The Independent Store Gift Guide: 30 For £30 & Under
A curated list of 30 lovely, lovely things from small independent stores, all of which are Christmas gifting perfect. And all under thirty quid, too.
This week, I had a sudden realisation that I had done absolutely nothing when it came to Christmas gift purchasing. Despite the fact that we are bombarded with signs that festivity is on its way from the moment we return from our summer holidays, it still always feels like a last minute rush. How can it be here ALREADY? As someone who has a tree up for work from the beginning of November (Instagram is a hard task master), it really shouldn’t come as such a shock. December is my absolute favourite month of the year. The Christmas jumpers (yes, plural) come out, accompanied by the mince pies, stollen (I LOVE stollen) and a chocolate tub rotating weekly between Roses, Heroes and Quality Street. And who needs the Herald Angels when you’ve got Michael Buble on repeat, a man who is all Three Kings rolled into one warbling package.
The list of who to buy for and what to gift them is endless. Just coordinating the purchase of immediate family presents is like planning a military coup. Ella’s birthday is three days after Christmas (she’s spent the last 22 years being furious with us for failing in our family planning scheduling) so the list has to be fairly lengthy. The boys lists are very short - Playstation vouchers, golf equipment and anything high end sports logo’d from JD Sports. Sports items are strictly brand limited - if it doesn’t bear three stripes or a tick then it’s not coming in. Any extended family member who unknowingly presents the boys with a Slazenger item may as well cast their money towards the sea and wave it adieu. This love of the logo means that their present budget is quickly swallowed up and as such, their parcel haul is extremely small. Joe doesn’t do a list, but if he did, it would include two things only - running tops (no brand preference) and a Rolex watch, the second of which has the same likelihood of appearing as Max and Leo in vintage tracksuits.
So what about me? I’ve written before about Joes present buying prowess. Over the years, there have been many presents placed under the tree for me and they’ve ranged from the sublime to the, quite frankly, ridiculous. Not one to think ahead when it comes to gifting, Joe has often done a last minute dash to the Mecca of fine presents, Big Tesco. In the past, I’ve been rendered speechless upon receipt of a bottle of Beyonce Heat and a portable charger. But his finest hour is well known to my regular readers - the ultimate gift to the one that you love; a Duncan Bannatyne Cleanser and Toner duo. Who, my friends, even knew that Duncan was a skincare expert? Never again will I leave it to chance and I have become adept at sending him internet links plus full ordering instructions well in advance of the big day.
I’m a big fan of the online experience. No car parking, no panic buying as what you are looking for is sold out, no walking around laden with bags and rolls of wrapping and best of all, no queuing. Of all the technical advances that have been made over the course of my lifetime, shopping from your armchair with a glass of wine and Netflix on in the background has got to be the most satisfying. There’s a reason why I’m on first name terms with the Evri man and why every delivery driver within thirty miles knows where my Safe Place is.
I’ve published an Independent Stores Gift Guide for the last nine years and I always really enjoy compiling it - bringing smaller stores to my readers attention is one of the top bonuses of having a large audience. By checking out these smaller sellers and independent stores, you are supporting and promoting these businesses and their products which is so very important to the continuation of these individual brands. So here is the first of two gift guides I have compiled this year at a price point of £30 and under. Next week, I’ll be publishing a gift guide at a slightly higher price point of £50 and under with equally beautiful things so keep an eye out for it.
But most of all, if you find a small business on these guides that you love, then PLEASE SHARE them on your social channels. Every website click for these small independent brands is a possible sale. Happy shopping!
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And down the rabbit hole I went!!! Could have done a lot of self gifting but resisted (for now 😉) Some lovely new accounts to follow. Ordered a couple of the tiles 🤍
Love it, love it. So many new-to-me places and pieces. Xx