Our chief writer Una has had a bit of a nightmare when it comes to buying Christmas presents this year but fear not! We have a last-minute late Christmas gift guide to save her (and yours) Christm-ass! She has come up with the genius idea of buying digital downloads or tickets for events next year (with fingers crossed tightly that life gets back on track)…

THE EXPENSIVE LATE CHRISTMAS GIFT

Digital – A subscription to Disney Plus to enjoy a raft of films and TV exclusives. Most notably The Beatles’ Get Back documentary from Peter Jackson is worth the fee alone. So good you need to make this a year’s subscription because one viewing is not enough. And it is 468 minutes long. Wow – so much Beatle in High Definition ♡

Event – A ticket to next year’s Big Feastival! We’ve spoken before about how it’s the perfect family music and food festival but read more here to get a taste of what you might find: MEMORIES FROM THE BIG FEASTIVAL

THE REASONABLY PRICED LATE CHRISTMAS GIFT

Digital – Yes, we know It Takes Two won Game of the Year (TM) but our game of the year is Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart on the PS5. If you know a PS5 owner without this game: sort it out with a Top Up Voucher for their PlayStation account!

Event – Gigs coming up in Manchester in 2022:

THE CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE LATE CHRISTMAS GIFT

DigitalDemolition Crew for Nintendo Switch – this game is so much fun! Easy to pick up but difficult to master, again one for all ages but also on sale in the Nintendo Switch store! We can’t recommend it enough!

EventThis Mike Leigh season is still running until 1st January at Home, Manchester – culture yourself!

ONE MORE FOR GOOD LUCK

Digital – OK we’re kinda cheating with this one but with our impassioned affair with retro video games you can share this with a loved one this Christmas by ordering some very special limited edition video games! Our friends at Limited Run and Pixel Heart are particularly good at putting a neatly package gift together for the most deserving of collectors – check out their stock! We include these because for the extra special releases you need to pre-order early, so arguably you could do that right now and not worry about getting it to the lucky recipient before chrimbo!

Event – THE NOT SO UGLY SISTERS and POSTMAN PAT. Playing until Jan 2021, an alternative approach to a panto this year that still carries enough laughs, songs and heart to appeal to all members of the family. Read all about it – and check out the Postman Pat exhibition whilst you’re there!


And if you somehow have some more time, our lists from previous years don’t age badly – check ’em out:

THE JOURNALIX CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS 2019