Festival Gift Ideas 2026: Fun and Useful Presents for Festival Lovers

The best gifts for festival lovers aren’t tents or sleeping bags: they’ve probably got those already. They’re the fun and clever little things that make a weekend in a field easier, like a wireless power bank for when their phone gets wet, lights so they can find their tent at 2am, and a spray that turns loo roll into a wet wipe. Here are my favourite festival gift ideas for Christmas, most of them under £25.

Updated November 2026. I’ve been to a lot of festivals, from Glastonbury and Boomtown to Download and Green Man. A couple of these gifts are things I own and use, and I’ve said so. The rest I’ve picked from what I’ve wished I had in a muddy field, and from what other festivalgoers rate. I’ve said where I haven’t tried something myself.

Festival Gift Ideas at a Glance

Prices were checked on Amazon UK in November 2026 and change often, especially around Black Friday.

For Glastonbury Fans: The Glastonbury 50 Book

I have this book at home and it’s a lovely thing to own. Glastonbury 50 is the festival’s official book, made for its 50th anniversary by Emily and Michael Eavis. It’s over 300 pages, packed with photos, facts, history and lore from every era of the festival, from the very first one in 1970 onwards.

It’s the kind of book you pick up for five minutes and put down an hour later. For anyone who’s been to Glastonbury, or is desperate to go, it’s a brilliant present, and it’s something to get excited about while they wait for the next one.

For Their Phone: A Wireless Power Bank

Every festivalgoer needs a power bank, but here’s the clever bit: make it a magnetic wireless one. If water gets into a phone’s charging port, the phone won’t charge with a cable until it’s dried out, which can take up to a day. Wireless charging still works.

I found this out at a festival when I splashed water into my phone’s charging port while washing my hands at a water station. When I plugged it in, it started screaming at me to unplug it. My UGREEN MagSafe power bank just snaps onto the back of my iPhone and charges it without a cable, and it’s the most useful thing I’ve had on me when my phone was on 2%.

It works with iPhones from the iPhone 12 onwards. For a Samsung or another Android phone that can charge wirelessly, add a MagSafe-compatible case, or a cheap magnetic ring to stick on the back. More on this in my guide to the best power banks for festivals.

For Finding Their Tent: Lights

Anyone who’s been to a festival knows the feeling: it’s dark, you’ve had a few drinks, and you’re standing in a field of hundreds of tents that all look the same. Lights on the outside of the tent make it much easier to find, and they look great too.

Solar Camping String Lights

These string lights charge in the sun during the day or by USB-C, and they come with a remote and a timer. Over 13m long, they’re long enough to wrap around a tent or gazebo. I haven’t used this set myself, but it’s well rated, and lights that charge from the sun are perfect for a weekend with no plug sockets.

A Rechargeable Head Torch

For inside the tent, a head torch is the thing first-timers never think of. Trying to find your toothbrush, contact lenses or a clean pair of socks in the dark, while holding your phone torch in your teeth, is no fun. A head torch leaves both hands free, and it’s useful for the walk to the toilets at night too. This one is rechargeable and comes as a pair, so they can give one to a friend. I haven’t used this one.

Want a proper light inside the tent too? The Blukar rechargeable camping lantern is a popular choice that also lights up a gazebo.

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For Ditching Wet Wipes: Toilet Paper Spray

Wet wipes seem like a festival essential, but most of them contain plastic, even some of the ones labelled flushable, and they cause havoc when they end up in toilets and the waste the festival has to deal with. Glastonbury and Kendal Calling both ask festivalgoers not to bring them. Our banned items checker has the rules for each festival, and here’s more on wet wipes at Glastonbury.

A toilet paper spray is a clever, eco-friendly swap. You spray it onto ordinary loo roll, and it turns it into a wet wipe that breaks down like normal toilet paper. FreshX says one 100ml bottle makes up to 200 wipes. I haven’t used this one, but it’s a great little stocking filler.

Prefer a gel? The Wype starter kit does the same job and comes in a refillable aluminium bottle.

For a Laugh: A Shewee

Here’s a jokey present that’s actually useful. A Shewee lets women wee standing up, so it’s handy when the toilet queue is long, or when you just don’t fancy hovering in a portaloo at 3am.

To be clear, nobody needs a Shewee, and festival toilets are absolutely fine. But it’s a funny thing to unwrap on Christmas Day, and if they do end up using it, they might be quietly grateful. Here’s what festival toilets are really like. I haven’t used one, so I can’t tell you how easy it is to get the hang of.

For Feeling Fresh: Rinse-Free Body Wash and Hand Sanitiser

Most festivals don’t have showers, or have very long queues for the few there are, so most people just go without. A rinse-free body wash means they can still have a wash in the tent: you rub it on and towel it off, no water needed. Pits & Bits is popular with festivalgoers, and the 100ml bottle is cheap enough for a stocking. Here’s how to shower at Glastonbury, and my festival skincare tips.

And a hand sanitiser that smells nice makes a lovely little extra after a trip to the toilets. The Neal’s Yard Natural Defence Hand Cleanser is a 40ml hand rub with essential oils, small enough for a bumbag.

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For Keeping Their Valuables Close: A Pocket Belt

A pocket belt is like a bumbag, but better. It sits on the hips with pockets all the way round, so their phone, cash and cards stay close and zipped away in a crowd, and they’ve got both hands free for dancing.

My pick is from Gwen Davies. Gwen is a close friend of mine. She trades at Glastonbury every year in the market area of the Theatre and Circus Fields, and worked with the manufacturer to make her pocket belts to her customers’ feedback. The standard belt has a big pocket with a zip inside, another zipped pocket behind it, a side pocket for a phone, a zip pocket in the belt itself and a zipped compartment on the back, with brass fittings and poppers to fasten it. It comes in black, grey, purple, magenta and khaki, and adjusts to fit sizes 10 to 16, with a plus-size version for sizes 18 to 20.

Gwen also makes a rainbow pocket belt for £18.99 and a Green Leaf pocket belt she designed herself for £32.99, and the rest are in her bags and belts collection. For more ideas, see our guide to festival bum bags and pocket belts.

For Hot Days: A Portable Fan

A British festival can go from mud to heatwave in a day, and a tent in the morning sun gets hot fast. A rechargeable neck fan hangs around the neck and blows cool air without needing to be held, so it’s great in a packed crowd or a stuffy tent. This one is bladeless, so it won’t catch their hair, and the makers say it runs for up to 16 hours. I haven’t used this one myself.

For Their Ears: Festival Earplugs

Earplugs make a brilliant gift for anyone who spends their summers in front of big speakers. Festival earplugs like Loop turn the volume down without making the music sound muffled, so you can still enjoy the set and talk to your friends. Foam earplugs are also great for sleeping in the tent when the campsite is still partying at 4am.

For Memories: A Disposable Camera

A disposable camera is a fun, slightly nostalgic gift. They’re cheap enough not to worry about losing, they don’t need charging, and getting the photos developed a week later is half the fun. It’s also a good way to take photos without getting your phone out in a crowd.

Want to splash out? An instax mini 12 prints photos instantly, so they can stick them in a festival scrapbook or swap them with new friends.

For Sitting on Wet Grass: A Folding Sit Mat

Festival grass is almost always damp, and nobody wants a wet bum for the rest of the day. A folding foam sit mat weighs next to nothing, and folds into a day bag. It’s a small, practical present first-timers never think of. I haven’t used this one.

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More Festival Stocking Fillers

A few more small, useful and fun ideas:

• Electrolyte tablets. A tube of HIGH5 Zero electrolyte tablets is great for hot days, or the morning after.
• A waterproof phone pouch. A clear waterproof pouch keeps their phone dry in the rain, and they can still use the screen.
• A cheap bumbag. If a pocket belt is over budget, this MAXTOP bumbag is cheap and very well rated.
• Biodegradable glitter. Lots of festivals ask people not to use plastic glitter, so here’s my guide to the best biodegradable glitter for festivals.
• A bright bucket hat. The louder, the better. It keeps the sun off, and their friends can spot them in a crowd.
• A homemade flag. Flags help you find your tent and your friends, and a homemade one with an inside joke is a gift they’ll keep for years. Here’s how to make your own festival flag, but check the flag rules first, as some festivals only allow them in the campsite.

The Best Festival Gift of All: Tickets

If you really want to make someone’s Christmas, a festival ticket is the dream present. Most big UK festivals sell tickets months in advance, and some, like Glastonbury, sell out in minutes and need registering for first, so it’s worth checking how tickets work before promising one in a card. Our festival packing list is a good place to start for everything else they’ll need.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The Short Version

The best festival gifts are the fun and practical things people don’t think to buy themselves. For Glastonbury fans, get the Glastonbury 50 book. For everyone else, a wireless power bank, lights for the tent, a head torch, a pocket belt, a portable fan, festival earplugs or a disposable camera all make great presents, and a toilet paper spray, a Shewee or a rinse-free body wash make perfect stocking fillers.