Christmas gifts for dad from UAE brands
Camel leather, Dubai chocolate, Al Ain dates, coffee and soft pyjamas from eight UAE brands.
Christmas gifts for dad are often the last ones on the list, and the hardest. He says he does not need anything, and he probably means it. The trick is to find something he will use every day, or something he would never buy for himself.
This list brings together eight UAE brands, every one founded or based here: a few high-end pieces, small home-grown makers and one pyjama label. There is camel leather handmade in the UAE, perfume from a Sharjah house, chocolate made in Dubai, dates from Al Ain farms and coffee roasted in the city. If you would like personalised Christmas gifts for him, The Custom Factory adds his initials to a wallet, and a note in your handwriting can do the rest. We have left out prices, because they change, and we cannot promise what a shop will have on a given day.
To use it, think about what dad already carries and what he reaches for in the morning. A man with a battered wallet needs a new one. A man who makes the first coffee of the day needs better beans. Read the practical notes below first, then go to the brand that fits. Every link opens the product we describe, so you can check the details on the brand's own page before you order.
Before you choose
Count his cards. Before you buy a wallet, look at what he carries now. A man with eight cards and some cash needs a different wallet from one who has moved everything to his phone. The product pages here list how many cards each wallet holds, which is more useful than the photograph.
Order anything personalised early. Initials and names take longer than a gift taken off a shelf, and small makers get busy as December arrives. Our guide to when to order Christmas gifts in Dubai covers the timing, including gifts that have to travel to family abroad.
Check pyjama sizes properly. Men's sleepwear sizes vary between labels. Lay a shirt he wears often on the bed, measure across the chest and compare it with the size guide on the product page.
Treat food as food. Chocolate and dates make good gifts for a dad who does not want more things, but check for nuts and other allergies, and keep chocolate out of a hot car. For more ideas, our list of small Christmas gifts and chocolates from Dubai goes further.
Ask about the details he cares about. If he grinds his own coffee, find out how. If he has worn the same perfume for years, find out which. A quiet question to someone who lives with him saves a gift that sits unopened.
Write a note. Dads are often harder to buy for than to write to. A line from the children about why they chose it will outlast the gift.
Gift 01 · High-end
Minimalist: a camel leather wallet handmade in the UAE
Minimalist is a UAE watch and leather brand whose leather goods are handmade in the UAE. The Classic Wallet in Camel Leather, Dark Brown is a slim, compact wallet in scratch-resistant camel leather, with seven card slots and silver hardware, sized to sit flat in a trouser pocket.
If he has moved to cards and a phone, the Card Holder in Camel Leather, Dark Brown is smaller again, with six slots. Both carry small details the brand draws from UAE heritage. They suit a dad who still uses the wallet he was given years ago and will not replace it himself. Minimalist also makes watches with Arabic dials, if he would rather have something on his wrist than in his pocket.
Gift 02 · High-end
The Spirit of Dubai: a perfume range about the city
The Spirit of Dubai is a high-end perfume line from Nabeel Perfumes, a UAE fragrance house based in Sharjah. Its fragrance range is built in collections. The first draws on the sea, the desert, heritage, the skyline, Arabian horses and Arabian hospitality. A later collection is built on amber, vanilla, sandalwood, leather and woody notes.
This is a gift for a dad who takes fragrance seriously and has a bottle he has worn for years. If you are not sure what he would choose, the sample set page gathers sample and discovery sets across the collections, so he can try several before settling on a full bottle. Samples also pack easily if he is flying somewhere for Christmas, and they make a good excuse for a trip to the shop together in January.
Gift 03 · High-end
Al Nassma: camel milk chocolates in a wooden box
Al Nassma is a Dubai chocolate maker known for camel milk chocolate. The Camel Caravan Wooden Box holds eighteen camel-shaped pralines, each with a camel milk chocolate shell and a filling of macadamia nut and honey.
Of all the Christmas chocolates in Dubai, this is one of the most local, and the wooden box outlasts the chocolate: a dad with a desk will find a use for it. The pralines contain nuts, so check before you share them with anyone who avoids them. The brand's site reads mostly as a catalogue, so if ordering online is not obvious, contact the company directly. It suits a dad who likes to bring something from the UAE when he visits family abroad, or one who simply has a sweet tooth after lunch.
Gift 04 · Small, home-grown
Mirzam: bean-to-bar chocolate made in Dubai
Mirzam makes bean-to-bar chocolate in its Dubai factory, with every stage under one roof. The Emirates Reserve Hamper gathers its UAE-themed recipes: camel milk chocolate bites with Emirati honeycomb, a box of dark chocolate dates, tins of Siniyah salty pearls and Emirati honeycomb, and a small Emirati collection bundle.
For a smaller gift, the Made in the UAE Mini Bar Box holds five small bars, from an Alphonso mango white chocolate to a single origin dark from Papua New Guinea, with orange and cinnamon, and rose, in between. It suits a dad who reads the back of the wrapper and likes to know where his chocolate comes from. The mini box is also easy to open and pass round the table after Christmas lunch.
Gift 05 · Small, home-grown
RAW Coffee Company: a house blend and a travel mug
RAW Coffee Company is a Dubai specialty roaster, founded in 2007 by longtime residents of the city. Its Ritual Coffee Blend mixes Arabica and Robusta beans, with notes of dark chocolate and roasted almonds, and comes as whole beans or ground for anything from a V60 to a stovetop pot or Turkish coffee.
Pair it with the RAW Travel Mug, a double-walled, leakproof stainless steel cup that holds 350 ml and goes in the dishwasher. Together they suit a dad who makes the first coffee of the day for the whole house, or one who drinks his in the car on the school run. Ask which grind he uses before ordering. It saves a conversation on Christmas morning.
Gift 06 · Small, home-grown
The Custom Factory: a wallet with his initials
The Custom Factory is a Dubai maker of personalised vegan leather wallets and passport covers. The Personalised Single RFID Men's Wallet in Chocolate Brown keeps cards in an RFID-protected aluminium case, with extra card pockets, a cash pocket and a lock button, and carries his initials in gold foil.
Of the personalised Christmas gifts for dad on this list, this is the simplest to get right. The personalisation is up to two capital letters or numbers, so decide which two: his initials, or a number that means something to the family. It suits a dad who has lost a wallet once and still thinks about it. Other colours include black, navy and coffee. It arrives in a kraft paper bag, and a gift box can be added.
Gift 07 · Small, home-grown
The Date Room: Al Ain dates in a palm-leaf box
The Date Room belongs to the Al Dhaheri family, who have farmed date palms across Al Ain for generations. The Al Yered Gift Box Collection comes in a textured dark green box patterned after palm leaves, filled with plain, stuffed or chocolate-dipped Emirati dates, in a medium or a large size.
It is a local alternative to chocolates, and a good choice for a dad who keeps dates in the office or offers them to guests with coffee. The chocolate dates are made with single-origin chocolate, and the brand says the dates contain no artificial preservatives. A box like this also works as the family's gift to his colleagues or the neighbours, so you may want to order two and keep one for the house.
Gift 08 · Pyjamas
One of a Kin: soft men's pyjamas he will actually wear
One of a Kin is a UAE sleepwear label working in TENCEL Modal, which it describes as lightweight, breathable and softer than cotton. The Allure Shirt Long Sleeve Men is a button-up pyjama top with a straight cut, in thunder grey and several darker colours, sized from small to double extra large, with chest measurements on the page.
Pair it with the Unwind Shorts Men, sold separately in ten colours. These are not Christmas pyjamas, which is the point. They suit a dad who would never wear a reindeer but will happily wear something plain and soft all year. If the family is matching for photographs, a plain colour sits easily beside everyone else's prints.
A photograph with dad in it
Dads are often the ones holding the camera, or the ones who step out of the frame to deal with a toddler. A Christmas photograph with him in the middle of the family is a quiet gift for everyone, and it gives grandparents something to frame. The Christmas Room is our hero setup, with the tree and the family portraits. The Christmas Kitchen is messy, playful and real, with real flour. If you are deciding which session suits your family, our guide to Christmas mini photoshoots in Dubai walks through the options.
Let's sum up
Start with what dad uses every day. For a wallet, Minimalist's camel leather or The Custom Factory's version with his initials. For scent, The Spirit of Dubai. For food, Al Nassma or Mirzam chocolate, or dates from The Date Room. For his mornings, RAW Coffee Company, and for his evenings, One of a Kin. Count his cards, check his size and ask about the details he cares about. Then add a note from the children.
Questions about Christmas gifts for dad
Choose something he will use every day. A camel leather wallet from Minimalist, coffee and a travel mug from RAW Coffee Company or soft pyjamas from One of a Kin all get used long after Christmas. For something he would not buy himself, try perfume from The Spirit of Dubai or a box of Al Nassma chocolates.
The Custom Factory, a Dubai maker, adds up to two capital letters or numbers in gold foil to its RFID wallet, which suits his initials. The same maker personalises passport covers with names. For other gifts in this list, a handwritten note from the children is often the most personal part.
Two Dubai makers stand out for a local gift. Al Nassma makes camel milk chocolate pralines in a wooden box, and Mirzam makes bean-to-bar chocolate in its Dubai factory, with hampers and mini bar boxes. For something other than chocolate, The Date Room sells Al Ain dates in gift boxes.
Count the cards he carries and check whether he still uses cash. Then compare that with the number of slots on the product page. For a personalised wallet, check how many letters the maker allows and confirm the initials with someone who knows. Look at the colour on more than one photograph before choosing.
If we are using one of your photographs and you are not happy with how we have credited it, or would simply rather it were not on our site, let us know at hello@setupcollective.ae and we will take it down immediately.
The Setup Collective builds three Christmas rooms in Dubai each season, the Christmas Room, the Christmas Kitchen and Christmas Morning, then photographs families in them. Candidly: nobody gets told to tuck their chin in. Who we are
