Shop Small UK Guide – Christmas 2021

We are officially less than two weeks away from Christmas now and DAMN it’s starting to feel real! I’m just about finished now with most of my Christmas presents in the run up to the big day, but in some cases I’ve been and still am in need of some inspiration. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve really struggling this year to find the perfect gifts for Dane, my friends and especially my mom! My dad has been the easiest person to buy for this year, which makes a change. 😛

Alongside my Christmas present woes, I always enjoy writing and sharing gift guides with you all and this year is no exception. Last year I wrote about independent businesses in the UK that you should buy from and I wanted to do that again this year. The past twenty-one months has been hard for everyone, especially independent businesses, whether or not they existed before or after COVID began. This doesn’t just apply to the UK, but I’ve seen a lot of small businesses struggle lately, and in worse cases close down due to not being able to make enough sales to keep going.

I really want to continue to do my bit in helping these businesses as much as I can. Not only do I hope it helps you gain some new gift ideas, but I also hope it introduces you to some businesses you may not have heard of before and decide to shop with going into the New Year!

I still love a lot of the small businesses I mentioned last year, so I will link that post here! I won’t be mentioning businesses again that I spoke of last year, just so it’s fair on other businesses mentioned here.

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this blog post today! I’ll be mentioning stores last dates to order for Christmas too.

Image taken from SplashJaguarCo

SplashJaguarCo – Kawaii home and stationary items inspired by Animal Crossing. Rugs handmade in West Midlands, UK.

Last date to order for Christmas – 2nd Class 18th December and 1st Class 21st December. However, as Royal Mail are struggling at this time of year due to Christmas AND the new COVID variant, please bear in mind delays may occur. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

If there is one thing people have been really loving towards the end of the year, it’s been Animal Crossing! With the new update and Happy Home Paradise launching at the start of November, Animal Crossing fans have gone mad even more than ever. If you know someone who loves Animal Crossing, as well as stationary you should definitely check out SplashJaguarCo! Not going to lie the Cookie washi tape pictured above is on my Christmas list and I really hope I get it this year. I plan to use it to decorate my diary for 2022 and more. There are various characters to choose from to have on washi tape including Maple, Marshal, Tangy, Roald, Stitches and more! A roll or two of these cute little washi tapes would make perfect gifts for any Animal Crossing fan of any age or gender, whether it be for Secret Santa, a stocking filler and more.

Image taken from BeaconCandlesUK

BeaconCandlesUK – Scented candles for Gamers, Readers and Film Fanatics handmade in Manchester, UK.

Last date to order for Christmas – The store will be closing on Sunday 19th December. However, as Royal Mail are struggling at this time of year due to Christmas AND the new COVID variant, please bear in mind delays may occur. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

BeaconCandlesUK is a brand I’ve known about for as long as I can remember now and have always wanted to order from. I can’t remember how but I discovered them through their Lavender Town candle that is clearly inspired by the town in Pokemon. Not only does it sound amazing, but it looks really cool with the Cubone skull and bone on the top of the candle too. Alongside Pokemon candles you can also get some inspired by Final Fantasy, Animal Crossing, Lord of the Rings and more! The scents sound delicious and I’m sure these would make great gifts for any candle lovers out there! I’m contemplating buying some of these for friends this year for Christmas. I feel like candles make amazing gifts for people and it’s one of those where even if you aren’t sure what smells someone will like, if you bought a Pokemon fan one of the Pokemon candles, they would be so thankful!

Image taken from PokieMinx

PokieMinx – Terrariums and vanity desk gifts inspired by Pokémon & The Moomins. Handmade in South Yorkshire, UK.

Last date to order for Christmas – Unfortunately orders for Christmas have now ended. This being said the store IS still open with items being sent 1st Class tracked and signed so they arrived within 1-2 business day. However, as Royal Mail are struggling at this time of year due to Christmas AND the new COVID variant, please bear in mind delays may occur. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I couldn’t not share PokieMinx and her adorable creations! These would make perfect gifts for any Pokemon or The Moomins fan out there, especially if they’re like myself and have started to work from home part time. A terrarium with their favourite Pokemon inside sitting on their desk could really brighten their day. Or maybe a mirror? The Cubone one shown about is gorgeous and I can’t stop looking at it whenever I venture over to PokieMinx’s website whenever I take a look at it. Anything from PokieMinx’s store would make amazing and personal gifts for any Pokemon or The Moomins fans, especially as everything is handmade by Kimmy! There are also enamel pin/earring stands too so if you know someone who has started to get into collecting pins or earrings, these would make amazing gifts too.

Image taken from ARTBOX

ARTBOX – Cute character goods from Japan and Korea. Based in Covent Garden London, UK.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at the time of writing this blog post. If you’re based in or around London, the Covent Garden store will be open on Christmas Eve from 11am until 4pm. However, as Royal Mail are struggling at this time of year due to Christmas AND the new COVID variant, please bear in mind delays may occur. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I wanted to mention ARTBOX here as whilst it isn’t as independent as some Etsy sellers and independent stores might be online, it’s a great place to buy Japan and Korea based items, whether it be online or from their store in London. I’m yet to come to the day where I actually order something from them, which might be later today! 😛 ARTBOX would be a great place to get items for your friends and family who love Sanrio, Pusheen, Rilakkuma and BT21. There are all sorts of different items to buy from and at all price ranges so it’s perfect for anything and everything. Personally I’m toying with treating myself to the PomPomPurin plush shown above, which you can pose and dress up! How cute is that?!

Image taken from Stitchtothepast

Stitchtothepast -Video Games Cross Stitch, Patterns & Kits! Based in the UK.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at the time of writing this blog post. However, as Royal Mail are struggling at this time of year due to Christmas AND the new COVID variant, please bear in mind delays may occur. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

The final store I wanted to mention on today’s post is about Stitchtothepast, which is a store I discovered in the summer. If you’re a newbie to cross stitch, or a “pro” like me there is loads of choose from. Personally for gifts the cross stitch kits from their store would make great gifts for anyone, especially if they’re into Nintendo video games series such as Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Zelda, Kirby and more. I personally really love the look of the Animal Crossing Celeste cross stitch kit where she’s stargazing. It’s such a gorgeous design and one I would love to do and display in my house in the future. The kits are really good and come with a cross stitch guide, a wooden hoop, thread and a thread organiser, pattern, a needle and more. If you know someone who would like to get into cross stitch in 2022, one of the kits might make a great gift for them!

So, there we have it, my 2021 guide to small shops you should buy your Christmas gifts from this year! All UK based of course. 🙂

What do you guys think? I didn’t cover off as many stores and themes as I did last year, but I felt like last years post was so detailed, I couldn’t really improve on it as good this year. Please do check out last years guide too, those stores are still around and amazing to boot!

Honestly guys, I hope you enjoyed this post today as much as I enjoyed writing it. I watched Christmas movies whilst writing, as well as chilling with Dane in our office. It’s made a lovely change sitting at my desk to do blog work.

Are there any small shops in the UK that you feel I should know about? Make sure to let me know and I’ll take a look for next time and promote on my Instagram page before the big day. 🙂

Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a lovely weekend. 😀

July Wish List ‘21

I can’t believe we’re already over a week into July! I also can’t believe Halloween is just around the corner too, as well as Christmas. Not going to lie, I love summer but damn am I excited for autumn in September! I have so many plans this year. 😛

I feel like July on my blog is turning into a strange month for posts. Nothing has really come out in the pattern/order I wanted it to and this is just purely because June felt like a long month for me and a tiring month at that. A lot of stuff was happening and although I had a week off work, I don’t at all feel rested.

My Twitch streams are keeping me busy too and I have so many ideas swirling around for the future of Twitch and more… I want to “announce” it here (if you will…) and say that I’m hoping to do YouTube in the future. I don’t know when, but I have so many ideas going around my head after a friend of mine planted the seed.

That aside, I’m really excited for this months wish list! Some items are pre-ordered and some I’m really hoping to order… More below of course. 😛

I hope you guys are having a lovely weekend and if you’re watching the football (I’m not :P) I hope you get the results you hope for. 🙂

• Pikachu Tonal Chain Wallet by Loungefly – (link)

If there is one thing I kind of lack in, it’s shoulder bags. I only really have one (my fake Samantha Vega Sailor Moon shoulder bag) which is my go to, as well as one of my favourite bags as Dane bought it for me back in 2015 when we went to Hyper Japan. The fact it’s still lasted six years later is great! However, I would like something else to use alongside this and this Pikachu Loungefly bag looks to be the one for me! It’s available from the Pokemon Center USA website, but I’m going to source elsewhere me thinks. It’ll be one to use if I’m just popping round to friends, or going out for food/drinks. Think I might treat myself to it at the end if the month!

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2022 Day-to-Day Calendar – (link)

I found out about this through Twitter and pre-ordered is straight away! As many of you know, I LOVE Animal Crossing (I stream it twice a week on Twitch too :P) so when I saw they were bringing out a little day-to-day desk calendar I was tempted. However, when I found out it have villagers birthdays featured on the day in question, I kind of knew I had to get it for my desk! It’s out at the end of the month and you can pre-order one yourself from Amazon now. 😀

• Smoko Pearl Boba Tea Beauty Fridge – (link)

As regular readers will know, I LOVE Smoko and the items they have out, especially the Asian food and potato characters. I’ve been eyeing up the fridge on their website for what feels like years now, so now it’s come to Urban Outfitters in the UK I would really like to pick it up! I very much doubt I will though, but I wanted to show it off to you guys in case you want to get it! 😀

• Pokemon Plamo Collection Mew Plastic Model – (link)

This is something that has been on my wish list for quite some time now and I’d still really love it! I think it would be so much fun to get, make a video of me putting together/stream me putting it together. I’ve not seen anyone in the UK selling this, but I have found it on From Japan, as well as Amazon Japan (linked above) so I think as and when I want to make an order from either in the future, I’m going to pick this up. I want to keep this little cutie on my desk next to my Sylveon capchara (can see and read about it here). I think there’s loads of these you can choose from too including Pikachu, Eevee, Gengar, Mewtwo, etc. If you search for “Pokemon Plamo Collection” on Amazon Japan you’ll see them all. 🙂

• PomPomPurin Bell Charm Netsuke Strap – (link)

This is something I’ve been after for a while and actually found it through a seller on Etsy, but wasn’t 100% sure so left. Now that ARTBOX has it in stock I may order it when payday comes at the end of the month! I’d pop this bell charm on my Loungefly PomPomPurin backpack! I’m planning to show that off on my blog in the future, which will be so cute! 😀 I do really love ARTBOX, but I’ve never actually made an order with them!

• The Sad Ghost Club Sad Ghost Plush – (link)

Finally we have a pre-order item that I ordered last week after it released. The owner of SGC decided to bring out a plush of the Sad Ghost and I couldn’t resist! For those who may never have heard, SGC “We’re a small creative project making comic books, apparel and merchandise to spread positive awareness of mental health.” which I adore. It makes me feel less lonely and understood when their posts relate to how I’m doing that day with my anxiety and depression. So, when I saw that they’d brought out a plush of the little cutie, I had to order! This little guy will sit with my plushies in my plush cabinet! If you’re really interested in getting your own Sad Ghost, please make sure to snap him up now because it’s only a limited edition item with one run!

Anyhoo guys, those are my wish list items for July! I’m on a spending ban this month in all honesty due to buying my new car, but I’m going to start spending less now, because I need to. I think I’ll have a few treats a month and then that’s it! 🙂

What items are on your wish lists? Do you like what’s on mine? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below!

Until next time guys, I hope you’re having a lovely weekend and take care. 🙂

June Wish List ‘21

I am officially off work for a week! HORRAY! This has been much needed as I can’t actually remember the last time I was on holiday for more than a few days or over a long weekend. Work has been busy lately so it’s much needed! I’m excited to spend time with Dane, as well as some much needed catch up time with friends.

I do have some amazing and exciting news to share with you all for this month wish list post… I made affiliate on Twitch on Tuesday! I always said I wanted to aim for gaining affiliate at the end of May, but I got it on the first day of June instead, which is close enough. 😛

It’s also mine and Dane’s eight year anniversary on Tuesday. The years have flown by! It’ll be nice just to spend the day together. We’re planning to have a chilled day and have a picnic style dinner with drinks and yummy snack foods. 😀

I have decided in June that I’m actually going to be on a spending ban due to being a little bit too spend happy in May. I have zero regrets for a lot of the items I purchased and pre-ordered but yeah, I’ve been a bit silly. 😛

This month there are a few items on the list that are pre-orders and one that is a HUGE wish list item… Pretty sure you’ll already see which one that is, huh? 😛

• Smoko Astro Tayto Night Light – (link)

As regular readers may know and remember, I LOVE Smoko and their cute AF original characters and homeware items. It all started off with Elodie the Unicorn and has slowly moved over to Asian food related items and Tayto. A cute coach potato with big goals in life. Recently he’s been sent off into space, ASTRO TAYTO!  As Smoko is located in America, I always keep eyes peeled on Firebox’s website for any new Smoko releases. Last week Astro Tayto was added to the website and I had to fight the urge to order him there and then. I’d love to get him for my desk, at least in our bedroom to be with the other Smoko night lights I own!

• Studio Ghibli Kiki’s Delivery Service Jiji & Soft Toy Jiji Clock – (link)

I’ve had this item bookmarked in my “wish list” folder for quite some time now, but due to the price I’ve just not made the plunge to order it. I would like a clock in our office as we don’t actually have one and a Ghibli themed one would be to die for! This one is of Jiji and toy Jiji together, which I think is such a cute idea personally! Kiki’s Delivery Service has fast turned into one of my favourite Ghibli movies over the years and it was only from being in Japan in January 2020 that made me realise how much I love it. 🙂

• Sanrio PomPomPurin x Miki Takei Mini Letter Set – (link)

I decided in 2020 with everything that went on with lockdown that I would really love to write letters to some of my friends as a reminder of how much I love them, how proud I am of them and sometimes share some old and funny memories too! I bought a wax seal stamp set last year/early 2021 too so I’d love to seal letters with that! As many regular readers will know, I LOVE Pompompurin, the cute little pudding dog created by Sanrio. This letter set is so fucking cute and I definitely want a couple of packs in my life so I can write to my friends.

• JeanaDraws Lakko the Otter Apparel, Bag & Pins Kickstarter – (link)

This is a Kickstarter that I backed at the end of May and also one that doesn’t begin to fulfil until the end of the year in December. I wanted to mention it on this months wish list though because I wish I could have the cardigan I’ve backed for NOW! There are various items to back for, including knitwear, a plushie bag and enamel pins. As shown in the image I’m backing for he brown cardigan. I do love snuggling in cardigans in the colder months and I think this one is perfect for me with both working from home and out and about. I’d also really love to back for the Lakko bag too, but this isn’t my style, sadly.

• Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Tohru and Kanna Plushies.

These are pre-order items from YY Kawaii back in January and I cannot wait for them to arrive this month. Regular readers will know that Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is one of my favourite anime and manga series. When I saw these two cuties available for pre order I wanted to snag them to keep in our bookshelf with all my copies of the manga. I think they’re due around the end of June so I’ll soon be showing them off on Instagram when they’ve arrived.

• Hot Topic Studio Ghibli Kiki’s Delivery Service Oversized Cardigan.

Another Kiki’s Delivery Service AND cardigan item! I saw this for sale on Hot Topic a while ago and fell in love with it, however I didn’t like how much it might cost me to get it to the UK, so I left it. I recently discovered it for sale on a website based in the UK, so in the future I might buy it from them, if not a personal shopper I use in America. It’s a cute and simple cardigan, I like the fact it’s cream as I don’t own anything like that. Most of my cardigans are rainbow colours. It would be nice to have a neutral one for the summer months.

• Maybe a new car…?

Finally… I MIGHT be getting myself a new car this month. I spontaneously starting looking at cars online and I’ve discussed with Dane. I wouldn’t get a brand new one by the way, but I’d definitely opt for a car with a good age against it. My current car is amazing and gets me from A to B, but I think it’s starting to show it’s age of late. I want a car me and Dane can share so if he doesn’t want to use his, we can always use mine in confidence. Plus, it would have something nice like that! I said when I returned from Japan I would get myself a new car, but then COVID happened and messed up my plans. We shall see… I’ve seen one I like which we might go with. You never know. 🙂

So, there we have it! My wish list for June! I’m really excited for June to be honest with you, the weather is already gorgeous and we’re already getting plans organised with people who we’ve missed during lockdown and COVID.

Not only am I interested in what you guys have on your wish lists this month, but do you have plans with loved ones and friends this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time guys, take are and I’ll see you next time!

April Wish List ’20

I can’t believe we are already into April… This past year has gone by so bloody quick, it’s just a shame that coronavirus is around at the moment really. 😦 As I’m writing this I am nearing the first week of isolation and working from home. It’s been nice to be honest… I like staying in sometimes to have time for me and Dane but I also miss friends who I am meant to see. 😦

I’ve found that during isolation I’ve been online shopping a little… I can’t help it, I’m bored and want lovely things if I can’t go out for meals, coffee dates and shopping trips with friends! 😛

I feel like this months wish list is boring, but this is all I could think of to be honest with you all… As I said, anything I am seeing and liking the look of, I’ve been ordering/buying!

I hope you guys enjoy this months wish list!

• Tarte Cosmetics Sugar Rush™ Star Factor Cleansing Face Brush (link)

I noticed someone on Instagram using this face brush over and over again and it looks really good! I’ve used different face brushes in the past and whilst some were good and some where bad, I would like to try something again. Good ol’ fashioned hands is always great, but brush may help! This isn’t cheap at over £15 and especially the postage over £6! I was planning to buy it too but MONEY! This is an item I’m going to keep my eye on as I would definitely love to pick it up in the future.

• Insert Coin Persona 5 Futaba Is AFK Coat (link)

I cannot express enough how much I WANT THIS COAT! As many of my readers will know by now, I love Persona 5 and have so much merchandise (inc clothing from Insert Coin) since it came out in 2017. I do have a parka, just like this one but I hardly wear it anymore as I just… Don’t? This Futaba coat looks really good and would be perfect to throw on throughout all the seasons! At the same time… I do wonder if it’s me. The one thing that really puts me off ordering it however, is the price. £99.99 is expensive for a coat in my opinion. I’ll wait for this to go down in price…

• Artbox PomPomPurin Café Sweets Ballpoint Pen with Spoon Clip (link)

I have just written a blog post about the stationary items I picked up from Japan (which you can read about here) and here I am, wanting more! I saw this cute PomPomPurin pen from Artbox and it’s adorable! PomPomPurin is a little custard pudding, which I love to eat when I can get one! I don’t need anymore pens, but this is honestly adorable. I would love to pick up some more kawaii stationary soon.

• Appleminte Isabelle Pin (link)

I’ve actually pre-ordered this pin now, but I just needed to. It wasn’t cheap to be honest due to the shipping from America, but I don’t care. In May I should be receiving an Animal Crossing itabag I ordered, so I want to make sure to fill it with adorable Animal Crossing related pins! Isabelle is sat down in her New Horizons attire, whilst holding a glass of vacation juice. SO CUTE! Definitely needed a pin of Isabelle in her new uniform, she’s the best girl!

• Nintendo Switch Good Job! (link)

This game was recently announced during the Nintendo Direct Mini last week and since watching it I have wanted Good Job! on the Switch to play when I’m not playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Your dad owns the company and you need to work your way up the ladder to be next to him, it just looks so quirky and fun! I will pop the YouTube video above so you can watch the trailer. 🙂

• Lime Crime Lip Pops in Retrograde (link)

I was pretty excited for this new launch from Lime Crime. I love my lip products/colours and I also rather like Lime Crime (especially after they were sold to better people…) so I do try and keep up with what they have out. The new Lip Pops that they have brought out are satin finish lipsticks that you click to get more product to pop up and click to pop the product away. Probably makes ZERO SENSE the way I am describing it. 😛 There are a couple of shades I like the look of, but Retrograde is one I am gravitating towards the most. It’s a sheer purple/blue shade which you can apply sheer, or build up for more colour. I haven’t seen these available in the UK yet, but I’ll be keeping eyes peeled for the future. With the lock down going on at the moment, there isn’t much point in getting any new lippies anytime soon.

• Lisa Angel House of Disaster ‘Secret Garden’ Fox Jar (link)

Finally, we have a cute fox item on my wish list that I recently discovered through Instagram. I remember falling in love with Lisa Angel back in 2016 when I bought my house, fast forward almost 4 years later and I have found myself looking on their website again at the cute goods they have to offer! I really love this fox jar, it’s so kawaii and kitsch/vintage looking. I don’t know what I could keep in it though to be honest if I picked it up…

So, that is my wish list for April! I cannot believe we’re already into the fourth month of the year and we’re probably going to be stuck in the house for most of it…

What do you guys have on your wish lists this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below, as well as what you’re up to during lock down.

Until next time all, take care and stay safe. 🙂