Support small businesses with your last minute Christmas shopping

Have you finished your Christmas shopping? With just over a week to go until the big day, it’s not too late to support your favourite small businesses this festive season. I like to shop small whenever possible, but particularly at this time of year when independent brands are hoping to have their voices heard above all the hustle and bustle from the high street. If you’re searching for stocking fillers, I’ve compiled all my own suggestions for GS stocking stuffers on this recent blog post, and now I’d like to share the small brands that I’ve been buying from this Christmas time. 

Ffern’s organic eau de parfums are always my favourite fragrances, but it can be tricky to get hold of a bottle if you’re on their waitlist. Their limited edition seasonal scents (released on each solstice and equinox) are crafted from the finest natural ingredients and are presented in completely recyclable packaging. Their Golden Ticket offering is an incredibly generous gesture for a loved one – a beautifully designed ‘golden ticket’ which arrives with a giclee print, which when activated by a QR code adds their name to the ledger to receive seasonal bottles of Ffern’s sell-out scents. Choose to give two bottles on each equinox or solstice, or all four bottles in one year. 

Buying for someone who loves an evening tipple? Perhaps someone looking for a new delicious drink to try or a friend or family member seeking a non-alcoholic beverage that still feels special. Botivo is my go-to drink for everything from an alcohol-free cocktail to a refreshing sundowner – in fact, it was specifically designed for the ‘yellow’ hour when you clock off work each evening, enjoyed simply with ice, soda and a slice of orange. You can find out more about Botivo in our interview with co-founder Imme, and find suggested cocktail recipes here. 

You can’t go wrong with treating someone on your list to a beautifully scented candle. My personal favourite are Pott Candles, thanks to their delicious fragrances, natural ingredients and sustainable ethos. The idea is that you purchase a beautifully crafted stoneware pot (available in a variety of sizes and colours) which lasts forever when paired with their natural wax refills. For a gift that keeps on giving, Pott offers refill subscriptions where you receive a monthly candle to pop inside your pot – you can choose a fragrance they’ll love or opt for a surprise each month. 

Another subscription service that makes for an excellent Christmas gift is Perky Blenders coffee subscriptions. They offer 3, 6 and 12 month options, paid for upfront with a 200g bag of coffee delivered each month for the length of your subscription. I love that you can tailor this for the preference of the person you’re buying for, depending on how they make their coffee and their favourite blend. This could also add to a larger gift, if you’re planning on buying your loved one a new French Press or Moka Pot, you can keep surprising them each month with more coffee arriving on their doorstep.

Speaking of coffee …. I really love gifting experiences over physical gifts, and one really nice way to do this while also supporting small businesses is to buy vouchers for beloved independent cafes or restaurants. If you know they always pop by a certain coffee shop on the way to work, you could treat them to a month’s worth of coffees, or present them with a voucher to a lovely local eatery and let them know you’d love to go out for dinner with them sometime in January. Not only is this a thoughtful gift, but it gives you both something to look forward to together.

When it comes to buying for children, I try to stay clear of buying them toys, as they already have so many. If I do buy toys or books, I rummage around charity shops rather than buying brand new. Instead, I love to adopt the ‘something to look forward to’ philosophy for children and present them with a beautifully crafted, hand-made ‘gift voucher’ for an experience that may seem mundane to adults but will mean the world to them. For example, a voucher for an afternoon at the park with a babychino always goes down well with little ones such as godchildren or nieces and nephews who cherish spending quality one-on-one time with you. 

Looking for more last minute gift ideas?
Order from the GS Christmas Shop by Friday 20th December for Royal Mail and Monday 23rd December for express delivery.