Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Independent online shops

553 replies

TheDrsDocMartens · 26/09/2020 12:46

I’ve shared a few on the bargain thread but I think it’s worthy of its own thread. Add your own stores you recommend.

www.cartmelvillageshop.co.uk/online

www.aluminiumart.co.uk/

shopandonart.bigcartel.com/products

www.thegodmotherdesigns.co.uk/shop.html

www.travelsnackbox.com/store

OP posts:
Thread gallery
21
YesThisIsMe · 08/11/2020 12:09

[quote TFSRM]Zoo and museum shops often have lovely things and they need all the income they can get with lockdown 2 and having to shut again. London Zoo have 20,000 animals they need to feed and look after.

shop.zsl.org/collections/london-zoo-gift-shop

www.britishmuseumshoponline.org/

shop.sciencemuseum.org.uk/

www.nhmshop.co.uk/

shop.ashmolean.org/[/quote]
Seconding the museum shops - well worth a look because they’ve got some fantastic reasonably priced stocking fillers and to plug the hole in their finances. I’ve just ordered 2 T-shirts, a mug, and a piece of jewellery from the Science Museum for various family members.
To PP’s list I would add the V&A, the British Library, The British Museum, Kew Gardens and the South Bank Centre shop which is less obvious but has particularly lovely prints.

I’d also second a pp’s mention of
www.myadventurekit.co.uk/ which makes great presents for children with gardens - though possibly not well timed for Christmas.

Other independent suggestions:
www.highlandstoneware.com/ for rustic but classy hand painted china - where I got my favourite ever mug, and where I bought a replacement when I broke it twenty years later.

www.6oclockgin.com also do some great unusual gins and liqueurs which make good gifts for hard to please foodies.

There are lots of independent shops selling board games as well. High quality board games like Ticket To Ride, Carcassonne, or Pandemic are the sort of thing which you might automatically think of Amazon for, but if you google your local games shop they’ll probably do you a click and collect - and IME at the same price as Amazon or cheaper. Waterstones also stocks many good board games if you don’t have a local independent - at least it’s not Amazon.

Wonderingwondering99 · 08/11/2020 15:42

@Wonderingwondering99

Great thread, been looking for little hidden gems

Here are ones we have used so can recommend from experience:

MuckyKnees - kids gift boutique that sell really interesting and unique items

FudgieChunks - absolutely lovely smooth fudge. Tastes exactly how we remembered it to be like as children and their Insta is funny

The Wise Old Owl - lovely custom pieces and nothing was too much trouble

Bookmarking for more gift ideas. Thanks for the thread.

Just to add, thanks to this thread, I've ordered and received from Www.cadeaux.store and they were great. Also ordered more fudge from my own recommendation of FudgieChunks but that's allowed because it's Xmas research Smile

Any small businesses around personalised hair decorations at all?

Needingsupportplease · 08/11/2020 15:46

Following!

TeaSoakedDisasterMagnet · 08/11/2020 17:33

Got some beautiful birthday cards from here www.etsy.com/uk/shop/rjdesigns2020/ based in morecambe.

And some delicious brownies from here: www.theyummyyank.co.uk/

TeaSoakedDisasterMagnet · 08/11/2020 17:34

Gorgeous, personalised, light up wreath from here: melanieporter.co.uk/all

MooseyMoo · 09/11/2020 11:18

Highball Cocktails - Alcohol-free Cocktails. These are delicious and will be buying more for Christmas Day treat for us and the kids.

UkSky · 09/11/2020 12:41

Saw Massagical first at a Christmas fayre several years ago, and I love her salt scrub and hand cream set - Massagical

Also for quirky gifts Benjamin Pollocks in Covent Garden have some amazing stuff - not cheap though but very different. Their pop up cards are amazing. Pollocks

Osquito · 09/11/2020 13:55

Loving the recommendations so far!
www.hedgehogshop.co.uk/collections
more traditional or vintage children's items, lots of lovely little bits that you want to keep or pass down

printclublondon.com/shop/
Prints and the like for the home, supporting the artists who actually made them!

www.eleanorbowmer.co.uk/
Leopard-with-rainbows print, maximalism, colour... Don’t buy the copies off Next etc Angry

And just in case anyone’s looking for special jewelry as a “big present”:
www.onlythroughshadows.com/
Handcrafted, ethereal and delicate pieces

ClaraTheImpossibleGirl · 09/11/2020 14:20

Lovely brownies from Northern Brownies - shipping is usually free too. Their Christmas brownie range is now on the website!

And The Chocolate Cafe is usually (as the name suggests!) a cafe with a chocolate shop attached, but they have expanded their online range a lot recently. I've ordered some delicious chocolates and hot chocolates for me friends and family, and code OFFER20 gives you 20% off at the moment Smile

Thank you to everyone who's provided such great ideas on this thread, and what a fab idea, helping small businesses at a time which is proving challenging to many!

Marlboroandmalbec34 · 09/11/2020 15:50

Love this thread so much.

www.yorkgin.com/

best gin ever and lovely people

Thegirlhasnoname · 09/11/2020 15:59

Thank you ever so much to the PP who recommended The Mercer’s for chutneys/jams etc. Was chuffed to be helping a local company when the payment went through to York Speciality Foods but then the stuff came today and the contact address for the company is actually just down the road from me, not in York after all 😂

Makes me feel a little bad that I haven’t heard of them before this thread now and I’m a regular at farmers markets!

EvilPea · 09/11/2020 16:28

www.creaturecandy.co.uk/
Beautiful wildlife inspired prints, mugs, jugs etc with a percentage going to the charity for their animal.

Lovely soaps as well.

HaggisTheGreat · 09/11/2020 19:22

Love this thread! Have bookmarked lots of sites for future shopping.

www.frillylily.co.uk/ - dolls’ clothes including school uniform to match that of DC. Absolutely brilliant customer service and very fast delivery.

goodordering.com/ - funky, modern bags including cycling bags and kids’ rucksacks. Well made and long-lasting.

weebarra · 09/11/2020 19:29

shop.social-bite.co.uk

Social bite is a Scottish charity working to end homelessness. They have cafes in Edinburgh and are setting up a village where people can get their lives back together. They also sell great brownies!

jocktamsonsbairn · 09/11/2020 19:43

@weebarra

https://shop.social-bite.co.uk

Social bite is a Scottish charity working to end homelessness. They have cafes in Edinburgh and are setting up a village where people can get their lives back together. They also sell great brownies!

Thanks wee Barra, just bought a few 'pay it forward' as normally support this charity at Christmas!
appleoftheluck · 09/11/2020 20:00

[[https://www.delilahpetal.com/ ]] A shameless plug for my own gift shop. I have a shop in Somerset but have had to close for the month so I’m busy trying to get all of our stock online!

Osquito · 09/11/2020 20:56

@appleoftheluck Great collection of greeting cards you have!

justasking111 · 09/11/2020 21:05

I have a spare room with around a dozen boxes, packages in. OH away on Wednesday so I intend to unpack, inspect, wrap and hide again thanks to this thread Blush

Scout2016 · 09/11/2020 21:15

@HaggisTheGreat good call with Frilly Lily they have ace customer service too.

Scout2016 · 09/11/2020 21:17

Frilly lilly do costumes and a matching dolls one too. All dresses for kids I think don't recall any less girlie outfits.

appleoftheluck · 09/11/2020 22:40

@Osquito thank you. I have hundreds more to go on! It takes ages.

ClaraTheImpossibleGirl · 09/11/2020 23:00

The Social Bite is an amazing idea, @weebarra - so nice to hear about people looking out for each other (and providing delicious cake!)

Another couple for anyone who likes maps... Marvellous Maps make brilliant, unusual maps of British places, plus mugs and cards. My favourite is the Joyously Busy Great British Adventure map Grin they have a 20% off code on their website at the moment too.

They only have maps for Aylesbury, Berkhamsted, Chester, Hemel Hempstead, Leighton Buzzard, St Albans, Shrewsbury and Tring for now, but Map Trails https://treasuremaptrails.com have beautiful, handcrafted maps for kids (and adults!) to follow. I think there is a discount for signing up to their newsletter as well.

As you can probably tell, I have already done a lot of Christmas shopping Blush

Courgetteflorette · 09/11/2020 23:04

What a great thread, thank you. It has really inspired me to buy all my online purchases from independent stores. I have ordered a few things from suggestions on this thread and will update!

I bought some great leather belts for myself recently from here:

www.villageleathers.com

Plus some prints from Etsy mentioned on a different thread. They are medically themed- but not in a twee or tacky way! I have ordered 3 for gifts (buy 2 get one free offer) and they look fab!

Cocomilla on Etsy

Gherkinbee · 10/11/2020 12:28

Not sure if this has been mentioned but Frilly Lily for dolls clothes. They do some great mini school uniforms, mine just came today and they are fabulous, my kids will love them! www.frillylily.co.uk

Gherkinbee · 10/11/2020 12:29

Ah it would help if I RTFT.....Grin

Swipe left for the next trending thread