The Christmas mug is an annual tradition for some, whether the same special mug is used every year, or a new mug is purchased each festive season.
We love a good Christmas mug, but there are a lot of different types to suit a multitude of tastes. We’ve trawled the internet and the high street for our favourites for 2014.
Here are the top ten Christmas mugs:
10) Cath Kidston Christmas Stanley Mug
We usually prefer our Christmas mugs to be a little quirky and often cheesy. We purposefully avoid the word “tacky”. This Cath Kidson mug however could not be considered to be any of those things. Described as designed for the “tea round”, apparently you can carry two in your hand at once.
Brightly decorated predominantly in red, it features some cute Christmas illustrations and is made from 100% bone china. It’s also dishwasher and microwave safe. As you’d expect, it has a good quality feel to it and adds a bit of class to the coffee table at Christmas.
Available at: John Lewis or CathKidston.com
Price: £6.50
9) Sigel Christmas Mugs Set with Gift Box
We did set out to find only one of each type of mug, but while searching we came across this lovely set of four, complete with gift box. They display different Christmas phrases in many languages and are tastefully decorated. Maybe not a Christmas mug to take to the office with you, but an impressive set if you have the in-laws around for a Christmas Morning brew.
Available at: Amazon
Price: £21.89
8) M&S Nostalgia Santa’s Sleigh
While we’re desperate to get down in to the “proper” cheesy Christmas mugs, M&S’ two ‘Nostalgia’ mugs caught our eye in a recent visit to their Liverpool store. Having reviewed them further online, we couldn’t leave the Santa’s Sleigh one out.
The mug is certainly down the more classy line of Christmas mugs, but it’s lovely. A bone china mug hand painted with traditional festive Santa artwork. There’s also a nostalgia Church scene one too, and some drinks coasters.
Available at: M&S
Price: £6.40 (currently on offer, usually £8)
7) Paladone Christmas Jumper Mug
We couldn’t quite make our mind up about this one, but in the end, we could not leave it out. This product combines two great Christmas traditions, mugs and jumpers! A lovely knitted jumper sits snug around your mug which will help keep your drink warm a little bit longer, but could be slightly problematic to drink out of.
That said, if it’s festive appearance youre going for above practicality, this is great. Imagine rocking up to the next office meeting with this mug in one hand and a box of mince pies in the other?
Available at: Amazon
Price: £10.45
6) Musical Christmas Mug
We found these little beauties on eBay of all places. There is a choice of four nicely styled Christmas mugs with playful artwork and themed handles, which already puts them in a good place. Add in the novelty of Christmas music playing when the mug is turned upside down, and you’re on to a winner. We strongly recommend you wait until the mug is empty before turning upside down!
What’s more, it costs less than a fiver!
Available at: ebay
Price: £4.99
5) Matalan hand-painted, shaped Christmas mugs
A big round of applause for Matalan! In a year when similar style mugs appear to be missing from BHS’ usually excellent range, Matalan have stepped up to put these two little beauties in to the market. And what’s more, they’re cheap.
Cheerfully painted and shaped to match, they are the type of mug that springs to mind when thinking of festive mugs. There is a polar bear (pictured) or a Santa to choose from. We love them, and already have a few at Feel Christmassy Towers ready to parade around proudly with in December.
Available at: Matalan
Price: £4
4) Christmas Craft Santa & Friends Ceramic Mug (with lid!)
Now we’re getting down to business! These are the kind of mugs that really scream out your love of Christmas to anyone who may offer you a brew. The lovely ceramic mug holds up to 400ml of your favourite drink, so it lasts too. It also has a lid, perfect for keeping your drink warm if the boss talks to long or someone won’t get off the telephone.
Okay, it’s a little pricey for a mug, but look at it! It’s adorable.
Available at: Amazon
Price: £10.49
3) A Christmas Story Leg Lamp Mug
A Christmas Story is a hugely popular American Christmas film from the early 1980s – if you’re not familiar with it, fear not. We will being you up to speed in December. During the movie, one of the characters wins a mystery prize which turns out to be a “leg lamp”, complete with fishnet stockings. The lamp is now immortalised in with products across America, replica lamps, signs, posters, clothing, and of course mugs.
Here is one such mug, and for those familiar with the story, they’ll love it! Thanks to the movie logo being present, it just about passes as being Christmassy for those not familiar with the film!
All of our top three mugs are from the same website over in the US. Shipping to the UK is likely to be expensive, but they’re too cool not to feature.
Available at: christmasvacationcollectibles.com
Price: £12-13
2) Elf the Movie Travel Mug and Ceramic Mug combo
Elf is without a shadow of doubt one of the most popular Christmas movies of recent time. It screams CHRISTMAS and the festiveness is in no doubt. So, it’s only right that the official souvenir mugs would match this.
Like the mugs at number 3 and 1 positions, there is likely to be hefty postage fees from the US to contend with, but it’s worth keeping an eye on eBay and alike. For the $19.99 (£12-13) you get both a travel mug and a traditional ceramic coffee mug, so this is great value if you can find it UK-based.
Available at: christmasvacationcollectibles.com
Price: £12-13
1) National Lampoons Christmas Vacation “Refill your eggnog”
This was a close run thing for first place. Fans of the film will instantly recognise and appreciate the humour of the mug, and we absolutely adore it! It is one of four mugs available from the official line of merchandise from the movie, and the others are pretty awesome too.
Featuring a quote taken from a film when Clark is addressing Cousin Eddie in the living room, the mug also features an image of those wonderful eggnog ‘moose mugs’. Incidentally, these are also available to buy.
There is a drawback though. While the mug itself is currently on offer for a bargain of just $9.99 (£6.20), the shipping is likely to sting you. When we were quoted shipping on one mug last November, the figure that came back was $27.00 (£16.25). That means that in total the mug could set you back over £20.
Available at: christmasvacationcollectibles.com
Price: £6-£7