After our gift list last year was so well-received — we thought it wouldn’t hurt to do the same again for 2022 and suggest some more businesses and brands we love. Well, you can’t buy everyone bottled cocktails, can you?
1. Candles by Mahn House
Mahn House is a candle brand founded in the heart of Suffolk. Their candles are a union of craftsmanship and fragrance using only the highest quality raw materials — all ethically and responsibly sourced. Mahn House candles are poured in handblown recycled glass and our packaging is fully recyclable using zero plastic. Suffolk-based with strong values? We’re fans.
2. Norwich & Norfolk Guide by Compendia
Although we’re Suffolk through and through, we don’t mind a jaunt north to explore Norwich or the beautiful north Norfolk coastline and Compendia have created the ultimate guide to the best independent places to eat, drink, play, shop, party, sleep and heal in the region. Featuring over 200 hidden gems, local insider guides and interviews with local movers and shakers, it’s a must for any East Anglian’s shelf.
3. Beer by Small Beer
Christmas can get a bit OTT in terms of food and booze, so with half an eye on a much-needed detox in January, we recommend Small Beer. Born out of the historical quirk of drinking beer to avoid dirty drinking water, their beers are brewed to 0.5 - 2.8% rather than being completely alcohol-free.
4. The Norfolk Nog by The English Whisky Distillery
…if you’re looking for something stronger! The Norfolk Nog is made with English Single Malt Whisky and lots of cream, the resulting Nog is both light and delicate. Best served on ice, but equally at home poured over ice cream, this is a drink to be shared with friends, and created just down the road from us by our friends at The English Whisky Distillery.
5. Weekend away at room2
If you fancy a weekend in the city – either for a last-minute Christmas shopping trip or to book as a gift itself – look no further than Room2’s new Chiswick hotel. Inspired by the arts and crafts movement it’s packed with style and stands out as the first hotel in the world to offset 100% of the carbon emissions from conception through to end-of-life. Impressive.
6. Unique gifts from A New Tribe
While you’re in London, swing by one of our favourite shops and browse their globally gathered curation of hard-to-find beautiful objects for your home. Too many options for us to choose a standout product, their eye for unique items is second to none.
7. Perfume by Maya Njie
Inspired by her Swedish and West African culture, Maya Njie has been developing unisex perfumes since 2016. Maya has designed bespoke packaging by incorporating the dreamy colour ways extracted from her family’s photographs – inspired by the nostalgia, memories and moments evoked through scent.
8. Gift tags by Mabel & Co
We’re big fans of local print aficionados Mabel & Co, they have something for the papyrophiliac (paper-lover) in your life. Browse their shop for notebooks, cards and other stationery; we’re particularly fond of their minimal letterpress Christmas gift tags.
9. Weekend away at Hand Picked Hotels
Another idea for a special getaway, Hand Picked hotels have a collection of beautiful luxury country house hotels. With over 20 locations across the UK, their stunning properties make for rather lavish escapes – and plenty of them have spas on site to boot. Sumptuous.
10. Cocktails by Edmunds (of course!)
Where would a christmas gift list be without a box of cocktails? If you’re reading this, we probably don’t need to bang on about our award-winning collection of classic and contemporary cocktails. Probably not worth mentioning how you can pick a box of 6 to create the perfect gift. And we’ll spare you the sales pitch extolling our sustainable values. You already know all that: go grab a box!
That’s it for another year. We hope you’ve found something new, and have been encouraged to shop local and independent this Christmas. If you have any more ideas for us, please get in touch, we always love meeting new and interesting businesses doing good things!
