Small Shops Gift Guide

One of my favourite thing about Christmas? That would have to be giving gifts. I mean, putting thought and effort into a present and then seeing someone’s face light up as they open it? Yes please! Sign me up! Especially with this small shops-gift guide!

But why?

I mean, Amazon is easy – right? And so are the big stores – and everything is so cheap! So why should you (me) go through that extra effort if everything is just there?

Well, for two reasons. One of them is a positive choice, the other is more of a reaction. The positive choice: because there’s a lot of shops out there that sell amazing products. But, especially if they’re smaller shops, they don’t always get the brand awareness that many of the bigger brands get just because they’re, well… Bigger.

What’s more, Christmas and the period leading up to it, are often some of the busiest periods for any shop – and as such, a very necessary period for smaller shops! And of course, because these are smaller shops: their items are less “common” and even allow for customisation! (Check out, for example, The Happee Shop, whose creator Laura Jane offers the cutest printables!)

As I said, there’s a second option as well – a reaction. As most people know at this point, a lot of the bigger stores have had some iffy stories concerning the working environment, health and safety problems. And, sure, one person’s changed habits won’t completely transform the world. But you know what they say about a lot of small changes…

And where?

This is actually the more “fun” bit. Because, sure, you might have decided to go with this idea of a small shops gift guide – but then, where do you start? And in general, I would say: Etsy and Instagram. Etsy as a whole is just such a convenient spot to look for smaller shops – because it’s literally based on that concept. If, for example, you wanted a nice piece of jewellery, or a t-shirt with a fun print on it (check out Blair Lamb for those!), Etsy is definitely the place to start.

Instagram is something more of a hit and miss, but again: because it’s a visual platform, there’s a ton of amazing creators who share their products on there. One of my personal favourites is Jemma from Dorkfaceblog – I’ve commissioned a painting with her, bought another one, gotten some pins, printables, a family portrait… And honestly, in every single experience she’s been amazing to work with, always ahead of her own timing, …

Are you more so a “big store all in one go”-buyer, or do you prefer to spread out your gift buying? Are you buying any of your gifts from a small shop this year? And of course: do you have any small shops you think I should check out? Be sure to let me know below! And in the mean time: have a look around the rest of my blog-mas posts!

-Saar