Shop Small (& Wild) Christmas Directory
We’ve always been big advocates of shopping small at Christmas and this year is no exception. There are so many excellent small businesses out there and we thought we would take the opportunity to share a few of our faves that we are hoping to support this festive period. With Clothing, Books, Food & Drink, Toys & Play, Home & Decor, Craft & Art and Gift Boxes, we’ve got you covered!
CLOTHING
A Tribe Well Dressed
Founded in 2017 (the same year as us!) we love Lindsay’s upcycled denim jackets with bespoke, hand appliqued letters and she does stockings too!
Ducky Zebra
Launched just this year, Ducky Zebra creates colourful, organic clothes for kind, confident kids.
Max Made Me Do It
We’ve bought both clothing and prints designed by Carol at Max Made Me. The floral print up in our office is just stunning but the kids adore her animal tees and sweatshirts. We’re excited about her new dinosaur range!
The Bright Company
Ethically produced in Europe using super-soft GOTS cotton, these are quite possibly the best PJs around for little people (and big people too). We’ve bought various iterations of Bat Jyms and Super Gyms but this year it’s the adult PJs we’re lusting after.
BOOKS
Rye Books
For actual in-store browsing, we are huge fans of this little book store in East Dulwich where the staff are always cheerful and knowledgeable (plus they have coffee & and a beautiful selection of cards also).
Tales by Mail
The ultimate gift for bookworms aged 5-12. Every other month a bright orange box will arrive on the doorstep of your young book-lover… Inside they will discover two brilliant new reads, collectable activity pages, exclusive author content, and unique gifts & surprises. Plus, they’ll be able to tune into podcasts with author interviews, school book group chats & reading recommendations.
FOOD & DRINK
Little Cooks Co
Are your little people always keen to lend a hand in the kitchen? Check out Little Cooks Co for award-winning healthy cooking kits for kids – delivered monthly, their boxes contain ingredients and recipes to make healthier, more nutritious treats.
Little Crumbs Subscription Boxes
Little Crumbs boxes are packed with cooking and craft actinides, they describe themselves as being 'big believers that children should end their day covered in mud and glitter.' What a great ethos! They products are designed to encourage the firefly chasing, cloud spotting, puddle jumping child by embracing new adventures from the kitchen to the great outdoors.
Momo Kombucha
When our heads are a little sore from a little too much indulgence at Christmas, we’ll be reaching for kombucha. We met Momo founders Josh & Lisa a couple of years back and were entranced by their story of small batch production in South London. We’ll be stocking up on all their flavours to keep our guts in tip-top condition.
Nutmad
We’re pretty nuts about nuts and love Michaela’s activated range over at Nutmad. These activated nuts are soaked in filtered water (to make the nutrients in them more available and easier to digest) and then dried out. In simple but stunning packaging, they make a brilliant, and healthy, stocking filler and a great grazing option over the festive period.
Pickles and Bakes
Founder Natalie has created all sorts of delicious goodies for her highly acclaimed small biz. Think indulgent giant christmas tree brownies adorned with Ferrero Rocher and brownie stars for those who can't face sharing. But our eyes are on her fun paint your own cookie sets for kids this Christmas!
PLAYin Choc
This year we love Playin Choc’s 12 Day advent calendar, which is filled with 12 vegan chocolates along with their signature plastic free puzzle toys – plus the box opens out to make a play scene for the toys too.
The Postal Pantry
A gorgeous family run online grocery store based in South Devon, delivering throughout the UK, Postal Pantry stock a great range of organic, vegan, gluten free, whole foods and eco-friendly lifestyle products, all delivered straight to your door... plus their Christmas Hampers this year are the perfect gift for those harder to buy for family members!
TOYS & PLAY
Den Kit Co.
The Den Kit Company was founded by Kay and Jo who, as ex-primary school teachers and Forest School Practitioners, are both passionate advocates of outdoor play. We love their pirate den kit, which contains everything you need to create your very own pirate hideaway!
Plan Toys
Beautiful wooden toys & interior lifestyle products for kids, thoughtfully produced from sustainable materials.
HOME & DÉCOR
Bloom East
We’re total suckers for a good bunch of flowers and LOVE our subscription with the lovely Anya at Bloom East which has brightened up our home during lockdown. This year we’ll be making one of her DIY rainbow wreaths too (with the kit delivered to our door).
Fearless Flamingo
Fearless Flamingo’s wooden Christmas decorations are little tokens of positivity to hang on your Christmas tree or to string as a fabulous garland of positivity to enjoy all year round! Her colour-your-own Christmas postcards are pretty special too.
Ladyland
We’ve got our eye on this kids’ A1 wall planner which is full of fun dates to celebrate. Each week has something to talk about, it could be Appreciate a Dragon Day, Eid Al-Adha or Neil Armstrong’s birthday! We’re thinking the grown-up version could also be a useful addition to our home office...
Octo & Co Candles
Octō candles are 100% natural & vegan. Made with soy wax, they are blended at the perfect temperature with pure essential oils (no artificial fragrance oils) and cotton wicks. No synthetic or chemical nasties in here! What more could you ask for in a candle?!
Nunhead gardener
House plants are a great gift for those harder to buy for relatives (plus we always love an excuse to top up our own collection!) and we love the selection of plants and contemporary pots down at this little Nunhead-based green treasure trove.
One Mama One Shed
Siobhan stocks a range of enamel and vintage silverware pieces and also makes bespoke. We took some of her initialled enamel mugs camping this year and everyone was jealous! We've spied the option to decorate them with your kids' drawings this year.
The Super Sparrow
For some (stunning) relaxed, modern pottery, check out Lilly Mandarano’s work. We own some of her beautiful serving boards and have these gorgeous espresso cups on our Christmas list.
CRAFT & ART
Makebox + Co
Founded by the brilliant Hannah, Makebox + Co delivered beautiful craft boxes to your door – and you can pick a monthly subscription or choose from a number of one off projects. From embroidery to paper sculpting there is something for everyone… we think this pair of macrame moon & stars would make a lovely addition to a nursery wall.
Sewcial Circle
Sewcial Circle’s Katie ran a craft birthday party for one of our little people and they made these lovely mice in beds. She is now sending out the kits and running these classes online – a great experiential gift for little crafters. We’re pretty keen on her pom pom garland kits too!
By Me Katie
We’ve been to one of Katie’s macramé plant hanger workshops and had a blast and now beautiful plant hanger to show for it. This Christmas we’re hoping for one of her lovely dream catchers for our bedroom wall. Preferably in dark navy or blush pink… hint hint…
Wonder & Wild Club
Awesome eco-friendly activity boxes to spark children's wild & wonderful imaginations! We recently bought the Halloween Enchanted House box and had hours of fun with it.
GIFT BOXES
Dept store for the mind
The ethos behind this store is just spot on. As well as designing their own range of products, which mindful exploration, they also curate thoughtful gift bundles. We particularly love their Kids’ Sleep Well Bundle(which features our Snoozy Fox tea) and their Grown-Ups Sleep Well Bundle.
Brown paper packages
Positive gift packages with the option to build your own box or select one that has been carefully curated. We think we could benefit from their self-care package right now (as could many of you, we’re sure). We love how there is something for everyone from toddlers to grandparents.
SKINCARE
Bloom & Blossom
Skincare and wellness products full of real ingredients - to solve real problems, for real people. All of their products are full of beautifully natural fragrances that help transport you to a place of peace, serenity and calm. We use their pillow spray for kids and love the look of their range for big people too, especially their pyjamarama body oil (which we would love to get in our stocking).
Good Bubble
Naturally-derived, cruelty-free and vegan products suitable for newborns and those with sensitive skin. Made with skin-loving super fruits and a mild, allergen-free fragrance. No tears. No nasties. Our little people are fans of their Dragonfruit shampoo and they have Julia Donaldson themed gift sets too.
Salcura
Our little peoples' skin often gets a little dry and eczema-prone during the winter months so we've found the Bioskin Junior range really brilliant to help dry and itchy skin - we use the adult range too!
For more inspiration we recommend checking out the brilliant @hollytucker and @holly.co crew’s #CampaignShopIndependent as well as @justacard.
Happy shopping small this Christmas.
Festive wishes,
Becky & Kate x