Christmas gift guide PR insights you need to know from Alex Stedman
Christmas gift guides are some of the most competitive PR opportunities of the year.
Every festive season, editors are searching for products that feel exciting, relevant and giftable. But with hundreds of brands pitching for limited space, how do you make your product stand out?
We recently hosted an editor masterclass: How to get your product into Christmas gift guides with Alex Stedman, someone who has sat on both sides of the process.
As former Style Editor at Red Magazine, Alex was responsible for shaping their much-coveted Christmas gift guides. She knows what it’s like to select products for festive coverage as well as what makes a pitch worth opening.
Here are some of her key insights.
Meet Alex Stedman
Alex has worked in the fashion, lifestyle and publishing industry for over 20 years.
During her career, she has worked on magazine desks, styled fashion shoots and celebrities, and edited shopping pages across leading publications.
As Style Editor at Red magazine, she was in charge of the Christmas gift guides, before going freelance to style high street fashion campaigns and edit shopping supplements for Condé Nast Traveller.
In 2012, she founded the award-winning blog The Frugality. She now writes The R.U.E on Substack and shares achievable style tips and great finds on Instagram, where she has a combined following of more than 500,000.
You can follow her on Instagram here.
What editors are looking for
Alex’s biggest piece of advice?
Don’t underestimate the power of something that makes an editor stop scrolling.
“I want something to arrest me. Hold me. ‘That’s amazing. That’s really colourful and would make a page look great.’”
For print gift guides, it’s not just about finding a good product. Editors are thinking about the page as a whole.
They’re looking for products that:
Catch the eye instantly
Have interesting shapes or colours
Photograph beautifully
Fit naturally into the overall gift guide
As Alex explained, it’s not always about finding the perfect product. It’s about finding the perfect product for that space.
Make it easy for editors to say yes
One of the biggest mistakes brands make is not making their products easy for journalists to use.
Editors are busy, especially during the Christmas period. The easier you make their job, the better.
Alex recommends having:
High-resolution product images
Cut-out product shots on your website
Clear product links
Pricing information
Stock availability
For print gift guides, cut-out imagery is particularly important because editors often need images they can quickly drop into layouts.
If your product images are already available, journalists can grab what they need without having to come back to you.
Don’t overthink your pitch
When it comes to pitching Christmas gift guides, Alex’s advice is simple:
Trust your gut.
You know your products better than anyone. You know your bestsellers, your customer favourites and the products you believe more people should discover.
Tell journalists that.
Good gift guide pitches don’t just say:
“Here is our product.”
They explain why it’s worth gifting.
Alex also encouraged brands to back the products they genuinely love, even if they aren’t necessarily the biggest sellers.
Sometimes the product that catches an editor’s eye isn’t the obvious bestseller.
“We’re quirky and weird and we’ll sometimes pick something you might not expect.”
Create your own mini gift guide
One way to stand out is to think like an editor.
Rather than only pitching your own product, create a mini gift guide that shows the wider world your brand fits into.
For example:
10 gifts for the home lover
10 colourful stocking fillers
10 thoughtful gifts under £50
This helps editors understand your taste, your audience and the breadth of your brand.
Christmas gift guide trends for 2026
Each year, certain themes influence festive coverage alongside the classic gifting categories.
Looking ahead to Christmas 2026, Alex shared the trends she expects to see shaping gift guides.
Tech, but make it beautiful
Technology isn’t going anywhere, but Alex predicts a shift towards making tech feel more considered within the home.
Think:
Beautiful leather tech accessories
Stylish storage solutions
Ways to hide or organise devices
Products that help people integrate technology into their homes in a more elegant way could stand out.
A return to analogue and nostalgia
Alex expects continued interest in analogue hobbies, retro products and items that bring people back to simpler, more mindful times.
After years of digital overload, gifts that encourage slower living, creativity and hands-on experiences could resonate.
Less screen time, more curiosity
“I’d prefer to see less kids’ tech and more kids’ magic,” Alex says.
There’s an opportunity for gifts that spark curiosity, creativity and discovery.
Colourful, affordable beauty
Beauty remains a strong gifting category, particularly products that feel fun, colourful and accessible.
Eye-catching packaging and products that look great on a gift guide page can stand out.
Traditional hobbies, reimagined
Alex mentions a renewed appreciation for traditional values and practical skills.
Think:
Chic cookware
Cool gardening equipment
Stylish tools and toolboxes
Products that encourage people to make, grow and create
There’s a growing appetite for useful, hands-on gifts that people will genuinely use.
Food gifts with a twist
Food gifting remains a festive favourite, but Alex is drawn to products people might not necessarily buy for themselves.
Think:
Interesting sauces and condiments
Unique seasonings
Premium olive oils
Non-alcoholic drinks
Beautiful packaging and a strong story behind the product can help these gifts stand out.
Final thoughts
Christmas gift guide coverage isn’t just about having a great product.
It’s about understanding what editors are looking for, making your product easy to feature and giving them a reason to choose you.
Think visually. Pitch with confidence. And remember, the products that stand out are often the ones with a story, a point of view or something a little unexpected.
Sign up here to access the full free replay of our editor masterclass with Alex Stedman.
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