It’s official, there are now only 34 days until Christmas… and that, my friends, means there are just 34 sleeps until the jolly bearded man visits and reindeer pitter patter their snow covered hooves across your roof… (but I digress…ahem). Whilst this might seem like plenty of time to plan, buy and wrap lots of lovely treasures for you nearest and dearest, it actually translates into a mere 5 shopping weekends until the big day (and that’s including this one!). OMG.
Usually, this information is enough to send me into a shopping frenzy that results in Adam’s Grandma receiving the ‘usual’ of ‘old lady’ smellies/hankies/slippers, and my poor father receiving his body weight in socks, pants and Toblerone.
So this year, after much soul searching and the discovery of some really amazing local businesses, we vowed not to allow ourselves to panic buy unimaginative and predictable gifts from large retailers, and set ourselves a mission to complete the Christmas shopping extravaganza by the end of November, with a promise to buy as many of our gifts as possible from local businesses across the Cotswolds. This was the year we would go local…
Whilst we haven’t been able to fulfill every wishlist locally (if you can find me a locally made ‘official’ Barbie doll, it would make both my goddaughter and I ecstatic) we have certainly tried our best – with a few gifts still to purchase (no spoilers here family and friends).
So for those of you pondering Christmas shopping this weekend, I would like to present (no pun intended) you with some of our favourite ‘Lewis Loves’ local picks which we think would make ideal stocking fillers and gifts for your nearest and dearest…
Katie Crunch Fudge – £4.00
Katie Crunch Fudge is a locally made sweet treat with a huge seal of approval from Mr Lewis – a hard man to please where confectionery is concerned. His favourite is the Salted Treacle Fudge, although we are both partial to a bit of Crème Brûlée too. Definitely one to be tasted, this would make the perfect stocking filler for teens and grown ups alike. Katie’s incredibly moreish fudge is available from Stroud Farmer’s Market on the first Saturday of the month (5th December) or all month long at Made in Stroud and Meggie’s.
Encore Home & Gift Natural Stone Coasters – £5.50 each
Encore Home & Gift is a small company based in beautiful Tetbury that prides itself on creating a wide range of beautiful handmade, heat-resistant tableware from natural stone. I think these french grey star coasters would make the perfect Christmas gift for a interiors lover – the star design gives the coasters a fantastically festive feel and the rustic grey colouring means they will look at home in the sitting room or on the dining table all year round. If french grey doesn’t take your fancy, there are plenty of other equally gorgeous designs available via Encore’s Etsy store here.
Midori Penguin Paper Clips – £6.00
I adore Penguins; they are (in my biased opinion) the perfect animal for the most magical time of the year, and these Penguin shaped paper clips from Gift in Cirencester would be a fantastically cute and seasonal stocking filler for the animal loving stationery-a-holic in your life. They also come in other cute animal shapes such as Elephants and Pigs – so there’s something for everyone! At £6.00 a pack they are also purse friendly – another all-important Christmas shopping consideration.
Joma Jewellery Silk Kiko Bracelet – £9.99
These cute silk Joma Jewellery bracelets adorned with silver plated hearts are just charming; they come in a wide variety of colours and have a quality look and feel. The bracelets are beautifully gift wrapped in their own little bag, tied up with a white ribbon, which makes for a really special gift. They are adjustable too, making them an ideal choice for your special little girl to wear now and keep as she grows up. These little gems are available at Meggie’s in Painswick for just £9.99.
Lola and Gilbert Pouch – £12.99
With their straight talking slogans, these thick canvas pouches are ideal make up bags for the no nonsense gal on the go, or a handy wash bag for the man of the house. I wholeheartedly agree with the bra and pants slogan – I am indeed that girl who only truly feels properly ‘together’ when everything matches. My best friend is exactly the same, and would certainly be happy to find one of these under the tree on Christmas day.
Other fabulous designs include ‘This Bag Contains My Face’, ‘Man Bits’ and ‘Real Men Moisturise’, as seen above (which is certainly true in the LewisLoves household). You can pick these little beauties up for £12.99 at Meggie’s.
Hunter Gatherer Natural Canvas Tote by Angie B – £14.99
Angie B is well known locally for her effortlessly cool and striking paper cut city series of prints (another post on these coming soon…) and for being the creative talent behind the Beard’s Diamond Rush map, but more recently Angie has branched out into a range of accessories which I urge you to go and discover here. I am currently coveting (ahem, hint hint, Adam…) this gorgeous ‘Hunter Gatherer’ canvas bag, which is not only the perfect gift for all shopaholics now that we must provide our own shopping bags (and quite rightly so), but is also perfect for heaving your Christmas shopping goody haul home – I suggest buying one as a gift for your mum or best friend and one for yourself…after all your local shopping, you’ve earned it!
Pocket Watch Cufflinks by Alice Shield – £23.00
The ideal gentleman’s gift – these ceramic cufflinks are postively charming; decorated with a hand drawn image of a vintage pocket watch, glazed to give a polished finish and ensure durability and finally presented beautifully in a gift box. The T-bar is silver plated,which gives a stylish contrast against the pottery face. These cufflinks, along with other designs by Bristol based Alice Shield, are available from m.a.d.e. in Cirencester.
Tara Osborne Sterling Silver/Gold Candy Gem Bracelet – £25.00/£30.00
These gorgeous Tara Osborne bracelets are just so pretty – I think they’d make the perfect gift for the lovely lady in your life this Christmas; the hardest part is surely choosing between the gemstones and whether to pick a silver or gold setting. Personally, I would go for a turquoise/silver or a rose quartz/gold combination as I think each metal particularly sets the colour of these gems off beautifully. Tara’s jewellery is made in Stratford-upon-Avon and sold through her website, as well as being available locally in Meggie’s.
Cotswold Distillery Single Malt Whisky – £44.95
The perfect gift for the whisky-lover in your life, this is a chance to own a small piece of history – the first ever single malt made in the Cotswolds. This is a gift you’ll have to be prepared to be patient for, as the first bottling won’t occur until the initial aging is completed in 2017 – but the quality of ingredients coupled with the numerous awards Cotswold Distillery has already won for it’s other spirit offerings suggests this will be more than worth the wait.
In the meantime, you could double up this gift with a tour of the distillery for £10.00, taking in the chance to see the gin and whisky making journey and sampling some of the fine spirits on offer. Visit the Cotswold Distillery website for more information on the tour, or to pre-order a bottle of Single Malt.
We hope this has given you a few local Christmas shopping ideas. We’d love to know about any local products you guys love in the comments section below.
Disclaimer: This post is not a sponsored post; we have not been paid by any of the featured businesses and all the recommendations on this blog are always, quite simply, things that #LewisLoves.