Each December brings a familiar dilemma: what do you give the person whose shelves and drawers are already full? Instead of adding another object, think about an experience they can taste, discover or explore, and remember long after. And for a partner, choose something you can enjoy side by side. Sharing the moment is half the pleasure.
Food and wine remain the safest harbours for the person who has everything. The probability that your recipient appreciates a well-executed meal, a thoughtful glass, or the quiet satisfaction of acquiring a new skill is close to certainty.
For those drawn to salt air, Rottnest Cruises’ Luxe Island Seafood Cruise departs daily from Thomson Bay Fuel Jetty. The half-day voyage centres on Western Rock Lobster hauled minutes before it meets the barbecue under chef Tony Howell’s direction. A seven-course menu unfolds alongside Howard Park wines poured at liberty; the vessel’s three decks allow for conversation, contemplation, or a discreet swim in a sheltered bay. Capacity is capped at thirty-six, preserving intimacy. Ferry transfers from Fremantle or Perth can be bundled; bicycle hire extends the day for the energetic.
In Margaret River, Voyager Estate has refined the vineyard visit into three calibrated tiers. The briefest pairs estate wines with bites from the kitchen in the private Wine Room. The mid-length adds a walk among the vines and a barrel tasting. The premium may include a blending session or garden snacks matched to unreleased wines. Each is tailored in advance to the guest’s palate; the guides’ knowledge of the estate’s organic conversion is delivered without sermon.
For a palate unafraid of the unfamiliar, Mandoon Estate in Caversham serves an Indigenous Tasting Platter. Smoked crocodile, kangaroo and emu sausages, rivermint oil, and wattleseed bread arrive with three estate wines chosen to amplify native flavours. The experience is as much conversation as cuisine.
In Mount Lawley, a Private Pottery Masterclass caters to the seasoned thrower seeking precision. Over two hours the curriculum is bespoke: crafting a two-piece slip casting mould, formulating porcelain slip from raw materials, mastering glaze chemistry for durable tableware, or refining kiln firing for vitrification. Gather Ceramics pieces are also available for purchase.
For the collector who insists on the definitive, the Top 25 West Australian Wines of the Year, as judged by Erin Larkin, Emma Farrelly, Nine Throsby and Nick Ryan, forms an all-killer-no-filler canon. Blind-tasted over three days in the private dining room at Wildflower in the State Buildings in December, the list lands at The Good Grocer Cellar and independent bottle shops sooner after.
None of these gifts endures as an object; a lobster hauled at noon, or a barrel sample in spring. In the economy of attention, that is currency enough.