Unboxed, sniffed and sampled: the making of our ultimate Christmas gift guide

Behind the scenes of picking the perfect present; smart shopping tips for Black Friday; and the best pillows for every kind of sleeper

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It began in the stifling heat of summer, when the Filter team sat down to plan our big Christmas gift guide. One idea quickly rose to the surface: we didn’t just want to trawl online for the best, most original, affordable presents around. We wanted to smell the products, taste them, unbox and inspect them, and pour them over ice into a tumbler.

We started to fill out our list. We brainstormed ideas, researched them to find the ultimate iteration of that product, and borrowed samples (returning or donating them when we’d finished). We approached favourite retailers and shops for their new collections, and we attended Christmas press shows in our shorts and sandals to sample things in the flesh. The office slowly filled up with boxes, and the musical biscuit tin grew a bit wearing, though its contents were delicious.

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