There was a time when Christmas shopping meant braving the high street and emerging with a cashmere scarf or a scented candle. Now, if your recipient so much as glances at social media, they’ve probably been quietly lusting after some viral object since September.

Instagram and TikTok brim with all things cool, current and covetable, some truly brilliant, others downright bizarre. To guide you in your Christmas shopping for the trend-led, here is a hotchpotch gift haul of cult buys that range from the genuinely useful (a cast iron pan that they’ll treasure) to the downright whimsical (cannabis perfume oil, anyone?).

Influencer-approved and celebrity endorsed, these viral curiosities cut across all generations. There’s the Dubai chocolate bar that is the edible status symbol of the season, Uniqlo’s viral tracksuit that social media insists is chic and the cinnamon-sugar seasoning that TikTok fans sprinkle on everything from popcorn to ice cream. Loop earplugs are today touted as life-changing, over-ear headphones are suddenly back in fashion (apparently it’s 2005 again), and those in the know are now trading their Stanley cup for an Owala water bottle. Keep up, can’t you?

Whether you’re Christmas shopping for a Millennial magpie, a Gen-Z trendsetter or a grandparent who secretly scrolls before bed, these are the viral gifts most likely to raise a knowing smile come Christmas morning. Consider this your cheat sheet to the zeitgeist. Welcome to the algorithm-approved Christmas shopping list of 2025; the scrolling has been done for you, all that’s left is to buy into it.