The holiday season has a wonderful way of making the world feel just a little bit smaller.
Traditions are shared, families reconnect with their heritage and gifts can transport us to places we have visited, places our families once called home or even somewhere we have always dreamed of seeing for ourselves.
And while fitting an entire trip to Scotland underneath the Christmas tree might prove a little difficult, the National Trust for Scotland has found another way to bring a little piece of the country home for the holidays.
Ahead of its first appearance as an exhibitor at Brand Licensing Europe, the National Trust for Scotland has announced two new partnerships bringing Scotland’s landscapes, language and history into products that could make for some particularly unique gifts this season.
For the world traveler—or the person who simply wishes they were one—longtime National Trust for Scotland partner Mclaggan+Co has developed a new collection inspired by the natural beauty of Scottish gardens.
Appropriately named “Ràithean,” Gaelic for “seasons,” the collection includes Mclaggan+Co’s traditional mugs made in Scotland alongside kitchen essentials including chopping boards and coasters. Even the name gives the collection another little connection to Scottish heritage, with “Ràithean” pronounced roughly “rah-yun.”
Rather than simply placing a Scottish landmark onto a souvenir and calling it a day, the collection draws its identity from the landscapes the National Trust for Scotland works to protect. That gives travelers a way to bring a reminder of those places home while also offering those with Scottish roots something connected to the country’s natural beauty and language.
But younger history lovers can get in on the adventure too.
Family-owned PlayPress Toys has partnered with the National Trust for Scotland on an eco-friendly Scottish castle playset that brings three major figures from the country’s history into the toy box: Robert the Bruce, Mary, Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie.
That makes this considerably more interesting than simply building a castle.
Children can construct their own little piece of Scotland before filling it with figures inspired by the people who helped shape its history. For families looking for gifts that combine imaginative play with opportunities to discover real people and places, the set offers a wonderfully different way to begin those conversations.
And that connection is really what makes both partnerships particularly fitting for the holiday season.
Gifts tied to heritage can mean considerably more than another item underneath the tree. They can become a reason for grandparents to tell a story, for children to ask who Mary, Queen of Scots was, for someone to remember a trip taken years ago or for a family to begin exploring a part of their history together.
For everyone else, they can simply offer a small window into another part of the world.
The National Trust for Scotland says the products are intended for audiences who want “a little piece of Scotland in their life” wherever they might live, while purchases also support the charity’s work caring for Scotland’s places, landscapes, stories and traditions.
Mclaggan+Co and PlayPress join existing National Trust for Scotland partners Keela Outdoors, Wag & Wool, Bramwell Brown Art Clocks and All Jigsaw Puzzles. The Trust launched its licensing program with Speak Consulting at the beginning of 2026 and will showcase it for the first time at Brand Licensing Europe from October 6-8.
But as holiday shopping begins and families start searching for something a little more personal to wrap this year, these newest additions offer something beyond another souvenir.
They offer a little Scottish garden for the kitchen, a castle waiting to be built and a few centuries of stories ready to be discovered.
Because you might not be able to send someone around the world for Christmas.
But you can always put a little piece of the world underneath the tree.
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