A Christmas Gift Guide - Part I

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a Christmas gift guide

Part I

Yes, it’s that time again!  For me, Christmas really is the most wonderful time of year. But recently I’ve found myself getting more and more overwhelmed and miserable during the weeks before the big day - a time that should feel magical and exciting has increasingly become associated with stress and misery.  This year I’m determined that I will not allow myself to do everything to excess (the buying of too much food, overspending on presents for the children and feel slightly queasy on Christmas day when I see the mountains of “things” that they do not need).  I will be making presents for my mum and her husband, which does, of course, mean more work, but I’ve decided to cut back elsewhere (mainly in the holiday food preparation) and make time for doing something I truly enjoy that is very much in keeping with the spirit of Christmas.  Be they handmade or not, gifts that have been chosen with care and thoughtfully wrapped are all the more special.  And with that in mind, this year’s gift guide has been designed to encourage people to buy from the most wonderful and creative of independent makers and shops. I can almost guarantee that these types of gifts will be received with gratitude, and buying from them will most certainly make the world of difference to those small business owners.  Happy shopping!

For the makers & creators

  1. Miami Design notebook £6.00 - Tea and Kate

  2. Daisy White small weaving kit €17 - Fyn Bosch Design

  3. Desktop Toolbox £79.50 - Present & Correct

  4. Numero 74 Flower kit £34 - Molly Meg

  5. Twigg Studios food styling workshops with Aimee Twigger 

  6. Numero 74 macrame kit in ice £33 - Smallable 

  7. Cocoknits A Flight of Stitch Markers £24 - A Yarn Story

  8. The Starter Set £68 - Merchant & Mills

  9. Nomad oak tray £55 - Tea and Kate

  10. House Doctor DK basket £35 - Tea and Kate

  11. Cocoknits bamboo cable needles £13 - Tangled Yarn

  12. Flower press Kit €39 - Secret Caravan

For the green fingered

  1. Planting for Bees by Sarah Wyndham Lewis £5.99 - World of Books

  2. Garden hamper £135 - Toast

  3. Original pressed flower artwork £120 - Paper Thin Moon

  4. Heath stoneware vase £39 - Paper Thin Moon

  5. Cutting garden growers hamper £100 - Grace Alexander Flowers

  6. Wirework string holder with string from £4.50 - Garden Trading

  7. Copper trowel £34 - The Future Kept

  8. Narcissus papyraceus “Ziva” bulbs, from £4.76, Sarah Raven

  9. British Barlow pocket knife £59 - The Future Kept

  10. Velvet ribboned Christmas sweet pea bundle £18 - Grace Alexander Flowers

  11. Garden tags in bamboo bag £10 - Garden Trading

  12. Porcelain flower frog £16 - Paper Thin Moon

For the homebody

  1. Striped woven basket from £30 - The Future Kept

  2. Velvet hand embroidered hoop £215 - Ovobloom

  3. Palm leaf mini woven basket £10 - Rowen & Wren

  4. The Pool print £20 - Gemma Koomen

  5. Wild flora weave artwork €143.88 - Fyn Bosch Design

  6. Juniper and limonium candle £22.50 - The Future Kept

  7. Water lilies cushion cover £33 - Alice in Scandiland

  8. Archive miniature vases £45 - Paper Thin Moon

  9. Mini engraved aluminium vase £12 - From Victoria Shop

  10. Clevedon porcelain mugs £24 - Paper Thin Moon

  11. Fine Little Day poster £42 - Tea and Kate

  12. Embroidered cushion £53 - Reste

Claire HollandInspiration, inspirationComment