Right about now is the time you may want to think about panicking if you haven’t yet bought all your Christmas presents. It’s 2 weeks to Christmas! Just 2 weeks! Quick! Get the things! Order the stuff!
Whatever stress you may or may not be feeling about finishing your Christmas shopping, rest assured there’s still some time. And if you don’t relish the thought of fighting your way through crowded high streets and shops, but you still want to feel like you’ve taken the time to seek out a unique gift, then have no fear: the internet will save you.
While under normal circumstances I don’t condone buying gifts online instead of supporting wonderful local and independent shops, there are several fantastic and well-established websites that specialise in peddling the homemade, hand crafted wares of creative individuals. Here are my favourites:
- Etsy was where it all started for me. The realization that you could buy things that had been made by other people from around the world – and indeed sell your own things – was a very exciting prospect. They’ve been going for a good while now and their online shop of “all things handmade, vintage, and supplies” is chock full of unique gifts to browse- like these mini kaleidoscopes:
- Folksy is similar to Etsy; it hasn’t been going as long, but is really making a name for itself now as the online home of modern British craft. You can buy some really amazing crafted products on here!
- Not On The High Street is basically what it says on the tin. It was founded in 2006, their ideal being “to hunt out the most original items from the best creative small businesses, and bring them together in one place, making it easy for people to browse and buy.” Huzzah!
- Hannah Zakari is a beautiful boutique full of the cute, the quirky and the unusual from independent designers. If you’re after something a bit different then head here for pretty jewellery, bags, accessories and more.
- Bottle Green Homes. This London-based company sells only things made 100% in Britain. Well done chaps! This should be your first port of call for great homeware gifts.
So there you go- now you’ve no excuse! Handmade gifts all round! Happy shopping 🙂