bag
Our 10-litre dry bag has a very specific job: it separates my wet wetsuit from the rest of the things in the larger surf bag. Before that, the poncho and dry clothes were rather too involved in the session. It was a small change with an immediate benefit.
Wet goes with wet. Dry stays dry.
For a surfer or regular swimmer, that is already a convincing reason to wrap one. Choose the size around what they actually need to carry.
Good for: Surf trips, swimming and organising wet kit.
[EXPLORE 10-LITRE DRY BAGS AT DECATHLON →]
[READ: WHAT WE ACTUALLY PACK FOR A MOROCCO SURF TRIP →]
20. A Compact Travel Towel
A towel that packs down neatly is useful for camping, swimming, the gym or a stay somewhere with uncertain towel arrangements. Look at the unfolded size as well as the size of the pouch. Some people want something to dry themselves with; others would quite like to sit on it too.
Either way, the aim is to avoid carrying a wet bath towel around inside a backpack for three days. We consider that progress.
Good for: Camping, beach days, hostels and travel.
[EXPLORE COMPACT TOWELS AT DECATHLON →]
21. A Massage Ball
Possibly the least visually exciting object in this guide. For someone who already enjoys using one after exercise or travel, a small massage ball can be a welcome addition to their bag. Choose the size and firmness around what they like using.
A fairly modest present, with excellent potential to roll underneath the sofa. Consider a small storage pouch.
Good for: Someone with an established stretching or massage routine.
[EXPLORE MASSAGE BALLS →]
22. Trail Snacks That Don’t Taste Like Furniture
Energy food does not have to taste like compressed shelving. Dried fruit, chocolate, nuts or a bar the person already enjoys can all make good calendar fillers. For someone who uses sports gels, buy a familiar favourite rather than introducing a surprise halfway through a long run.
Check dietary preferences and allergies, then divide the selection between a few doors. Consumable presents have a lot going for them: useful, enjoyable, and nothing permanent added to the house.
Good for: Walkers, runners and people who become noticeably nicer after a snack.
[EXPLORE OUR TRAIL SNACK PICKS →]
23. A Pocket Notebook
Surf conditions, routes, restaurant addresses, recipes, or an idea that appeared in the middle of nowhere: a small notebook gives them somewhere to land. Yes, your phone can record all of this. That isn’t quite the point.
Opening an old notebook can bring back a place, a date or a sentence you’d completely forgotten. Write something on the first page before wrapping it. Not everything needs to sync to the cloud.
Good for: Travellers, cooks, photographers and habitual note-takers.
[EXPLORE POCKET NOTEBOOKS →]
THE LAST GIFT IS SOMETHING YOU DO TOGETHER
24. A Handwritten Adventure Voucher
Take a piece of card and write down a plan: sunrise coffee, a winter walk, a morning surf, breakfast somewhere you’ve been meaning to go. Choose something the person will enjoy and that you can actually organise. Add a date, or a couple of options, so the invitation has a chance of making it out of the drawer.
After all the equipment, food and useful little extras, another reason to spend time outside together might be the nicest gift in the calendar.
[FIND INSPIRATION: MORNING WITH A VIEW — IBIZA →]
MAKE THE CALENDAR YOUR OWN
Set your total budget before choosing the presents. A mug, a headlamp, a stove and a coffee brewer can turn a modest calendar into a substantial Christmas gift remarkably quickly. There’s no obligation to include all of them, or any of them.
For a smaller calendar, start with coffee, favourite snacks, a notebook and a few things you prepare yourself. Add a useful piece of equipment if you know it’s missing from the person’s kit. Then leave some space for invitations, recipes and time together.
The slightly excessive version remains available, of course: serious coffee, a stove, a few carefully chosen utensils and John Lemon somewhere with a view. A thoughtful calendar on a small budget still has an excellent chance of beating a large box of unrelated gear.
THE GIFTS THAT STAY WITH US
The presents that matter often show someone has noticed how you spend your time. A wind meter chosen by a friend. A mug that comes along for breakfast. A patch that keeps a jacket going. A recipe that becomes dinner somewhere you want to stay a little longer.
That’s what we’d build an Advent calendar around. Small things, chosen with someone particular in mind.
JOIN THE JOURNAL
We share stories from outside, recipes, Field Kits, places we’ve spent time in and the equipment that comes with us. Get the one-page John Lemon recipe and start with dinner. There are worse ways to get acquainted.
[JOIN THE JOURNAL & GET JOHN LEMON →]
We’re also working on our first Pasta With a View cookbook, building it through recipes we cook, test and photograph. If you’d like to hear when it’s ready, you can join the dedicated list below.
[JOIN THE PASTA WITH A VIEW COOKBOOK WAITINGLIST →]
Words by Yannick Bucco
Photography by Conny Hänchen
Stay a little longer.
*Some links in this guide are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.