Hastings – Christmas Gift Haven
ALISON BUCHANAN offers some tips for last minute Christmas shopping
We are blessed in Hastings and St Leonards with an abundance of independent traders offering something for most tastes, quirky to classic, and at every price point. Most shops are open right up to Christmas Eve – so please join us. Here’s a taste of just a few as we take a Christmas gift trail wandering through St Leonards, into the town centre then along to George Street and the High Street.
The trail also contains enough coffee shops and bars along the way to lubricate your present pathway and give you the energy to keep going! As it’s now getting close to a final date for deliveries a visit to the local shops will save you the stress of ‘will it or won’t it arrive in time?’. Online shopping offers infinite choice, but if you’re a last-minute shopper, make sure to check the last date for deliveries before Christmas; it’s really not worth the angst when a friendly local shopkeeper will be delighted to see you.
FROM THE WEST
Let’s start in St Leonards. Norman Road has seen a minor shakeup with new arrivals Opahstore at number 58 and vintage clothing experts Sunless moving into a new space farther up the hill. Opahstore, run by local St Leonards’ siblings, offers thoughtfully selected, environmentally conscious, modern designs with a simple, stylish aesthetic, from all around the UK. Their handmade range includes their very own vegetable-dyed patchwork cushions, as shown here, to elegant ceramic mugs, crockery, soaps, fragrances and accessories from a range of emerging designers, all price points available. The beauty is you won’t find these designs anywhere else in Hastings and many are limited-edition items created in partnership with select artisans.
Across Norman Road at 53, Déjà Vu is tightly packed with antiques, art posters, decorative textiles, original artwork and so much more. SHOP at 32-34 Norman Road excels in beautifully packaged food, while Black Gull Books on the corner of London Road and North Street offers perfect books for art lovers, some unique first editions and excellent reading matter for local thinkers. If you’re shopping for a bookish friend, the knowledgeable staff will undoubtedly have some helpful suggestions.
For hands-on art, what about a gift voucher from St Leonards Art School offering sessions for aspiring artists of all ages? All materials are provided at the Art School’s delightful studio on Maze Hill, so all one needs to bring along is enthusiasm and imagination. Vouchers are available for one-hour classes (£13.50), two-hour classes (£20) or you can gift four two-hour sessions for £70. Available from stleonardsartschool.com.
ECLECTIC AVENUE
Heading into King’s Road you’ll find humour, style and quirkiness by the sackful. It’s worth popping into Popsicle at number 36 if your friends need, or would appreciate, a shot of humour for Christmas. One gift that always makes me chuckle is the tea towel advising “Do one thing to scare your family every day” whether that’s for a friend who excels in this behaviour or someone who might need a nudge to live a little more bravely, it’ll make anyone smile while they’re drying the dishes. You’ll also find great bags, books and colourful, glittery Tatty Devine jewellery for elegant sparkle. At Pass Muster, 41 Kings Road, this warm and welcoming shop has stylish, affordable accessories, an inviting selection of smellies, homewares and rugs and perfect stocking fillers like a lobster bottle opener or an elegant retro -style receipts tin for your favourite freelance friend. Their lovingly restored furniture might just be that perfect present for your nearest and dearest.
Bayte gift vouchers will cheer anyone up in the New Year with their delicious, Italian-inspired menu and relaxed dining (vouchers are available from £10 and upwards and can be purchased online at bayte.co.uk); or head west along the seafront to Half Man Half Burger for their inimitable BBQ sauce, aprons and sweatshirts or gift vouchers to spend on their juicy burgers.
King’s Road in St Leonards is crammed with independent stores, eateries, charity shops and second-hand stores but save some of your pennies for farther along the trail.
HEADING EAST
Walking along the seafront towards Hastings new town, you can stop off at the White Rock for a cuppa or cocktail, or pop into Barnaby’s for a nip of something warming. Don’t forget B and T Music at 9 Claremont for gifts to continue Hastings’ much loved music legacy. Is this the year for someone you love to start playing the ukulele or maybe something more complex? There’s an excellent range of instruments and a huge selection of printed music, but it’s one of those presents that probably needs prior consultation with the proposed recipient. Otherwise it could bomb as a gift idea!
Heliotique at 5 Trinity Street, a newish independent gift and lifestyle store, has a great selection of children’s toys and games as well as fun gifts for so-called grown-ups. That Green Shop at 4, Castle Street has charming knitted dinosaurs, a wide range of presents that can be engraved and some exceptionally quirky 3D printed animals.
Drifting into the Old Town along George Street you’ll find good ideas for presents for men at Scatter Box at number 46, including walking books, socks and grooming kits, and If you take a loved one along, you might also find their gift for you on the clothes rail which is awash with affordable cosy knits.
Rye Chocolates at 20 George Street couldn’t have a wider selection of Christmas chocolate: everything including Christmas pudding or Christmas candyfloss flavour to chocolate trees and, local favourites, the chocolate lobster; all perfect festive treats with bars at £6.95. They also sell a wide selection of Copper Pot Gin, from the local St Leonards distillers, in tempting flavours including Plum and Ginger or Navy Strength and perfectly packaged as gifts. The Copper Pot Gin Build-Your-Own Mini Gift Box is £25: find their full selection at copperpotgin.co.uk
At Butler’s Emporium, 70 George Street, you’ll find a beautiful selection of soaps, scarves, socks and jewellery to suit all budgets, and their clothes will last for years, keeping you warm, comfortable and effortlessly stylish over the winter. Check out the wrapping paper and ribbon for a truly colourful Christmas as well as silk bangles in every colour of the spectrum – the perfect small gift or stocking filler for the friend who has everything.
OLD TOWN TRINKETS
Across the road at 58 Hastings High Street, Reste smells incredible as you enter, so worth the visit just to inhale, and also offers one of the best selections of indoor plants in Hastings. The ‘70s ceramics collection sold here is colourful and affordable and one-off pottery and rugs might just be the perfect Christmas gift for the home. Your plants will thank you for investing in their stylish watering cans and your friends will love you forever if you gift their wellbeing kits – Sleep Easy and Self-Love.
A few shops along at Merchant 57, 57 Hastings High Street, you’ll find decorative gifts and homewares exquisite antiques and a perfect present if you want to help your friends stay off their phones: a stylish wall calendar in beautiful muted colours (£28), with nothing digital in sight. Judges at number 51 has an impressive selection of panettone – plain, chocolate, limoncello, prices from £13 to £30 as well as other edible gifts, perfectly wrapped.
Other delights on the High Street include Shop House Hastings at number 49 with a warm welcome and everything Peanuts, Moomin and Salty Sea Dog among other characterful gifts. Also worth a visit for unique locally crafted gifts, art and homewares head for Made in Hastings opened 20 years ago by six local women creatives at 82, High Street. Here you’ll find one-off ceramics, colourful knits, textiles and jewellery and the playful art of Claire Fletcher: detailed, innocent, beautifully realised and often a window on a magical seaside world.
Retro toys at Courthouse Cooperative on Courthouse Street will please fans of the Muppets, Rupert the Bear, Wallace and Gromit and ‘70s classic The Flowerpot Men. Courthouse Mews next door is a real treasure trove of unusual finds and worth a rummage alongside the many other second-hand stores on the High Street.
LOOKING YOUR FESTIVE BEST
And if you’re still searching for your Christmas frock, look no further than the following rails. Family-run vintage store Xanadu on Norman Road in St Leonards has a wide selection of one-offs in great condition from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, or on the other side of London Road back towards the station have a rummage at Cross Street Vintage. Don’t forget Substance for fancy dress outfits or if you’re planning to dress up for your kids on Christmas day.
In the town centre, British Heart Foundation’s shop has a good selection of party dresses in all sizes and further into the Old Town, Mame’s Place on George Street has brilliantly priced end-of-line pieces from High Street brands. Final stop is at 64a High Street, the best dress agency in Hastings, with an endless dress selection which changes all the time, offering well-priced one-off pieces – see you there!
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