Philip Womack stuffs himself with Gift Books for Christmas, covering everything from inkblot tests, via glow-in-the dark jelly, to knitted dogs and everyone's favourite (or not) meerkat.
If you’ve ever wondered about the sanity of your relatives, the perfect Christmas present for any one of them isThe Redstone Inkblot Test(Redstone, £11.95). You look through the blots, feel which ones you’re most drawn to, and then read out the results: they are surprisingly accurate. I’ve already tried it on myself and my flatmates – you’ll be glad to know that we’re (mostly) normal. It will while away that long Christmas afternoon (with any luck without causing any major arguments).
So, too, willBest in Show: Knit Your Own Dog(Collins and Brown, £12.99) by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne. “Stitch that bitch”, as the authors cheerfully announce. This is a quirkily charming book and the results look brilliant (including a Westie with an adorable wispy face). Another one for the doers and makers isJelly with Bompas & Parr(Pavilion, £14.99) by Sam Bompas and Harry Parr. Though the recipes are easy to follow, the wobbling dishes are spectacular: anything can be made into jelly – champagne or liquorice, for instance, and there is bubblegum vodka jelly, and another that, mildly disturbingly, glows in the dark.