Culture.pl’s Polish Christmas Gift Guide 2025
It’s that time of year again! The colourful lights are a-flickerin’, bells are a-jinglin’, and the air is filled with the unmistakable scent of pine, barszcz and pierogi. Which can only mean one thing: gift-giving season is officially here! Warm your heart, stuff those stockings and delight your loved ones with these fantastic Polish Christmas gift ideas for 2025.
If you’re looking to share some of the best of Polish culture with your loved ones this holiday season, look no further: the Culture.pl team has curated a festive treasure trove of recommendations straight from our writers and editors!
1. Literature
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"Letters 1911-1932: Maria Skłodowska-Curie & Albert Einstein", photo: Fundacja Rozwoju Edukacji dla Przemysłu, Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum in Warsaw
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Here are some great books to curl up with by the (real or proverbial) fireplace. Hot off the presses, these fantastic Polish publications made their English-language debuts this year.
Short stories from the masters: ‘The Penguin Book of Polish Short Stories’
'The Penguin Book of Polish Short Stories', edited by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, photo: Penguin Books
Curated by esteemed Polish to English translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones, this anthology is a journey through the breadth of Polish imagination – from the forgotten to the canonised. A brilliant introduction to Poland’s literary soul.
Lloyd-Jones is best known as the translator of many of Olga Tokarczuk's works in English, including Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2019.
Read our interview with Antonia Lloyd-Jones here.
Epic speculative fiction: Jacek Dukaj’s Ice
Jacek Dukaj, 'Ice', photo: Head of Zeus / AdAstra Book
Ursula Phillips’ acclaimed English translation of Jacek Dukaj’s monumental Ice makes one of Poland’s most ambitious novels accessible to global readers. A frosty, otherworldly, alternate-history epic that will sweep any sci-fi fan off their feet.
Read our interview with Ursula Phillips here.
A meeting of brilliant minds: Curie & Einstein’s correspondence
For the science lover in your life, this newly compiled selection of letters between double Nobel laureate Maria Skłodowska-Curie and her close friend Albert Einstein is a rare gem. Their exchanges – spanning decades, scientific debates, philosophical musings and warm personal thoughts – offer a glimpse into the minds that shaped modern physics. A perfect blend of intellect and intimacy.
2. Music
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Tomasz Stańko 'Polish Radio Sessions 1970–91', 2025, photo: Polish Radio Store
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What’s Christmas without a bit of musical magic? Get out your record players and throw on some smooth Polish jazz.
Polish Radio has just released a treasure trove of previously unpublished recordings by legendary jazz trumpeter Tomasz Stańko. Available on vinyl (because jazz sounds right on vinyl), CD and streaming, this collection spans two vital decades of Stańko’s work. For fans of European jazz, this is a no-brainer.
3. Film
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'Knights of the Teutonic Order', 'Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s Pharaoh', 'Jerzy Skolimowski box set', photo: press materials
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For the cinephile who quotes Kieślowski and owns more Criterion editions than socks we have this special restored edition of the classic Polish film Knights of the Teutonic Order on Blu-ary.
Available for pre-order and arriving just after the holidays, this newly restored edition of Aleksander Ford’s historical epic is packed with extras. Second Run, renowned for their Central-Eastern European releases, treat this classic with the respect it deserves.
More Second Run essentials:
- Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s Pharaoh — a monumental historical drama in a lavish restoration
- Jerzy Skolimowski box set — Walkover, Barrier, Dialogue 20-40-60 and early short films in one beautifully assembled collection
4. Architecture: Brutal Posters & a Brutal Book
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Brutal Posters. 20 Brutalist Pull-Out Posters' & 'Kiosk: The Last Modernist Booths Across Central and Eastern Europe', photo: © Zupagrafika. All rights Reserved
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For fans of modernist architecture, Zupagrafika’s illustrated posters of iconic Central and Eastern European brutalist buildings are the perfect gift. These seemingly drab buildings make your walls shine.
If you like brutalism (and Zupagafika), we also recommend Kiosk, a playful, architectural pop-up exploration of the iconic Polish newsstands (kioski). With a foreword by Culture.pl’s own Anna Cymer, it’s a nostalgic design object for anyone fascinated by urban landscapes.
5. Design
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An artistic wall calendar, photo: wall-being x KABAK
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Enjoy Polish culture all year long with the first ever wall-being x KABAK calendar! It’s a unique combination of a love for nature and art – the result of fabulous collaboration between two Polish brands and twelve talented Polish illustrators (Pola Augustynowicz, Basia Flores, Susie Hammer, Ada Jarzębowska, Hania Kmieć, Lilianna Lasocka, Aga Łońska, Asia Rosado, Przemek Sokołowski, Kasia Stańczak, Paweł Szlotawa and Ola Szpunar).
Each page is an original interpretation of the world of plants and animals inspired by Slavic folklore, symbolism and the magic of nature. It’s a visual journey through the rhythm of the year – full of colours, emotions and tenderness towards the world.
6. Photography
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'Encyklopedia' by Weronika Gęsicka, photo: Galeria Jednostka
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Weronika Gęsicka’s work blends surrealism, memory and the uncanny, and Encyclopaedia is a perfect representation of her distinctive photographic language. A gift for art and photography lovers who appreciate the beautifully strange.
A special edition of Gęsicka’s Encyclopaedia was just featured at Paris Photo 2025.
Read more about the Polish representation at Paris Photo here.
7. Comics: The Witcher Classic Comics Collection
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'The Witcher: Classic Collection', 2025, photo: Dark Horse Books Publishing
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Before CD Projekt Red, before Netflix, there were the original Witcher comics. Now available in English, these vintage stories dive deep into Geralt’s early mythos. A must-read for the Witcher fan who already has everything.
8. Games: The Witcher: Path of Destiny (2025)
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The Witcher: Path of Destiny, photo: Go On Board
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Ok. Maybe not everything. In keeping with the Witcher theme…
A brand-new board game inspired by Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantastic universe. Perfect for game-night enthusiasts who enjoy strategy, branching stories and a dash of monster-slaying. Just add hot chocolate and you’ve got the ideal winter evening.
9. Self-care
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Holiday sets from Cztery Szpaki, photo: Cztery Szpaki
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2025 was quite a year. It seems that people are even more tired than usual this December. So here is the perfect gift to give your loved ones this year – a moment of relaxation and pampering from the Polish soap and skincare company Cztery Szpaki (Four Starlings). Their scrumptious and all natural holiday gift sets smell of winter wonderlands: apple and cinnamon, marzipan and poppy seed, gingerbread cookies and sugarplums! No unnecessary additives, just a bunch of good ingredients and fragrances that will immediately put you in the festive mood. Plus: vegan and eco-friendly.
10. Scent
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Bohoboco 'Polish Potatoes' Perfume, photo: press materials
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And last, but certainly not least...
The internet sensation of the year: Polish perfume that smells like… Polish potatoes. Earthy, fresh, clean and strangely addictive, this fragrance has gone viral in Poland and abroad. A quirky, conversation-starting gift that’s more charming than it sounds (trust us).
