Good evening and welcome back to Mac Claire! I hope you're all doing well; I know it's very hard right now with the stress of the holidays and the Coronavirus Pandemic all swirled into one. I hope my articles provide you with a few moments to de-stress each week though, as you escape into the world of Music, Arts & Culture.
This week's featured article is a holiday special feature all about the "gifty" side of Christmas. I'll be highlighting some small businesses that I bought gifts from for my loved ones (and a few that I splurged on for myself), plus fun styles of gift wrapping and one shop that makes specialty wrapping paper that I absolutely adore! I'll have links to all of the businesses mentioned included at the end of the article.
Small Businesses
Bookshop
Lately I've been trying to do more of my book-buying from small businesses instead of large stores and a great way to do that right now with ease and safety due to COVID is through Bookshop. With Bookshop, you can order books online and select an affiliated independent bookstore in your region that you'd like a portion of your purchase's proceeds to go to. My mom is a huge reader so it was great to order her a bunch of books from Bookshop!
Magically Styled
I've mentioned this a few times before, but for those of you who didn't know, I'm a massive Harry Potter fan. One of my favorite places for magical shopping and retail is Magically Styled! This holiday season I purchased the new Nargles ornament and Holiday Honeydukes Candy sticker from one of their Instagram feed sales and I can't wait to see what other wonderful products they'll have coming in the future!
Holly Nichols Illustration
Holly Nichols designs fashion illustrations and runs a small business where she sells them in both print and digital form, as well as on mugs, gift tags, coloring books, and more. Over the years I've purchased a lot of prints from Holly's shop, but I also make sure that every Christmas season I order her Twelve Month Fashionably Illustrated Calendar for my sister!
Etsy (Maple Grove Creations & Talks To Cats)
It's widely known that Etsy is one of the best places to purchase cute, one-of-a-kind products from small businesses. This year I purchased some adorable peppermint candy swirl ceramic car coasters for myself from Maple Grove Creations and blue swirl marble sandstone car coasters for another family member from Talks To Cats. Everyone in my family has this type of coaster in the cup holders of their car, and it's fun to check out the unique designs available on Etsy.
Gift Wrapping
Every year I try to select a fun wrapping paper design (plus gift tags!) to wrap my Christmas presents in; usually there's a little bit of a theme/style too. This year's wrapping paper is a thick, light blue paper featuring characters from The Nutcracker like Clara, The Mouse King, The Sugar Plum Fairy, and The Nutcracker himself. The paper is coated with a glittery sheen. My gift tags are tie-on Nutcracker tags. Styling the wrapping adds a special touch to my presents and makes them aesthetically pleasing as well!
Oftentimes I'll pick up my wrapping must-have items at after-Christmas sales in everyday stores like Marshall's or Home Sense. One unique shop, however, that makes specialty wrapping paper that I absolutely adore and is totally worth putting in a special order from is Bash Party Goods; Christmas accessories, gift wrap, cards, decorations, tableware, baking supplies- you name it, they've got it! My favorite part about their products is how quirky and fun they are... Happy Blue Christmas Trees Wrapping Paper, Tinsel Party Wooly Mammoth Ornaments, etc. Check out more of their products at their link below!
Photo Courtesy of Bash Party Goods
Well, that's all for today folks! Have a very merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it and stay safe and healthy out there. ❤ I'll be back on the 31st with my last featured article of the holiday season; Mac New Year's Letter 🥂.
If you enjoyed this article, feel free to give it a heart and a share! You can also connect with Mac Claire on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Spotify. To make sure you never miss an article, click the "subscribe" button on the Mac Claire website to get the weekly email! For more information on all of the businesses mentioned above, check out the links below:
Links
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org
Magically Styled: https://magicallystyled.com
Holly Nichols Illustration: https://www.hnicholsillustration.com
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com
Bash Party Goods: https://bashpartygoods.com
Thanks for being a reader~
Claire
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