Less chore more cheer
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING NEEDN’T BE STRESSFUL. MAKE A MAGICAL DAY OF IT BY TAKING YOUR LIST TO A DEPARTMENT STORE, QUAINT TOWN OR FESTIVE MARKET
Mid-December 1985. I am six and walking mittened hand in mittened hand with my mother along the thronging pavements of an East Anglian market town. Shakin’ Stevens is number one with the charming but cheesy ‘Merry Christmas, Everyone’. Ours is a special annual outing – having posted a 20p piece into my piggybank each week of the autumn term, I’ve enough money in my bright-red leather purse to buy some simple but useful gifts for aunts, uncles and grandparents. First stop, Hicks China & Glass for wooden spoons, next The Emporium for combs and handkerchiefs and then the stationer’s for pencils and biros. Handing the shiny coins over to the shopkeepers is a thrill in itself, then hearing the small receipts print out; popping the purchases inside my own canvas shopping bag gives me a huge sense of self-importance. After this brief but »
hugely enjoyable excursion, with noses the colour of a certain famous reindeer, we thaw out in the coffee shop to enjoy its locally famous flapjacks through a fog of steaming damp overcoats and bobble hats. When it comes to the big day itself, I can’t wait to distribute my gifts and, no matter how predictable the items probably are, each relative receives theirs with nothing but delight, faux or otherwise.
More than three decades later, I’m on a mission to rekindle that spark of pure pleasure. Children feel Christmas like no one else and the only way to rediscover our own youthful enthusiasm for the season is to get out and about and surrender ourselves, body and soul, to the festivities, just as they do.
Let’s be honest, most of us are guilty of sitting down at a laptop with at least part of our list – or ordering on the hoof via a smartphone – robotically buying books, DVDs, CDs, clothing even, when the only glow we get is from the harsh light of the screen on our 21st-century faces.
Christmas is the one time of the year that’s all about sensory experience, so we’re bound to feel short-changed by virtual shopping and the lack of satisfaction in handing over the ill-gotten goods to members of our families. I’m not saying that online shopping is the devil’s work – sometimes, it comes in pretty handy – but it’s also time to celebrate bricks and mortar shops and buy gifts from actual people rather than online marketplaces when we’re in search of not only the perfect presents but our own Christmas spirit. Not just anywhere, though – a run-down high street littered with pound shops and mobile phone sellers is unlikely to fill you with joy. Instead, seek out inspirational places, true artisans and the best Yuletide events to ensure that you jingle all the way.
“The candy canes and sugar mice of sweet shops are hard to pass by without feeling a pang of nostalgia”
JUST LOOKING
There’s a vicarious thrill about window shopping – you can spend a virtual fortune coveting goods through gleaming glass without handing over a single penny. Shopfronts never look better than at this time of year. The best feature fantastic scenes and feed the imagination, often showcasing little actual merchandise. Stopping to view them also allows a little time to stand and stare, gather our festive thoughts and tick items off the list. The candy canes and sugar mice of sweet shops are hard to pass by without feeling a pang of nostalgia, while bookshops are often the most innovative in creating inviting, cosy scenes to draw customers through their doors. Few of us can resist the increasingly spectacular displays from city department stores such as London’s Liberty and Fortnum & Mason, Newcastle’s Fenwick and Leeds and Edinburgh’s Harvey Nichols. Further afield, there’s Paris’s Galeries Lafayette and New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy’s.
LOCAL TRADE
Head to a market town that teems with independent shops and you could come away with a sackload of suitable gifts. While there, join in with the choir’s carolling efforts, and wash down the whole delicious experience with a mince pie or two in the local tearoom. Some are worth a planned day trip or even minibreaks. Ledbury, a traditional Herefordshire town, is famed for its lack of high-street chains, and its excellent shops such as Scandinavian design store Hus & Hem, fabric, lighting, homeware and artists’ print shop Tinsmiths, and Ceci Paolo, a big draw for its highly browsable kitchenware shop. Arty Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire is awash with unique stores including designer-maker gallery Snug, flower shop The Willow Garden and, for the bike enthusiast, Blazing Saddles. Conker in Totnes, Devon, offers made-to-order shoes in a choice of 50 colours, while nearby Sharpham Wine & Cheese sells produce
from its estate. Meanwhile, Dartington not only has a collection of 15 shops and restaurants but a deer park and wild-play area where the whole family can let off steam. Then there are the villages that have been put on the map by a great shop: St Boswells, in the Scottish Borders, is one of the best examples, home to The Mainstreet Trading Company, which not only serves great coffee and a wide selection of books ( particularly children’s titles, cookery, fiction and biography), but has Tom Kitchin’s Mainstreet Deli & Home. Glad tidings for anyone within striking distance.
MEETING THE MAKERS
There’s a story behind anything bought from an open studio or craft fair, and it’s highly likely you’ll meet the person who produced it, instantly giving your gift extra meaning. Among the best events this month are London’s Contemporary Applied Arts’ Present & Collect (until 23 December; caa. org.uk), which includes work by textile artists, glassmakers and metal-workers. Selvedge, held in London’s Bloomsbury, offers the chance to print your own wrapping paper design as well as buy artisan decorations and gifts from the 40 selected sellers (2 December; selvedge.org). At Oxford Botanic Garden Christmas Fair there will be a range of crafts and foods and the chance to tour the grounds (2-3 December; botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk). Perhaps you’ll find just the thing in the festive exhibition at Cardiff’s Craft in the Bay (until 7 January; makersguildinwales. org.uk), which showcases items from 25 makers from Wales and across the UK. If you can’t make a local event, why not buy direct from a shop that curates or commissions craft, such as The New Craftsmen (thenewcraftsmen.com), where you’ll find pieces by makers across the British Isles, or Decorator’s Notebook (decoratorsnotebook.co.uk), which sells stylish, ethically produced homeware and gifts by artisans around the world.
Also worth a look are our Maker Of The Month and Shop of the Month, featured each issue in Things to Want and Wish For ( page 8). All are chosen for their handmade crafts and innovative design, and curation of interesting pieces.
MARKET VALUE
“You can’t beat a local fête for community spirit and the chance to discover your area’s talent”
Inhale the scent of roasting chestnuts, knock back multiple goblets of mulled wine and behold the merry scene as stallholders display an array of crafts, clothing, food and drink, and lotions and potions. At Christmas markets, you’re entitled to feel ludicrously festive – just remember to shop with a smidgen of good sense, bearing in mind the recipient’s taste as well as your own. After all, you don’t want your well-intentioned gift to be a complete turkey. Linger until dusk and witness the place light up and the atmosphere become electric.
Bath’s is among the best (until 10 December; bathchristmasmarket.co.uk), with its 200-plus chalets showcasing the wares of businesses mainly based in the Georgian city itself and the South West, including organic Spiezia skincare products, handmade children’s clothing and artisan confectionery from Somersetbased Choc on Choc.
Edinburgh has two, one on East Princes Street Gardens (until 6 January 2018) and the other on George Street (until 24 December; both at edinburghschristmas. com). The Southbank Centre’s Wintertime festival (until 4 January; southbankcentre. co.uk) is set against the twinkling backdrop of the Thames.
Meanwhile York’s St Nicholas Fair (until 22 December; visityork.org) offers a postshopping warm-up by a log fire with a hot chocolate in a tipi.
For traditional German goods without a schlep to the continent, visit Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market (until 24 December; germanchristmasmarket birmingham.com).
Finally, you can’t beat a local fête for community spirit and the chance to discover your area’s talent – there are bound to be some real crackers among the tinsel-strewn trestle tables.