READY or not, Christmas is coming! And there’s no better time of year to support Scotland’s hard-working crafters, artists and small business by stocking up on cards, decorations and gifts for your loved ones.
Whether you’re sending it abroad or handing it to your next-door neighbour, a card celebrating Scotland’s beautiful landscapes and stunning architecture is sure to go down well. Bonnie n Braw have a stunning pack of cards celebrating Glasgow landmarks (including the stadiums of a certain two football teams), while artist Ella Bruty has given Edinburgh street scenes a dusting of snow for her illustrated three-pack (and given a Highland cow various festive makeovers, including decking its horns with baubles).
Bonnie n Braw cards, £12 for 12
Christmas cards, £2.50 (3 for £8)
Highland cow card, £2.50 (£8 for 3)
If a rural scene is more your vibe, Alice Newman has a gorgeous card featuring a snowy lodge at the foot of Buachaille Etive Mor.
Christmas card, £3 (4 for £10)
Edinburgh-based Harriet Julia’s food-themed Christmas cards look good enough to eat (or indeed frame), while Motherwell-based Owl And Brew has given a can of Tennent’s the festive treatment.
Foodie Christmas cards, 4 for £10
Christmas card, £2.99, Owl and Brew
If’ you’d like to wish someone happy Christmas in Gaelic, try Wild Child Studio for a pink, red and white card or Isle of Lewis Card Co for a white, blue and yellow one.
When it comes to decorations it’s easy to find cheap, disposable tinsel and tat, but look a little harder and you’ll find hand-crafted creations with bags of charm that you’ll delight in unpacking year after year. Our makers of the month, Glasgow 3D, have adapted their wonderful Glasgow chess pieces to make snow globe decorations (available with or without water) containing iconic Glasgow sights such as the Finnieston Crane (below, £22), while Fishing Float Art creates exquisite glass baubles painted with lighthouses, puffins and oyster catchers.
READ MORE: Pay tribute to some national icons with gifts and treats Made in Scotland
Painted glass baubles, Fishing Float Art
Is there anything more adorable than a crafter who specialises in fairies? The Shetland Fairy has a range of delightful hanging decorations, each one “lovingly infused with Reiki”. Lewis-based Pickleberry Studios offer precision-cut wooden decorations in a range of festive shapes including snowflakes and gingerbread men, Bute Crafts have adorable happy elf garlands made from felt and wooden beads in a range of colours, and if that’s no enough magic for you, Edinburgh-based bespoke specialists Twenty-Seven can rustle you up a personalised acrylic unicorn that can be used as a gift tag and then brought out year after year to be hung on the tree.
Christmas fairy, The Shetland Fairy, £20
Happy elf garland, £15, Bute Crafts
Personalised decoration, £4.50
Wooden decorations, £7, Pickleberry Studios
Last but not least are some candles that will likely remain unburned for quite a while, as they are just too lovely to look at. Glasgow-based Noord Candles makes Christmas tree candles with a choice of pine or cinnamon scents, while Edinburgh-based Kind Candles has mittens that look so cosy you won’t believe they’re wax.
Christmas tree candles, £5.80-£9.50
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