Strictly Come Dancing Gifts: 26 Ideas for Fans (2026)

By Linda Garrould · Last refreshed: 11 October 2026 · Every product re-checked on Amazon UK that day. Stock moves quickly before Christmas, so do check the listing before you order.

The best Strictly Come Dancing gifts are the ones that land while the glitterball is still spinning. Series 24 is under way on BBC One — the launch show aired on 19 September 2026 and the live shows began a week later — so by Christmas the household will be deep in it. Buy in October and you are ahead of the crowd: the 2027 annual can be pre-ordered for its 5 November publication, the calendar has not sold out, and the good mugs have not yet gone to that maddening “temporarily unavailable” state they reach by the first week of December.

This is a properly odd year to be buying Strictly presents, and it works in your favour. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have gone; Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe front the show now. That makes Johannes’s memoir the gift of the season for anyone who has followed him since 2018, and it makes this year’s official annual, published alongside the first series of the new line-up, rather more of a keepsake than usual.

We have sorted everything below by the way people actually shop for it: the official annual and calendar first, then Strictly merchandise proper (the mugs, socks and stocking fillers), then puzzle books, the judges’ and hosts’ own writing, learn-to-dance guides, the DVDs and finally a glitterball. Every item was re-checked on Amazon UK on 11 October 2026, and anything delisted has been taken out.

The official Strictly shelf: 2027 annual, calendar and Blackpool

Start here. The official annual is the safest Strictly gift there is — it lands every autumn, it is always a hardback, and it is the one thing a fan will actually keep on a shelf rather than in a drawer. The 2027 edition is published on 5 November and can be pre-ordered now; it is the official companion to the first series with the new presenting line-up, so this year it is a keepsake rather than a repeat. The wall calendar is the natural companion and the classic secret-santa answer.

Official Strictly Come Dancing Annual 2027View on Amazon UKThis year’s official annual, out on 5 November. Pre-order now and it arrives in good time for the stocking.

Strictly Come Dancing 2027 Official Square Wall CalendarView on Amazon UKOfficially licensed, month-to-view, large square format. The reliable secret-santa present.

Official Strictly Come Dancing Annual 2026View on Amazon UKLast year’s annual: the value pick, and no less handsome.

Strictly BlackpoolView on Amazon UKThe Tower Ballroom week, in full. For the fan who says Blackpool is the only night that counts.

Strictly Come Dancing merchandise: mugs, socks and stocking fillers

Official Strictly merchandise is thinner on the ground than you would expect for a show this size — the BBC licenses books, calendars and DVDs generously and hard goods barely at all. What fills the gap is a lively cottage industry of British printers doing mugs, keyrings and novelty socks, and the good ones are very good. These are the pick of them, and between them they cover most of a Christmas stocking.

‘I’d Rather Be Watching Strictly’ MugView on Amazon UKThe Strictly mug that reads as affectionate rather than tat.

‘Keep Calm and Keep Dancing’ Glitter Ball MugView on Amazon UKGlitterball motif in purple. Dishwasher-safe ceramic, which matters more than it sounds.

Personalised ‘New Head Judge’ Strictly MugView on Amazon UKCartoon judges holding paddles, with a name added. The one that gets a laugh on Christmas morning.

Dancing Couples Novelty Ankle Socks (Waltz, Jive, Salsa)View on Amazon UKUnisex, size 6–11. Quietly the most-worn present on this page.

‘Keep Calm and Watch Strictly’ KeyringView on Amazon UKDouble-sided and pocket-sized. The cracker filler, or the tag on a bigger gift.

Strictly Christmas Card — ‘Get Out Your Glitter Balls!’View on Amazon UKSend it to the friend you text during the results show.

Puzzle books and quizzes for Strictly fans

The reliable small present for someone who has the annual already. Both of these are the sort of thing that gets picked up between rounds of the Boxing Day quiz and then quietly finished by New Year.

The Official Strictly Come Dancing Puzzle BookView on Amazon UK200 brain-teasers, officially licensed. Harder than it looks, which is the point.

Strictly Come Dancing Word Search BookView on Amazon UKGenuinely absorbing, and a good travelling companion.

Books by the judges, the hosts and the professionals

The richest seam on the page, and the one where Strictly gifts stop being novelties and start being proper presents. Anton Du Beke has quietly become a Sunday Times bestselling novelist; Shirley Ballas and Craig Revel Horwood have both written memoirs with rather more grit in them than the sequins suggest; and Johannes Radebe’s Jojo is, this year, the obvious gift.

Jojo — Johannes RadebeView on Amazon UKThe new host’s memoir — Zamdela to the Tower Ballroom. Funny in places, hard-going in others, and the Strictly book of the moment.

A Christmas to Remember — Anton Du BekeView on Amazon UKFestive, warm and set in his Buckingham Hotel world. Perfectly seasonal.

The Paris Affair — Anton Du BekeView on Amazon UKFor the reader who has already worked through the Buckingham Hotel novels.

Behind the Sequins: My Life — Shirley BallasView on Amazon UKThe head judge’s memoir, and considerably more candid than the paddle-holding suggests.

Dances and Dreams on Diamond Street — Craig Revel HorwoodView on Amazon UKSharper and funnier on the page than he is behind the desk.

Dance with Oti: The Bird Jive — Oti MabuseView on Amazon UKFor readers aged 3 and up. The gift for a grandchild who watches it with you.

Learn to dance at home

For the fan who has started saying “we could do that” at the television. Both of these are step-by-step and genuinely beginner-pitched — no studio, no partner required for the early chapters, and no need to own the shoes.

Craig Revel Horwood’s Ballroom Dancing: A Step-by-Step GuideView on Amazon UKWaltz, quickstep, cha-cha and the rest, broken down properly. The most useful book on this page.

Strictly Come Dancing: Step-by-Step Dance ClassView on Amazon UKOfficially licensed, and copies are thinning out, so do not leave this one late. Absurd value for a stocking.

Strictly on DVD: the classic series box sets

Cheerfully unfashionable, much loved, and almost all of them pocket-money presents. If the fan in question still has a player, a stack of these is a generous-looking present for very little money — and they are the only way to watch most of these specials now.

Motsi & Anton’s Strictly The Best [DVD]View on Amazon UKThe compilation with two of the current judges’ names on the box.

Anton’s Truly Madly Strictly [DVD]View on Amazon UKAnton Du Beke’s own Strictly compilation, and one of the best-value presents on this page.

The Best of Strictly: Len’s Grand Finale [DVD]View on Amazon UKLen Goodman’s send-off, for the viewer who still misses him.

Tess & Craig’s Christmas Night In [DVD]View on Amazon UKA nice piece of nostalgia now that Tess has left — and a Christmas Eve fixture in some houses.

Shirley and Craig’s Perfect 10 [DVD]View on Amazon UKThe judges pick the tens. Endlessly re-watchable.

And, inevitably, a glitterball

It had to be here. A mirror ball is the one Strictly gift that works as a decoration rather than a keepsake — hang it in a window over Christmas, or above the table for a party, and it earns its keep long after the final.

200mm Mirror Disco Ball with Hanging RingView on Amazon UKGenuinely handsome hung in a bay window.

Strictly questions, answered

When did Strictly Come Dancing 2026 start?

Series 24 launched on BBC One on Saturday 19 September 2026, and the live shows began the following Saturday, 26 September. The series runs through the autumn to its final in December. For gift-buyers that makes October the sweet spot: the official 2027 annual can be pre-ordered ahead of its 5 November publication, and the calendar is still in stock before the December rush.

Who presents Strictly Come Dancing in 2026?

Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe — the first time the show has been fronted by a trio. It is the biggest change in more than a decade: Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who had presented together since Sir Bruce Forsyth stepped down in 2014, announced their departure in 2025. The three share the hosting rather than splitting it into fixed roles, and Johannes Radebe, a professional on the show since 2018, brings a dancer’s eye to it. If you are buying for a long-standing fan, his memoir Jojo is the obvious present this year.

Who are the Strictly judges in 2026?

Shirley Ballas remains head judge, alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke. All four have books to their name, which is unusually convenient if you are gift-shopping — Anton Du Beke’s Buckingham Hotel novels and Shirley Ballas’s memoir are the two that sell best, and both are covered above.

Where can I buy official Strictly Come Dancing merchandise?

Officially licensed Strictly merchandise is narrower than most fans expect: the annual, the wall calendar, the puzzle book, the dance-class book and the DVDs are the backbone of it, and all of them are above. Most of the mugs, keyrings, socks and cards you will find are made by small independent printers rather than under BBC licence, and the nicest of those are in the merchandise section above. Our rule of thumb: buy the annual, calendar and books officially, and treat the mugs and stocking fillers as the fun, unofficial extras.

What is the best Strictly gift for under £10?

Several. The classic-series DVDs, the Christmas card, the novelty dancing socks and the ‘Keep Calm and Watch Strictly’ keyring all sit comfortably at the stocking-filler end, and Anton’s Truly Madly Strictly is among the best value on the page. For a single present that still feels substantial, last year’s official annual is very hard to beat. Amazon prices move constantly, so check the listing before you buy.

When should I buy Strictly gifts for Christmas?

October, ideally. The official annual and the wall calendar are printed in fixed runs and both reliably tighten up from late November — the calendar in particular tends to be either out of stock or marked up by December. The books and DVDs are steadier, but the cheap DVD stock is largely third-party marketplace sellers, so the cheapest copies go first. Buying while the series is under way also means you can pick something that matches whichever couple your fan has adopted.

What about a disco glitter ball?

It is the one piece of Strictly-adjacent kit that works all year. A 20cm mirror ball is inexpensive, needs nothing but a hook, and looks properly festive in a window with a low winter sun on it. Pair it with a mug or the annual and you have a present that looks considered rather than last-minute.

More from Christmas Countdown

• Our full Christmas gift guide — every category, refreshed for this year
• Personalised gifts for Christmas — if the mug idea appeals but you want it named
• Gifts for Top Gear fans and car lovers — the same treatment, for a different Saturday night
• What to give a Doctor Who fan
• The Christmas to-do lists — our month-by-month planning hub