Christmas gifts for someone who has everything: 12 handmade ideas from Portugal

By Luís Serra, co-founder of Ra-Ro · View profile

About a 5 minute read

Buying a gift for someone who has everything is a problem of strategy, not budget. The temptation is to solve it by spending more, and the result is usually the same: an expensive object that joins the others on the shelf. The point is a different one.

For someone who has everything, the best Christmas gift is a piece handmade in Portugal, by someone with a name, in a craft few people still master: a hammered copper cataplana from Da Palma in Loulé, a papa blanket woven in Maçainhas, near Guarda, or a marquetry box by Jacky Cavallari. We have put together 12 ideas from Portuguese craft, grouped by type of person: those who cook, those who love their home, those who enjoy a good drink, those who feel the cold, those who collect and those who still like to learn.

The logic is simple. People who already have everything rarely need another object; they need one they have never seen. A handmade piece brings a place, a technique and a person with it, and each one comes out slightly different from the last. Hard to repeat, easy to remember. So before looking at the price, it is worth looking at what the person does every day.

Gifts for people who cook, entertain or love their home

For someone who cooks, the Copper Cataplana from the Da Palma workshop in Loulé is one of the few handmade copper cataplanas you can still find, and it goes from the stove to the table; the technique is explained in Hammered Copper Cataplana. The alternative is the Soenga Kitchen Pack, with César Teixeira's casserole and pot in black clay from Gondar. Soenga is a firing in a pit dug in the ground and smothered with pine needles, and it is that fire that gives the clay its colour and strength. Baked rice, bean stew, chanfana.

For someone who loves their home, the Hummingbird Box is marquetry by Jacky Cavallari, trained at the École Boulle, with a hummingbird on the lid: somewhere to keep a ring, a note, whatever is precious. More rustic, the Cracked Bowl by Vago, from Luca, a self-taught carver in the Serra da Estrela, is made from wood that survived the wildfires and deliberately keeps the cracks and the black of the fire. I admit it is my favourite on the list, precisely because it hides nothing.

For someone who enjoys a good drink, the Lourinhã Pack: Matriz and Clássica, from the Lourinhã wine cooperative, brings together two brandies from one of the world's three demarcated brandy regions, alongside Cognac and Armagnac. Matriz is young, with citrus and vanilla notes; Clássica was aged in French oak, Portuguese oak and chestnut. To taste side by side, slowly. The Heartwood Glasses, blown by Samuel Reis in the shape and grain of a tree's heartwood, round off the idea.

Gifts for people who feel the cold, collect or want to learn

For someone who is always cold, the Cobertor de Papa (Shepherd's Blanket) is made in only one place, Maçainhas, near Guarda, on hand looms more than 300 years old; how to recognise the real thing is in Cobertor de Papa: price and where to buy. For something smaller, the Fingerless Wool Gloves, crocheted by Alice Aranha in Caldas da Rainha, leave your fingers free for your phone or a book.

For someone who collects, there is the Sarronco, the bogeyman of António Ramalho's childhood, a potter from Barcelos and great-grandson of Rosa Ramalho; in Barcelos, that is what the bogeyman is called. Or the Romaria Pack, with four carved and painted cork figures by Porfírio Mendes: Saint Anthony, the Flower Woman, the Rooster Man and the Witch. A whole village festival on one shelf.

And for someone who still likes to learn, which I think is the most underrated gift on the list, the Drop Spindle for Wool and Linen and the Regional Carded Wool, both from the Enfia o Barrete collective in Madeira. The wool comes from the island's sheep, long fibred and strong, ready to spin. Add our guide How to spin wool with a spindle and a winter afternoon is sorted.

How do you choose without getting it wrong?

Two practical notes. The packs bring together pieces by the same artisan and, according to each description, cost 10% less than buying the pieces separately. And because all of this is handmade, some pieces exist in only a few copies: if you have already chosen, do not leave it to the last week.

There are more suggestions by budget in our Christmas gift guide by price and in A different gift: six ideas with soul. Every piece on this list is on sale at Ra-Ro, which works directly with around 40 artisans from eight regions of Portugal, and the season's selection is on the Natal Raro page. In the end, the best gift for someone who has everything is still the same: something they could not have bought themselves, because they did not know it existed.

Frequently asked questions

What do you give someone who has everything for Christmas?

Something handmade, with a known origin and maker, that fits the person's everyday life, whether that is cooking, entertaining, collecting or learning a new technique.

What is an original Portuguese Christmas gift?

A copper cataplana from Loulé, a papa blanket from Maçainhas or cork figures by Porfírio Mendes are gifts that are hard to find in other shops.

Are there handmade gifts under €50?

Yes. The Regional Carded Wool from Madeira and the drop spindle, both from the Enfia o Barrete collective, are among the most affordable ideas on the list.

What gift suits someone who loves cooking?

Pieces that go from stove to table, such as the hammered copper cataplana by Da Palma or César Teixeira's black clay casserole and pot from Gondar.

Are Ra-Ro packs a good gift option?

Yes, because they bring together two to four pieces by the same artisan and cost less than buying them one by one.