Tis’ the season for giving and sharing kindness with one another. However, Brexit has made aspects of online shopping unnecessarily complex and ultimately, more costly than one would hope with extra import duties and customs fees. We don’t need that kind of stress during Christmas! In recent years, there has been a cultural shift towards supporting local and buying local. It’s a fantastic way to support small Irish businesses, save on import fees and it helps us to be kinder to the environment. Less delivery planes and ships, less carbon dioxide emissions and everyone’s happy.
In the spirit of this, NewsFour wanted to do a round-up of the best local options available for presents during this Christmas season. Time to get festive!
The Gift Edit
The Gift Edit is a new concept that launched in Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre in November and will run until December 31st. The pop-up shop includes a combination of sustainable, Irish products from female creators. Three small businesses merged together to create this concept, those being The Beauty Kit (Makeup and skincare), Dainty Bear (Children’s clothing and accessories) and Hue Complete Me (Quirky stationery and ornaments). Expect to see luxurious skincare products, adorable Christmassy baby clothes and fun-felt Christmas dinosaur decorations and illustrated cards. They’ve really got a good few gift bases covered with unique and thoughtfully curated presents. Definitely check them out in Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre if you’re passing!
Quaffolla Coffee
Who doesn’t love the aroma of a freshly ground authentic Italian coffee? Well, the new Irish/Italian brand Quaffolla has you covered. This family run business brings the joy and warmth of their hometown in South Italy, right into your Irish kitchen. Do you remember the famous ice-cream shop, Caffolla, on O’Connell Street, the great grandfather of this family ran it! The proud Irish-Italian connection runs deep with Quafolla. They also have a blog section on their website, to tell their family story of how they came to Ireland; coffee and history, a perfect match. Their products include a delicious Famiglia Italian blend, with notes of dark chocolate and a full-bodied taste. They also stock an Oro Italian blend, made from rich Arabica beans and infusing them with the taste and body of Robusta coffees, delicious! Quaffolla have both ground coffee and beans at very affordable prices, available to purchase on their website.
Avoca- Ballsbridge
This year Avoca launched a selection of Christmas charity items in support of St Patrick’s Mental Health Services. They stock beautifully unique, in-house made candles in cedarwood and sandalwood scents, as well as a bespoke print collaboration with Dusty Boy Designs that reads, “In the bare winter wood, hear the hope springs of the heart”. One hundred percent of the proceeds from these items will go to the St Patrick’s Mental Health Services charity, ‘A Walk in My Shoes’ campaign. Charity Christmas cards are also available, but what a lovely gesture to help those in need while giving the gift of kindness this wonderful time of the year.
2 Wheels – Sandymount
It’s somewhat of a tradition to get a bike at Christmas, not just for the young but why not for us adults too! 2 Wheels is a wonderful local bike shop located in the heart of Sandymount and they stock a wide array of children’s and adults’ bicycles in many styles, they also have electric bikes available. The price range for children’s bikes comes in at around €150-€300 new and for adults, it’s around €600-1500 on average for a new bike. There’s nothing like feeling that rush of wind in your hair as you hop on your bike and hit the road, that’s priceless. There’s an added bonus in the sustainability category here, not only are you shopping local but you’re also cutting the emissions yourself!
There’s lots of ways we can support local and buy sustainably this season, for example, supporting your local green grocer or farmers markets (shout out to the Supernatural Food market on Pearse Street!) by making hampers to give to loved ones, or as a treat for yourself. After the two years we’ve had I think it’s well deserved. Don’t give yourself a hard time about shopping online either, it’s a necessity in this day and age and there’s only so many hours in the day. Just try to think about buying from Irish-made brands and producers because for smaller brands, every sale makes their Christmas that little bit more special.
Brands mentioned
Dainty Bear: https://daintybear.com/
Hue Complete Me: https://www.huecompleteme.com/
The Beauty Kit: https://thebeautykit.com/
Quaffolla Coffee: https://quaffolla.com/
2 Wheels Bikes: https://2wheels.ie/
Supernatural Food Market: https://www.supernatural.ie/
