As the song says, Tis The Season To Be Jolly, but it is also the season to shop local if you’re looking to celebrate a more sustainable Christmas this year. The Surrey Hills is brimming with small businesses of the highest quality, creating their products and services locally and sustainably.

Look to these local businesses when shopping this festive season to gift loved ones with special, often one-off pieces created with true heart, whilst enjoying a greener Christmas, with products created close by, using sustainable materials and with a fully traceable provenance.

Whether it is delicious locally produced food or hand-crafted drinks, beautiful art or craft gifts or a voucher or gift experience, there is an inspiring small business ready and waiting to offer a solution to your Christmas shopping dilemmas this year.

Here is just a small selection of gift ideas from Surrey Hills Enterprises members this Christmas:

Foodie Gifts

The C’Hills Christmas Hamper (£75) from Chalk Hills Bakery contains a fantastic array of festive treats. Including Box of 4 Mince Pies, pack of 5 mini Florentines, Christmas Pudding, Cinnamon Stars, Gingerbread Father Christmas, Biscotti, Vanilla Fudge, pack of Pfeffernüsse spice biscuits, pack of Cheddar Cheese biscuits and a pack of Chalk Hills delicious Granola.

The Merry Christmas Box (£32.95) from Surrey gift delivery company Sensiful is full of delicious, local, seasonal treats with something for everyone to enjoy – Boxing Day Chutney from Jam Packed Preserves, Pink Marc de Champagne Truffles by Wicked & Wonderful, Organic Oat, Currant and Cacao Cookies by Nourish, and Christmas Tea by The Lawn Collection.

RoniB’s Kitchen is offering their Great Taste Gift Box 2023 (£26) this Christmas, featuring five of their Great Taste Winning products including Banana Ketchup, Black Bean Chilli Oil, Garlic Chilli Oil, Black Bean Chilli Paste and Kalamansi Marmalade.

The Jamsperience Gift Box (£23) contains jams specially selected by The Chilli Potter master jamologist to take you on a taste journey through the finest jams. This box set includes five individual Chilli Potter chilli jams ranging from mild to medium, including The Green One, The Red One, The Odd One, The Hab One and the Scotch Naga One with handy tasting notes.

Delightfully Decadent produces a wide range of seasonal specials of brownies, fudge and other tasty delights. Choose from a Fudge Snowflake (£25), Christmas Pudding Flavour Brownies (£3 per slice), Rocky Road Christmas Trees (£4.50) and more.

Gifts for the Drinks Lover

Silent Pool Gin is providing a touch of sparkle this Christmas, with a range of gifts available to purchase online or from their Distillery Shop, open seven days a week. Gifts include a Silent Pool Gin Magnum (£99), the Silent Pool Gin Luxury Tumblers Gift Set (£81) and the Silent Pool Gin Christmas Decoration (£15).

The Taste of Surrey gift box (£61.95) from Albury Vineyard is a thoughtful (and delicious!) gift for those who love English produce. Containing a bottle of Albury Estate sparkling wine, hand-made artisan chocolates locally made by the award-winning Kokoh chocolatiers, and a jar of Albury Honey, made by bees that live on the vineyard. Presented in either a natural or black gift box, protected with natural wood wool.

Choose Chimney Fire Coffee’s Christmas Blend 2023 (£15) for the coffee lover in your life. Packaged in a reusable cardboard tube, this unique blend of five of coffees from around the world features a bespoke watercolour of a wintery scene of Denbies Wine Estate, home of the roastery. Bursting with Christmassy flavours – think dried fruits, toasted nuts, and a hint of cinnamon.

The Respect Gin (£44.95) from Wessex Distillery is an exceptional gin that also supports a noble cause. Each purchase will be donated to ‘Across Rainbows’, an organization committed to celebrating and embracing diverse stories and experiences within the LQBTQ+ community. Alternatively, the Mini Gin Tube (£20) is the perfect introduction to Wessex Distillery; a beautiful gift set containing four miniature 5cl bottles of gin of your choice.

Swygge creates natural and fresh premium bottled cocktails that are lower in sugar. This Christmas, choose the Life Of Chai (£14, 200ml) – Portobello® Gin, Chai Tea, Swygge® Coriander & Almond Cordial, Cold Pressed Fresh Lemon, Swygge Grenadine, Angostura® Bitters – or the Gilded Grace (£14, 200ml) – Swygge® Peanut Butter Infused Portobello Road® Vodka, Swygge® Organic Cacao Liqueur, Milk Oolong Tea, Chocolate Bitters – for two particularly special options.

The Naan Laager 4 Bottle Gift Pack (£14) from Crumbs Brewing features four bottles of the world’s first beer made from wonky Naan bread in a smart gift pack.

Shopping for the Champagne lover in your life? Visit Just Champagne. They offer gifts of both a single bottle or bottles in gift sets with chocolates, flutes, stoppers and other items. You can choose single, double, triple and six bottle gift boxes or plain cases.

Raw Honey Distillery have a Gin with a hint of Kaffir Lime & Orange (£39.99) that is perfect for the festive season. Deliciously smooth, it boasts 10 botanicals, making for the ideal gift.

Art & Craft Gifts

Kate Lloyd scarves are created from photographic images taken by Kate herself. They are made in England and feature images of either horses or the natural world. Luxury silk scarves, guilt-free luxury, sustainability and individuality come together to create unique works of art. Choose from the Pearl Horse Silk Scarf (£150) or the The Golden Gondolas Silk Scarf (£125) as two beautiful options.

Lisa Davies Art offers fun and whimsical original art, prints and gift products, each piece telling its very own story with a little touch of humour. Illustrated prints include Mad Cat Lady (£30), The Dog Whisperer (£30) and limited edition East Street (£60).

Buying a piece from Adam Aaronson Glass Studio means purchasing a piece of glassblowing magic! Be it a bottle, vase, sculpture, bowl, paperweight or more, each item is beautiful in its own special way. Choose the Small Pink Scent Bottle (£60) or Blue and Red Sky Bowl (£45).

The Eco fun Christmas Lip Balm set (£9.99) from Nature’s Shield is the ideal gift for children or teachers. This plastic free handmade lip balm is a great stocking filler in Frosty Mint, Merry Mandarin and Santa’s Hot Chocolate and sold in a festive gift bag.

Surrey Woodcraft produce a whole range of handcrafted wooden homeware, kitchenware, stationary, gift items and musical instruments. Off-cuts from making the instruments are used in other products, making this a sustainable brand perfect for gifting – buy a beautifully carved English Oak bowl or Beech Clock.

Bee Friends is headed up by a bee farmer who manages 38 apiaries, mainly in the Surrey Hills, producing delicious local honey, associated products and beeswax gifts. With a whole range of festive gifts, there is something for everyone. Options include the Christmas Wellbeing Basket (£34), featuring honey and beeswax skin care products, candles, honey and beeswax wraps, and the Christmas Lavender Care Gift Box (£22), with Honey & Lavender hand cream, soap and bath bomb, plus two lavender coloured pure beeswax candles.

Sarah Cox Landscape Painter brings the landscapes of the Surrey Hills and those further afield to life through her colourful, textured artworks. This Christmas, she has a range of beautiful paintings available for under £150. ‘Our Happy Place’(£145) is a stunning piece that is sure to brighten any home, with ‘Strawberry Light’ (£145) another thoughtful option.

Gift Vouchers & Experiences

Book a Festive Distillery Tour (£35) with Silent Pool to celebrate the festive season with an immersive 90-minute dive into the world of the Silent Pool Distillery. Begin your tour with a delicious Rare Citrus hot toddy in a beautiful complimentary Rare Citrus Copa glass and a hot mince pie, plus receive a £5 voucher to use in the Distillery Shop.

Choose an English Wine & Cheese Tasting Voucher from Albury Vineyard (£29.95), valid for 12 months, to enjoy a talk and tasting of Albury Estate sparkling wines with a member of the Albury team, followed by a glass of your choice accompanied by a selection of English cheese, all whilst admiring the views from the tasting room over the vineyard.

Joy Farms offer Surrey Hills art, crafting and woodcarving experiences to allow you to get closer to nature while learning a craft. Whether it’s learning to carve a spoon (£120) or weave a basket (£140), flower arranging (£95) or a fire lighting bushcraft experience (£95), there is something for everyone.

The Village Spirit Collective Distillery Tour & Ginfluencer Experience (£50) is a dream gift for the gin lover. Meet the distiller and gain an insight into distillation whilst enjoying a welcome drink and exploring the gin range. Create your own gin blends by exploring and blending individually distilled botanicals.

Buy a Rustics, Friends of the Rural Life Living Museum Adult Membership (£35) and contribute to the future of the museum whilst enjoy a whole year’s worth of visits. The Rural Life Living Museum tells the story of the countryside, its unique collection of re-located historic buildings allow visitors to explore inside, complemented by one of the largest collections of agricultural implements and objects from everyday life.

Why Knot Art offers Time Out Art Workshops using the arts as a basis for discovery and change, to empower, help, or soothe you. Art can bring people together and open a whole new world for you in the form of pictures and personal expressionism. Book the Individual Mindful Art Workshop (£160) which may include meditation, forest bathing or music.

To discover more sustainable Surrey Hills businesses this festive season, visit: https://surreyhills.org/our-community/find-local-businesses.