With the highstreet shops out-of-bounds until next week, I’ve been spreading the word of some fantastic independent businesses to support. Christmas 2020 is fast approaching with December mere days away now, and I have got just what you need with Edition 2 of my Shop Small Gift Ideas blog posts!
Every Sunday for the next few weeks building up to Christmas, I’ll be sharing a special selection of ‘5 Things’ on the blog. The topic? Ways we can all support independent businesses with my ‘Shop Small’ gift ideas.
From purchasing stocking fillers and trinkets to treating your loved ones to main presents and show-stopping gifts, keep your eyes peeled for these posts every week! There will be 5 editions in total, with the final post on Sunday 20th December bearing lots of ‘last-minute’ ideas.
The Schedule
Edition 1: Sunday 22nd November 2020 (Last week’s)
Edition 2: Sunday 29th November 2020 (Currently reading)
Edition 3: Sunday 6th December 2020 (UPCOMING!)
Edition 4: Sunday 13th December 2020 (UPCOMING!)
Edition 5: Sunday 20th December 2020 (UPCOMING!)
Why is it so important?
You’ve probably heard that phrase…
When you buy from a small business, you make an actual person do a happy dance.
Buying from local, new and growing businesses, you’re helping them build a sense of community and strengthen as a brand. You’ll have helped feed someone’s dream, and probably even helped feed their family. Let’s face it, you’re going to feel pretty good! There’s a lot of satisfaction which comes from supporting a small business’s growth.
Not only will your decision to support small, independent businesses create more jobs, you’ll also be helping to strengthen the local economy which we all know is so blooming important right now!
Many of these brands highlighted below are UK-based businesses that I have discovered via Instagram. It’s times like these when social media really is INVALUABLE.
I highly recommend you check out each of the shop small gift ideas below and follow the brands on their social channels as an additional boost – The links are all there ready and waiting for you below…
Shop Small Gift Ideas
Edition 2
Let’s get started!
Scent With Love
Olive Tree Home is the candle house creation of Helen; a Lake District lady who now calls Chelmsford home with her husband and 2 children. When safe to, Helen runs candle-making classes and I have been meaning to go along to one for quite some time (you know I love a workshop!). With cut-glass vessels and sumptuous scents in soy wax, you could gift a candle made in Helen’s home studio or snap up one of her kits to make your own batch of festive candles with a relative over Christmas! Although you’ll need to hurry as stocks are running really low. Everything is Vegan, GMO and paraben free, so you can rest assured you’re giving a really great gift – One which keeps on giving with a keepsake vessel which Helen even offers a refill service for. The hardest part will be selecting a scent! I think Snow Berry sounds lovely: ‘a light fruity fragrance with notes of fir needle, nutmeg and cyclamen’.
Check out Olive Tree Home here:
Instagram
Facebook
Website
Sea Spray Meets Clay
Emily Jane Jewels are hand-crafted, clay earrings made in Newquay, Cornwall. Each pair is unique with marbled patterns reminiscent of waves crashing in a rippling, Cornish sea. Another thing I just LOVE about Emily’s jewellery is how each collection is brilliantly named – You know I am a lover of the sea (and Cornwall in particular), so it’s really lovely to see Emily’s so heavily inspired by the coast with ‘Winter Sea’ and ‘Summer Sea’ amongst some of her collection titles. As if you couldn’t love Emily’s creations even more, you will be so pleased to hear she donates 10% of all profits to the WWF which directly supports their #rewildtheworld campaign. These earrings would undoubtedly be a fantastic ‘shop small’ gift idea for all your pals who care for the planet – And if no-one springs to mind, perhaps it’s time to rethink who you call friends…!
Side note – There’s also a range of earrings which look JUST like Party Ring biscuits and are named appropriately so!
Check out Emily Jane Jewels here:
Instagram
Facebook
Website
Slow Down & Become Present
When I heard that Lili of LSW Mind Cards had launched her Mind Notes wellbeing journal, I was SO pleased. It’s something I have dreamed of doing myself for so many years & I appreciate just how much time and effort goes into putting together a lovely guide like this, from start to finish.
The beautiful ‘Mind Notes’ journal by Cognitive Hypnotherapist, Lili, is stacked full of weekly prompts and techniques for living a more mindful, fulfilled life yet remains a really calming design. Across 224 pages of the undated daily journal, the recipient is encouraged to review their daily experiences, jotting down moments of gratitude and cultivating more positive thoughts through the weekly exercises. Spanning six months in total, this journal would make for a really thoughtful gift; especially to guide a friend through the first half of 2021 (which, let’s face it, may feel like a very long and drawn-out reminder of 2020).
Check out LSW Mind Cards here:
Instagram
Facebook
Website
From Cardio to Couch
Lottie & Tedd is a new, super exciting activewear business run by a mother and her daughters – It gives me serious ‘This Girl Can’ vibes! Their leggings brand came to life as the girl-power dream team appreciate just how busy everyday life can be for some (drop the kids to school, walk the dog, stay healthy, maintain a social life, find time to work out… GAH!). With gyms reopening next week and January bringing with it the renowned ‘new year, new me’ sentiment, I think a pair of these leggings would be a fantastic gift! Lottie & Tedd leggings are great for wicking away sweat and withstanding as many squats as you (or the recipient) can manage, but I hear they’re also super comfy for just lounging around in! My personal favs are the ‘Party Animal’ leggings – A grey leopard print & marble pattern. They first popped up in my Insta feed when my fellow runner and friend Sandra modelled the leggings so wonderfully. Have a look through their website and see which pair you’d gift to a friend (or unashamedly keep for yourself…!).
Check out Lottie & Tedd here:
Instagram
Facebook
Website
A Sugary Selection
The Sweet Collector is your go-to girl for hand-selected boxes of so many fantastic sweets. I highly recommend getting a list of what’s available, circling all your friend’s favourites and seeing what The Sweet Collector can conjure up for you. If you’d prefer a festive-themed selection, there’s a pre-picked box of Santa’s favourites including red and white foamy, jelly goodies and marshmallow bites too. Mini bags of reindeer noses (spot the special Rudolph nose!) and Santa’s Kisses will also be the cutest stocking fillers or a finishing touch to your Secret Santa gift. The Sweet Collector can cater for all dietary requirements, covering vegan, veggie, GF, sugar free and Halal options.
Check out The Sweet Collector here:
Instagram
Facebook
I really hope you’ve enjoyed another instalment of the shop small gift ideas posts!
If you’ve explored some of the brands and businesses mentioned above, do share this post with your friends (just don’t let on what you’re treating them to this Christmas!).
Don’t forget you can expect more shop small gift ideas every Sunday in the build-up to Christmas. See you soon!
The pandemic won’t slow the success of small businesses so long as we support them!
If you’re an independent business owner, do drop me a message. I’d absolutely love to hear about you and your creations. See you next Sunday for Edition 3 of the Shop Small Gift Ideas series…
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