The personalised Christmas gift we've got our eye on right now

If you’re ordering personalised Christmas gifts this year, this is the one we’d add to the basket. My 1st Years has launched the My Little Elf Box, a limited-edition gift box that opens out into a pop-up festive scene once the presents have been unwrapped. Only 10,000 are being made, and the design won’t be produced again once they’ve sold.

It costs £5 as an upgrade to the brand’s standard luxury gift box and can be added to any online order from November, while stocks last. The box itself isn’t personalised. It’s designed as the setting for what’s inside, whether that’s a named keepsake, a Christmas Eve box or a first-Christmas gift, and it’s what turns the whole order into a one-off.

What it looks like

From the outside, the box looks like a wrapped red Christmas present, finished with an illustrated blue ribbon and a handwritten-style gift tag. Lift the lid once the gifts are out and it opens into a cosy room with stockings, toys and a decorated tree, leading onto a snowy North Pole landscape. Santa and three elves pop up to complete the scene.

Why it’s worth the extra £5

Most gift packaging is in the recycling by Boxing Day. This one is designed to be played with through the festive season, then packed away with the decorations and brought out again the following December. For families with little ones who are just starting to build their own Christmas traditions, a scene that reappears each year is a lovely thing to look forward to.

Help name the elves

The three elves don’t have names yet. My 1st Years is running a TikTok competition this November asking families to suggest them, with a Christmas Gift Box of festive treats for the winning entry. The elves will then appear in animated form across the brand’s social channels, and you can follow along using #MyLittleElfBox.

Step inside the box at Selfridges

From 9 November, the My 1st Years pop-up at Selfridges London will recreate the box at full size, so families can walk into the festive scene for themselves. The brand is also inviting visitors, and customers at home, to share how the box becomes part of their Christmas using #TheBoxIsTheGift.

The details

• Price: £5, added as an upgrade at checkout
• Where: online at my1styears.com, from November 2026 while stocks last
• Limited to 10,000 boxes, with no restock (#1of10000)
• Selfridges London pop-up: opens 9 November