This year Christmas gifting feels different. A recent survey* shows that 49% of people won’t be spending as much as previous years on gifting. With the rising cost of living, it’s more important than ever to spend wisely. If you’re still choosing to buy gifts for friends and family, scope out lots of options to make sure you get them something they will truly love and need.
We have put together a gifting guide full of lovely tea-related goodies (for the tea-lover in your life) and products from local bands that we love. Now… all you need to do is choose something from the list to gift to friends and family, or hint heavily to them if you spot something that you’d love yourself!
From Dorset With Love - Award-winning Preserves
From Dorset With Love produce the most scrummy jams and chutneys. They’re all home-made in small batches and wherever possible they use local ingredients. Whether you’re looking for stocking fillers for your partner, a little gift for your neighbour or a sweet treat for your great Aunt, everyone will be delighted with one of their pots of deliciousness! We partnered with From Dorset With Love earlier this year when they provided the jam for our communi-tea afternoon tea event with Age UK North, South & West Dorset. We love their trio of jams – they’d be divine slathered onto croissants or toast on Christmas morning accompanied of course, by a delicious cup of Dorset Tea!
Cornish Ware - Beautiful Tableware
We absolutely love the iconic tableware made by Cornishware. The 12oz mugs are perfect for a decent cup of tea and while our favourite is the blue, with 11 colours to choose from you can’t go wrong! Pair with a selection of our tea and even one of their beautiful betty or rosie teapots for a really special gift!
Black Cow - Pure Milk Vodka
Launched in 2012 from West Dorset, Black Cow is the world’s first pure milk vodka! They take what is left over from grass grazed cows milk after making cheese and turn it into something surprising! Deliciously smooth and now with three flavoured vodkas to choose from as well as the original, this is a gift for a friend who likes the unexpected! Back in the summer on one of our communi-tea events, we worked with local charity Room to Reward to help them raise vital funds for their cause. As well as refreshing iced teas, we also served a delicious iced tea cocktail pairing Black Cow’s Strawberry vodka with our Strawberries and Cream fruit tea! The recipe (Strawberry Fields) can be found here and together these products would make a lovely gift!
Cherry Picked Hampers - Dorset Goodies
Award winning local company, Cherry Picked Hampers offer a huge selection of artisan food, wine and beer from Dorset. Packaged up in gorgeous reusable hampers you can choose something to suit any budget and any taste and they offer a bespoke service too. We love seeing our teas nestled alongside other goodies from Dorset!
Conker Spirit - Dorset Gin & Coffee Liqueur
Established eight years ago in Southbourne, Conker Gin has been flying off the shelves locally and nationally ever since! We can safely say it’s some of the tastiest gin we’ve ever tried and their attractive bottles and eco packaging also helps to make them a lovely present for someone. You could even pair with a box of earl grey Dorset Tea and the recipe for a lady grey cocktail for a fun gift!
Marine Conservation Society – Ocean Puzzles
The Marine Conservation Society is our charity partner and they are working tirelessly to protect our oceans. We work with them on local beach cleans and to ensure the packaging of our sunshine blend is fully recyclable. Their website is a fantastic place to read all about their valuable work and they also have their very own shop selling clothing, gifts and accessories. We absolutely love this 1000 piece octopus puzzle featuring an image taken in British waters! What could be cosier than settling down with your favourite cuppa and a jigsaw!
*Survey by YouGov October 2022.