When gift shopping with someone’s passion in mind, things can get risky as most hobbyists are very particular in what they want or need. The last thing you want to see is disappointment on Christmas morning. In this week’s Market Monday, I’ve prepared a 2025 Car Lovers Gift Guide chock full of items that the car nut in your life will find useful at the least — and delightful at best.

I rarely do anything without a plan and this inaugural Wolf and Mare holiday gift guide is no different. In addition to the objective I outlined in the introduction, I had a couple more criteria when selecting items for this list: First, there had to be affordable options. This is not a list for millionaires, though some of these items would be welcome stocking stuffers for the well-heeled. It’s also a bit of a hedge — if the mark is missed, at least you didn’t spend a lot. Second, I wanted to make it easy. You need to know a little bit about your car lover’s interests, but you don’t have to be an automotive savant. Just choose something that feels right.

Each item on this list was selected because I’ve purchased it myself or considered doing so. Many gift guides are mostly products from a publication’s advertisers and you won’t find that here. Nothing in this list is sponsored. I receive no compensation from the manufacturers of these items.

To make it a little easier, I’ve broken down the list by theme. Hopefully you’ll find your type of car lover among the groups below. All prices are valid as of the date of this post. Happy shopping!

Any shade tree mechanic knows the 10mm size sockets are the first to go missing from your toolbox. Olsa Tools fills a needed gap in the market by creating a socket set composed entirely of duplicates of various 10mm sockets. The next time a 10-mil goes missing, instead of blue language, your home mechanic can keep their cool and calmly reach for another.

I have a bunch of work lights in my garage, including a magnetic one I hang from the hood when I’m wrenching on front-engined cars. The magnet is a bit weak, so the light is always falling onto my head and it doesn’t always cast light in the direction I need. What I wish I had is a hood light like this one, which spans the entire engine bay and is totally hands-free. It would be overkill for oil changes, but if your car nut is swapping harnesses or changing a head gasket, this is a game changer.

CTEK makes the best battery tender brand on the market, in my opinion. They’re a bit pricey, but they are highly regarded, feature-packed, and the OEM supplier for major car brands’ chargers. I consider this to be THE charger for basic battery maintenance (the Noco Genius is my pick for a jump-start solution, if you need the ability to recover from a dead battery situation). It’s a must for any 12-volt classic or a car that sits for a while between excursions.

There’s an air of pretentiousness in slipping on a pair of driving gloves, but they do have a useful purpose — Your steering wheel is protected from the oils and grime on your hands, they protect you from temperature extremes, and they can improve your grip during aggressive driving. Stringback gloves are popular, but I’m not a fan. Instead, give me a pair of these leather gloves from Gaspar — They’re the exact brand and style worn by Ryan Gosling’s character in the film Drive.

Like gloves, driving shoes offer benefits over a standard shoe. Flexible soles improve pedal feel during heel-toe shifting and their non-slip heel keeps things planted. Piloti makes a pair called the Shift, which they say offers the best blend of performance for everyday driving and spirited jaunts. The shoe comes in a ton of colors and their conservative style won’t make you look like a poseur. It’s a great choice for a long driving tour that includes some walking around between stages.

For the armchair racer, nothing beats a great racing flick. Take a gander at your car lover’s collection and see if they’re missing any gems like Rush, Grand Prix or Le Mans. They will need a DVD player, of course, but I sure hope you’re buying the good stuff on physical media anyway.

I’m stealing this one from Car & Driver, but long-time readers know I’m a movie nerd. If your car enthusiast shares my enthusiasm for the motion picture, this is a great option. The book is beautifully constructed, with fantastic photography and behind the scenes content on the most iconic vehicles to grace the big screen.

If your car lover is a detail nut like me who can’t complete a car wash in under 2 hours, then this kit might be for them. There are wheel woolies, and then there are wheel woolies — these are the latter. These wheel brushes help you access small holes and crevices — plus the inside of the barrel — on a car’s wheels ensuring a deep clean. Bonus: they’re 100% made in the US of A.

While many claim blow dryers are the best way to dry a car fast without the risk of scratches, nothing dries a car faster than a soft and absorbent microfiber towel. Recommended by detailing nuts, The Rag Company makes a ginormous towel that will dry a car in short order, but is large enough to handle SUVs and trucks, too. At this price, pick up two so there’s always one ready to go.

It’s nice to occasionally put down the glowing screens and enjoy a little face-to-face time with family and friends. This grand prix racing-inspired board game brings the thrill of competition to your dining table with an easy to understand set of rules. We love our copy and play it often. When you’ve honed your craft, Lacorsa offers great expansion packs that extend the game’s play.

While many lament the demise of the ear-splitting V10-era of Formula 1 racing, I am an unashamed proponent of quieter engines. I do enjoy attending live races, but I also value my hearing. I picked up a pair of EAROS ONE earplugs a number of years ago and they are awesome. EAROS ONE was developed for music, but their new SPORT plugs are designed to permit just enough engine noise to reach your eardrums while protecting your hearing. I highly recommend them for IMSA trackside spectating.

We’re down to the final race in Abu Dhabi in this year’s Formula 1 race season and before you know it, we’ll be back in Australia for the start of the 2026 season. There are some major changes in this year’s schedule, so this awesome T-shirt will help you (and everyone else) keep the dates on lock. This Esty shop has some other great F1 schedule gear if this doesn’t suit your fancy.

I hope our first Car Lovers Gift Guide is helpful to all you kind and thoughtful souls as you holiday shop for the car lover in your life!

As the auction season winds down and I prepare to spend some quality time with my family during the holiday season, Market Monday will shift a bit in subject matter to some new and hopefully interesting topics. I plan at least one recap of the year’s collector car market performance, likely in January. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy December’s content!

Have a great week, everyone.

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisals, and auction services for buyers and sellers of collector European cars. If you’re interested in acquiring an overseas car, give us a call or drop a line!