I'm so excited to be sharing with you my bumper gift guide for Christmas 2021 starting off with Christmas decorations.
Get inspired with these Christmas decorating ideas that will make your home the merriest of your street. It was so fun looking at all of the fun ways to decorate for the festive season and I'm sure these decorations will spark festive joy into any room of your choice.
When you support a local independently owned business or a small brand you are not only getting to buy into a little bit of the magic they create but you are also more likely to have unique decorations that can't be found on the high street, which make them a little bit more magical, would you agree?
I would love to see how you decorated your home with any of these wonderful decorations so don't forget to tag me and the brand over on Instagram, you can find me at @small_business_collaborative.
Also the Bison
When Maddie started Also the Bison back in 2016 she wanted to create something bright, colourful and fun but most of all, she wanted to reject the fast-paced, unsustainable and unethical practices she had seen daily working in the fashion industry. She works with other small businesses in the UK and Sweden to print her designs, businesses who care just as much about the environment and their employees as she does. All her products are made from the finest natural, recycled and FSC certified materials.
I love how these decorations can be used all year round and not just for Christmas and think they would also make excellent gift tags.
Fun Fact from Maddie: All the illustrations are inspired by the Natural World, breathing life into old collections of curiosities in museum cases, strange taxidermy creatures and diagrams in dusty, forgotten books.
Price range: £1-£159
Website: https://alsothebison.co.uk/
Follow: alsothebison
Fox and Finch
Fox + Finch's cute animal friends will add some woodland magic to your Christmas tree and this festive season. From foxes and badgers to blue tits and kingfishers, there's a beastie in our collection for you.
Most of the birds (and many of the animals) in Fi's collection are based on creatures she's encountered in her garden or on her travels.
I love that each animal has a story, meet Betty the Blue Tit who with her bright yellow tummy spreads sunshine and happiness wherever she goes.
Fun Fact from Fi: When I was a kid my ambition (briefly) was to own a pet shop so I could play with the animals. And I was sure I’d have a couple of pet guinea pigs, called Josephine and Daphne. Thankfully I didn’t pursue the pet shop thing since I’m now allergic to animal hair. Awkward.
These days, as I can’t have pets, I draw animals instead. I draw other things too, but animals are my favourite.
Price Range: £4.50- £20
Website: https://www.foxandfinch.co.uk/
Fab Rap
FabRap is an award winning brand of reusable fabric gift wrapping. Join the reuse revolution with beautifully illustrated, reusable fabric gift wrap for every occasion.
FabRaps are ethically made from 100% certified organic cotton. Zero waste and multi-purpose, these gift wraps are used time and again to delight and enhance the act of giving. The very best alternative to throw-away paper to treasure and pass on to cherished family and friends, or to keep forever.
I love wrapping up beautiful gifts and these wraps and would make any gift extra special this year and for many more years to come.
Fun Fact from Henna: Being of Indian origin, she grew up surrounded by luxurious textiles and was always fascinated by the immense array of colours, fabrics and designs she would find during visits to India.
Price Range: £7.99- £26.99
Website: https://fabrap.co
Follow: @fabrap_
Badger and Birch
Badger & Birch has a growing range of recycled and sustainable eco-resin homeware and gifts. Their pieces are handmade from an eco resin that is non-toxic and free from VOCs.
These cute personalised terrazzo white eco-resin and recycled shell hanging tree decorations are hand-finished, waxed and threaded with crushed velvet grey ribbon and can be personalised with a name or initials for a loved one.
The whole collection is beautiful and I particularly love this adorable set of three-star meditation candles in pink nude terrazzo. Comes beautifully presented in a natural Badger and Birch gift pouch and with three natural beeswax candles.
Fun Fact from Hazel: Maker Hazel works closely with a local restaurant in Falmouth, Cornwall where she is based and takes their waste mussel, oyster and scallop shells to recycle into handcrafted pieces. The shells are cleaned and crushed ready to become terrazzo embedded into the eco resin. A process of hand wet sanding exposes the shells and patterns created.
Price Range: £10- £69
Website: https://www.badgerandbirch.co.uk
Follow: @badgerandbirch
Georgie Murton
After gaining critical acclaim as a tailor, Georgie identified a gap in the market for a forward-thinking lifestyle brand, that embodied her passion for uncompromising quality, whilst remaining individually unique. Georgie Murton was launched to meet that need and boasts a range of hand-made garments and home accessories that are designed for life. Every product is finished to the highest quality and is designed to be durable and seasonally transitional.
I love that these crackers are designed and handmade to last, whilst encapsulating the fun of a traditional cracker. They can be pulled, and still create a ‘winner’. The velcroed ends create a satisfying rip sound, to replace the usual bang. Sustainable and fun!
Fun Fact from Georgie: After leaving school at 18, Georgie pursued her passion for sewing and secured an exclusive apprenticeship as a coat maker at an internationally renowned Mayfair based tailor.
Price Range: £4- £40
Website: www.georgiemurton.co.uk
Follow: georgiemurtonuk
Made by Shannon
Made by Shannon is an environmentally conscious design brand based in the quaint village of Abinger Hammer, Surrey. Shannon is passionate about creating products that are high quality and bring joy & laughter into people’s everyday lives.
These adorable snowmen are carefully handmade in the UK using vintage French linen fabric that has been sourced from across the UK and France. The pink snowmen are naturally hand-dyed using avocado stones. Each one arrives with a vintage fabric scarf.
Shannon has a range of personalised ceramic and wooden decorations and a big range of really beautiful cards and everything is so thoughtfully made and I love how her cards are both beautiful and fun, you might have come across her cards in one of her 200+ stockists.
Fun Fact from Shannon: Her latest find is eco-friendly card stock that is handmade in a traditional mill in England using the fun & unusual ingredient of reindeer poo which creates a beautiful flecked card.
Price Range: £3- £30
Website: www.madebyshannon.co.uk
Follow: @madebyshannon
Moon and Mountain
Inspired by the positive energy of the outdoors, Moon & Mountains Clay Designs, hand-make clay keepsakes for sentimental and joyful gift giving.
Text is hand stamped and can be personalised, so you can create a special gift to be loved and treasured.
Kate happily creates bespoke items for a variety of occasions and she enjoys creating pieces that she knows people will treasure and bring joy and she can even source custom made cutters for completely one of a kind gifts.
I love the Swedish Dala häst and the shape and intricate motif on this one reminds me of the 3 carved houses that are in my living room.
Fun Fact from Kate: Everything is handmade in small village in Kent, so you can be sure that it will be a unique item made with a great deal of attention to finish.
Price Range: £2- £20
Website: www.moonandmountainsclay.etsy.com
Follow: @moonandmountainsclaydesigns
Whole Punching
Whole Punching is a cosy one stop shop for everything punch needle - from complete beginner punch needle beginner kits and rug yarn to fabric, tools and punch needle workshops.
Whole Punching welcomes beginners, experts and everyone in between to embrace a slower-paced, sustainable lifestyle through contemporary craft, as we provide high quality materials and guidance along the way.
Designed & made in the UK, recyclable packaging, contemporary craft kits for the modern maker.
I love how modern Sara's kits are and can't wait to make my own Christmas tree decorations this year + I've got my eye on the cushion kit too.
Fun Fact from Sara: I started my business whilst I worked in Student Experience Enhancement for a University. When I started selling on Etsy 3 years ago there weren't any other punch needle kits on there! Now there are tons.
Price Range: For kits £32.50- £100
Website: https://www.wholepunching.co.uk/
Follow: @wholepunching
Unwind Studio
Unwind Studio is home of truly unique, artist-designed crafts that, through the process of mindfully creating them, you have the power to bring you back to yourself.
Crafts are the perfect antidote to modern life. They help us switch off from stress, mental noise and distractions, and move into a relaxed state of being ‘in the flow’. Charles Eames said it best when he said “take your pleasure seriously” because the time we give to taking care of ourselves is the best investment we can make. Allowing time to be creative helps us do everything else better in life – and you have a beautiful piece of artwork to show for it at the end, which will last a lifetime.
I love that Unwind Studios collaborate with so many different artists so that there's a kit for everyone. This decoration is designed by artist Audrey Wu.
If you're based in the UK order through their Etsy shop.
Fun Fact from Cris: Our products are designed by artists from all over the world, supporting talented creatives, and offering designs you can’t find anywhere else.
Price Range: £12- £55
Website: https://www.unwind.studio/
Follow: @unwind.studio
If you'd like to see the full Christmas gift guide for 2021 please visit this link.
I hope these Christmas decorations have inspired you and I would love to hear if you have supported ay of the small businesses featured. Don't forget to tag me over on Instagram, @small_business_collaborative, with your unique finds - I love to see them!
Thank you so much to all the 260+ businesses that took the time to apply to this years gift guides, I really appreciate you. And thank you to Adele who helped me put this all together. If you need help with your online product listings for Etsy, Faire, Shopify and more, Adele can help. You can find all your details over on her website.