November is here, which means that pretty soon we'll blink and the whole festive season will be upon us! Now is the perfect time to treat ourselves & our loved ones, so I've rounded up some of my favourite small businesses to showcase their amazing Christmas offerings. You can also help support these businesses by sharing this blog post on your social media & helping to spread the word along with Christmas cheer!
Decorations
The first thing that gets me in the mood for Christmas (aside from a cheeky mince pie) is getting the house decorated. Read on to discover some fab ways to decorate this year.
Cracklewood & Clove create incredibly fun wooden hanging decorations. Choose from Santa, Reindeer, Robin, Penguin, Polar Bear, Gingerbread Man or Gonk! Each character holds 1 Lindt chocolate ball and can also be personalised with any engraved text of your choosing. We already have a selection of these cute characters for our tree, but I also love the look of the adorable advent calendar - and you can't go far wrong with a daily dose of Lindt!
Sheeba is an egg artist; she recycles eggs and carves their shells into unusual sculptures. Check out her 'Hatchfully Yours 2021 Christmas collection' which features some beautiful bespoke chicken egg baubles, sealed in glass domes, ready to be hung upon your Christmas tree. Each bauble comes beautifully gift-wrapped with a small bag of Christmas cheer, and Sheeba also offers complimentary Royal Mail Special delivery.
Lee owns small floral business Bud & Bloom, and will be arranging stunning door wreaths and table runner centrepieces this Christmas. Both will feature traditional Christmas pine, dried floral detailing, and luxurious Christmas finishing touches - velvet ribbon, we're looking at you! I'm a sucker for a wreath so I can't wait to see these gorgeous creations.
www.budxbloom.com (currently in progress) or check her out on Instagram @budxbloom_
Christmas Cards
Once the house is decorated, next on the festive list are the Christmas cards. If you're a regular Nails by Laura D Lee client, look out for your 2021 Christmas card - inside there just might be a little treat to say thank you for your custom this year!
Casey provides unique card making kits that let you create personalised fingerprint cards at home. The Christmas Collection features a range of festive characters, enabling you to produce special Christmas greetings cards or Thank You cards by simply adding your fingerprints to her clever designs. This year she has also released matching Christmas gift wrap and tag making kits, creating both a wonderful christmas craft activity and the perfect way to add a personal finishing touch to your gifts.
Clothing
I don't know about you guys, but once 1st December hits the Christmas jumpers are on solid rotation! If I can only wear them one month of the year then you better believe I'm wearing them all.month.long. I'm also all for the matchy matchy family sets - if you're gonna go for all out cheese then Christmas is the time to do it!
Becky & Katie form 2 halves of the brand BETI positive apparel, an online clothing and accessories supplier. BETI provides slogan fashion items aimed at promoting well-being, positivity, fun and self-care. They also create custom orders, as well as offering personalisation on their items. Their Christmas 2021 range includes pjs, clothing and gift bags, and I'll be checking out their Christmas jumper selection to see which I can add to my collection.
Presents
I love that feeling of knowing you've chosen an amazing present for someone, but if you're stuck for suggestions then Christmas shopping can feel pretty stressful. Here's a round-up of awesome gift ideas from small businesses, so you can finish your gift-giving and benefit from the warm and fuzzies that come from shopping small at the same time!
Alex runs a small but busy studio in Hertfordshire, and has designed some lovely present-storage options for Christmas morning. As someone who LOVES the repetition of Christmas traditions year on year, I'm a huge fan of re-using the same stockings and sacks, and Alex's hand-made offerings are built to do just that. Both the Christmas stocking and the Christmas sack are hand-made and made to last, using colourful velvet cuffs and mini pompoms for a unique finish, and can be personalised with the name of your choice so that there's no doubt which is your pile of presents!
Happy Cat Kids is an online store featuring a hand-curated collection of beautiful toys and children's gifts. The toys are fun, colourful and all designed to last, with a huge focus on sustainable choices such as wooden toys and eco-friendly gifts.
To help narrow down your choices, the website has a super helpful age filter, but if you need further assistance then their 'gift fairy' Rachel is more than happy to help you find the perfect gift.
This truly is a small biz when a big heart.
Using non-toxic hand-poured wax, Bex creates cool, colourful crayons in a huge range of sturdy shapes, perfectly designed for little fingers and aesthetically pleasing for us big kids too. No matter what your little one is into, Bex has got you covered - animals, dinosaurs, vehicles (including a fire engine set which I'm eying up for my little pickle), space, robots, under the sea, unicorns - and that's before you consider the festive options! Alongside the Christmas crayons she also offers Christmas colouring sheets, a mini advent pack and a Farmer Christmas activity book & crayon set.
Nicky runs Gluten Free Little Cook, specialising in baking kits for children suitable for those with Coeliac Disease or Gluten Intolerances. The kits are designed to involve your child in baking whilst also enhancing their learning, dexterity and Maths skills, as well as producing tasty treats! The Christmas-themed December kit focusses on making gingerbread reindeers with chocolate-dipped antlers, sprinkles, googly eyes & coloured noses, and there are subscription options for boxes to arrive on a monthly basis going forwards.
Little Pickle Bookshop is an online store run by Amy, an independent Usbone partner, providing books & activities for all your little pickles. Amy provides personalised buying advice and also offers free delivery to Hitchin or Stevenage.
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a veritable feast of edible goodies, and Hertfordshire Hampers specialise in hand-selecting a variety of locally crafted, luxury treats.
Themes available include cream tea, coffee lover, cheese & wine, speciality alcohol, non-alcoholic and vegan options, meaning there's something for absolutely everyone.
A lovely friend kindly sent me a box of Pam's Brownies
for my birthday & they were devoured in an
embarrassingly short timeframe.
Freshly baked, fudgy brownies, loaded with 3 kinds of chocolate & delivered straight to your door -
indulgence on every level!
Vicky is a Body Shop at Home Consultant, selling natural, ethical, vegan, fair trade & cruelty free beauty products. Her Prep, Set & Glow Facebook group has exclusive offers and discounts to access from the comfort of your own home, and delivered straight to your door. Check out the advent calendar bundles which are jam-packed full of products.
Find her Facebook group here.
And finally, I am all about indulging in the festive treats that Christmastime brings, but I also appreciate a bit of balance, and for me a bit of movement each day is an ideal equilibrium.
Simone is a Stevenage-based Personal Trainer who specialises in pre and post natal health and exercise. She is also a Yoga teacher, PIlates instructor and Biomechanics Coach, teaching both group classes and individual sessions, either online or in person within Hertfordshire. She is running a 12 Days of Christmas Online Healthy Living Programme from 1st - 12th December 2021, where she will share 12 days of workouts, daily check-ins, healthy eating habits, recipe ideas, lifestyle tips, support & motivation.
Find her Facebook group here
I hope you've enjoyed reading this year's Gift Guide and Small Business Directory as much as I enjoyed putting it together. If you'd like to feature your own small business in this post, please do send me a message, and finally, don't forget to let me know if you treat yourself or your loved ones to any of the wonderful goodies found above!
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