Christmas Crackers - Small Things!

It's almost Christmas and in the final installment of our Christmas gift suggestion triumverate, we're picking out some small, nice things. If you need more inspiration, check out our warm things suggestions and our outdoors culture ones.

Anyway, without any more hyperlinking prevarication, here are a few more suggestions to warm the heart - and feet - of the outdoors person in your life :-)

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Alpkit Things Those nice boys at Alpkit are positively awash with lovely, small things for Christmas. Pictured is one of their climbing-themed brass key-rings, but there's also jewelry, the £12.50 Gamma head-torch and the rather Christmassy BULB Lantern for £15. Lots more besides, take an amble through www.alpkit.com

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Icebreaker Beanies Merino wool makes great hats - not sure why, could be the soft wool, anti-pong properties and well, they're just nice. And Icebreaker have a massive range of them from simple beanies through to more elaborate designs. There are even balaclavas, caps and bandanas if you're that way inclined. And why wouldn't you be? More at www.icebreaker.com

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Teko Socks We've been using a few different pairs of Teko socks over the past few months - reviews to follow - and all of them have been rather lovely. For choice though, we'd plump for something from their EcoMerino organic wool range, like these light hiking socks. Not only do they work brilliantly, but the whole company is run along ecologically sound lines, so cotton is organic, polyester is recycled and all the merino comes from a single trusted farm with an environmentally sound background. Really nice socks. More at www.tekosocks.com

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Fix The Fells For Christmas Hey, how about some altruism this Christmas? You can now buy a gift certificate to help restore a Lake District path, £10 will pay for a metre of pathside vegetation or £25 will pay to get stone moved to site. And if you can spare £600, that's an hour of helicopter time shifting stones to high places. The great thing is, that for every donation, the Heritage Lottery Fund will triple it, so £10 is worth £30 to Fix The Fells. It's a lovely idea and you can simply make a donation online and print out the certificate on the spot, so you get instant fulfillment, save on postage and get your karma on line as well :-) More at www.fixthefells.co.uk

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Rab Expedition Slipper Okay, so you're probably not off to attempt Everest in winter, but that doesn't mean you can't mollycoddle your chilled feet with a pair of Rab Expedition Slippers. Filled with top quality goose down and weighing a mere 240 grammes, they're ideal for mountaineering, winter backpacking and just keeping your feet warm in a totally decadent and slightly ridiculous style. We want some... More at www.rab.uk.com

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Life Is Good Things We like Life Is Good, not only do they have a massive selection of feel-good, up-beat tee-shirts, but lots more beside. If you're feeling domestic, we can thoroughly recommend their mugs, plates and bowls. And if you're feeling canine, the dog bowl doubles as an excellent pasta receptacle. Don't ask how we know etc. Lots more neat stuff too including fleece blankets, picture frames and more. And if all that optimism is too much, have a look at rivals, Life Is Crap :-) More at www.lifeisgood.com

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And if you're still looking, why not pop over there to the lefthand side of this window and check out some of the shops in the OUTDOORSmagic retail section. Best be quick though, time's running low...