I’ve scoured the country to create a Complete Guide to all the year round Christmas Shops in the UK. What’s more, I’ve been visiting them all too!
The results are in and they are unanimous: Visiting a Christmas Shop makes you happy!
OK, so we don’t have statistical evidence but all 22 of the UK’s year-round Christmas shops agreed. Surely they can’t all be wrong?!
It makes sense too. A little pocket of North Pole magic on an otherwise ordinary High Street. That’s got to raise a smile, as a talking point at the very least! And a few minutes of escapism inside that Winter Wonderland – how could it not raise your spirits?!
Use our interactive map to find your local year round Christmas Shop! Click ‘more’ for shop contact details and the stories from my visits.
Complete List of All UK Year-Round Christmas Shops
14 Christmas Shops In England
Tidings, Padstow
Perfect For: Mooching in a seaside treasure trove for baubles with a story.
Address: Tidings, 9 Middle St, Padstow PL28 8AP.
More: More About Tidings Padstow Christmas Shop in Cornwall.
Old Rowlands Gift & Christmas Shop, Cheddar Gorge
Perfect For: Beautifully presented festive displays nestled in stunning surroundings with a year-round rentable Christmas Cottage available upstairs!
Address: Old Rowlands, The Cliffs, Cheddar BS27 3QE.
More: More About Old Rowlands Cheddar Gorge Christmas Shop.
Jingle Bells Christmas Shop, Shanklin
Perfect For: Snagging a seaside memento (and maybe a chat with Santa!) before afternoon tea.
Address: Jingle Bells Christmas Shop, 2 Church Rd, Shanklin, Isle of Wight PO37 6NU.
More: More about Jingle Bells Christmas Shop on the Isle of Wight.
Russell Ince’s Christmas Imaginarium, Ryde
Perfect For: Something rather magical and the chance to meet Santa’s Official Biographer!
Address: Russell Ince’s Christmas Imaginarium, 4 Cross St, Ryde PO33 2AA.
More: More about The Christmas Imaginarium Ryde Christmas shop on the Isle of Wight.
It’s Christmas, By British Design, Windsor
Perfect For: Tucked away festive beauties, a stone’s throw from British royalty.
Address: It’s Christmas By British Design, Unit 14, King Edward Court, Windsor Yards, Windsor SL4 1TF.
Cotswold Christmas Shop, Lechlade
Perfect For: Celebrating a piece of history in the home of the UK’s first Year-Round Christmas shop!
Address: Cotswold Christmas Shop, High St, Lechlade GL7 3AE
More: More about The Cotswold Christmas Shop in Gloucestershire.
The Victorian Christmas Shop, Bourton-On-The-Water
Perfect For: Traditional festive feels in a picture perfect location.
Address: The Victorian Christmas Shop, High St, Bourton-on-the-Water, Cheltenham GL54 2AP.
More: More about The Victorian Christmas Shop in the Cotswolds.
The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Perfect For: Festive browsing in a Christmas movie set location. To splurge or not to splurge, that is the question!
Address: The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, 44-45 Henley St, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6QW.
More: More about The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, Stratford Christmas store in Warwickshire.
The Little Christmas Shop & Mrs Claus’ Kitchen, Ironbridge
Perfect For: Christmas Afternoon Tea within view of a World Heritage Site.
Address: 33 High St, Ironbridge, Telford TF8 7AG.
More: More about The Little Christmas Shop & Mrs Claus’ Kitchen Christmas store in Ironbridge.
A Piece of Christmas, Halifax
Perfect For: Delightful festive browsing, set within a piece of history.
Address: A Piece of Christmas, The Piece Hall, Blackledge, Halifax HX1 1RE.
More: More about A Piece Of Christmas year-round Christmas Shop in West Yorkshire.
Love Christmas, Grassington
Perfect For: Cosy Christmas charm year-round in the gorgeous Yorkshire Dales.
Address: 1 Main St, Grassington, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 5AD.
The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, York
Perfect For: Soaking up The Shambles & snagging a memento of historic York.
Address: The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, 32 Shambles, York YO1 7LX.
More: More about The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, York, one of two year-round Christmas shops in York city.
Käthe Wohlfahrt, York
Perfect For: Having your mind blown with Christmas beauty!
Address: Käthe Wohlfahrt, Mulberry Hall, 17 Stonegate, York YO1 8ZW.
More: More about Käthe Wohlfahrt York, the UK store of this German family Christmas shop from Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Christmas On The Lakes, Bowness on Windermere
Perfect For: A lakeside mooch amongst beautifully styled Christmas collections.
Address: Christmas On The Lakes, 59 Quarry Rigg, Bowness-on-Windermere, Windermere LA23 3DU.
More: More about Christmas On The Lakes, year-round Christmas shop in the Lake District.
8 Christmas Shops In Scotland
Once Upon A Christmas, Dunoon
Perfect For: A very warm welcome at a hidden gem of festive treasures.
Address: Once Upon A Christmas, 171 Argyll Street, Dunoon PA23 7DD.
The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, Edinburgh
Perfect For: A regal festive selection worthy of its Royal Mile location.
Address: The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, High St, Edinburgh EH1 1TB.
Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, Edinburgh
Perfect For: Great selection of historic icons immortalised on ornaments in an equally historic position.
Address: Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, 145 Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8BN.
Tinsel & Tartan, Stirling
Perfect For: Festive tartan aplenty (and much more!) a stone’s throw from the castle.
Address: Tinsel & Tartan, 2 Spittal St, Stirling FK8 1DU.
The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, Callander
Perfect For: Traditional festive feels at the foot of National Park mountains.
Address: The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, 4 Main St, Callander FK17 8BB.
The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, St Andrews
Perfect For: Festive fragrance guaranteed to transport you to Christmas as you browse.
Address: The Nutcracker Christmas Shop, 98 Market St, St Andrews KY16 9PB.
The Nutcracker Christmas Village, Crieff
Perfect For: Whisking you away to a starry night in a Christmas market square.
Address: The Nutcracker Christmas Village, Muthill Rd, Crieff PH7 4HQ.
The Christmas Emporium
Perfect For: A moment of mindfulness with mesmerising trees before a festive mooch!
Address: The Christmas Emporium, 119 Atholl Rd, Pitlochry PH16 5AG.
Is There A Christmas Shop in London?
Alas, no – there is currently no year-round Christmas shop in London. Hard as it is for me to believe, I cannot find a Christmas store in the UK capital city. There used to be a Christmas shop south of the River Thames, in Hay’s Galleria, some years ago. However they moved to online only.
Currently, we’re dependent on the large department stores to bring us our festive fix. However the Christmas departments of Harrods, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, Liberty’s and John Lewis do not begin to open until the summer months (or later).
If anyone wants to take on the task of bringing a Christmas shop to London, let me know – I’ll be your first (and most enthusiastic!) customer. 🙂
Bringing The Tradition Of Christmas Shops To The UK
It transpires that there’s quite a lot of us who (secretly or otherwise) love a festive fix out-of-season and these independent boutiques dotted around the country have high curb appeal for tourists and locals alike.
A tradition brought across from the USA, the first UK Christmas shop appeared in the Cotswolds in 1985 and others have since followed to answer the growing demand for festive souvenirs as people grow Christmas trees full of ornament memories.
Until now the location of these shops has been down to local knowledge. But no longer!
We have scoured the length and breadth of the country to create the very first complete guide to the United Kingdom’s Year-Round Christmas Shops.
What’s more, I make it my mission to visit every store too… Yes, it’s a hardship but someone had to do it…!
Finding The UK’s Christmas Shops: Behind The Scenes
First thing to know is that these shops have amazing taste in location!
From Padstow to York, the Isle of Wight to the Lake District, they have nestled themselves in some of the most beautiful parts of the country. It’s certainly no challenge to head in their direction should you fancy a day out or trip away.
Whilst I had visited a number of the shops over the years anyway, it quickly became apparent that there was no neat list of all the stores around the country which seems bizarre as I can’t be the only one who love a mooch amongst the ornaments no matter the time of year! Surely?!
The Criteria For Inclusion?
We want to be clear here – we’re talking year-round Christmas shops. Not seasonal pop-ups, nor online-only, nor departments within a bigger store. These are genuine, unadulterated all-year-long in-person Christmas retail experiences.
To avoid any confusion we created three criteria for inclusion and, for transparency, here they are:
- (Almost!) exclusively focussed on the sale of Christmas products
- Based at a fixed address with a physical shop
- Open at least nine months of the year
What Makes A Year-Round Christmas Shop So Special?
‘Do people visit the shop because they’re in the town, or visit the town because of the shop’, I asked repeatedly.
‘Both!’ came the reply.
Run almost exclusively by passionate independent owners, year-round Christmas shops are first and foremost souvenir stores.
Not there to compete with their seasonal counterparts, these shops offer ornament keepsakes for your Christmas collections, evoking memories of past holidays for years to come.
The owners pride themselves on their quality décor, bespoke baubles and exclusive partnerships with designers, both British and overseas.
True treasure troves, they are filled to the rafters (quite literally in some cases!) with gorgeous festive fare, unashamedly arousing your Christmas senses as you explore the shelves and displays.
Even the Scrooges are heartily embraced, with humbugs on offer at tills and Grinch Benches set up outside.
And the general consensus? As we said above, whatever your thoughts about Christmas, it turns out a trip to a Christmas Shop will cheer you up!
Shop owners, many with a long history in retail, reported time and again that their customers were happier than the average shopper, and even the most Grinch-like of visitors typically leaves with a smile on their face.
What Do Christmas Shop Owners Do For Christmas?
The inevitable question: What do you do for Christmas when you spend your whole year helping others create theirs?
The question was invariably met with a giggle and a sigh.
Whilst a handful are hard core Christmasers with energy aplenty for their own festivities come December, for many the excitement and pleasure comes from filling their shelves and sprinkling magic for others.
And with their tree on display all year around, Christmas marks the beginning of a few weeks’ of precious downtime.
Much like Santa himself!
Year Round Christmas Shops That Have Closed
Sadly over the years, we’ve had to say farewell to some gorgeous Christmas shops – as small independent and often family-run businesses, they rely on our continued shopping to keep their doors open. Some have stayed open online however so here’s the details:
- Christmas Shop London. The store in London Bridge closed in 2015 but the company continues online as The Christmas Shop.
- December 25th Christmas Shop, Bath.
- Ebenezer’s, Sidmouth, Devon.
- Christmas Perks, Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
- Miracle on King Street, Ludlow, Shropshire.
- The Olde Christmas Shoppe, Helensburgh, Scotland. Now online only.
- The Christmas Dove, Inveraray, Scotland.
Thank You!
With a huge thank you to all the fabulous Year Round Christmas Shops for their help and support in preparing this guide. And what a privilege to meet such a lovely set of passionate friendly shopkeepers.
Know of any other British All Year Christmas Shops?
Do get in contact to let us know – as small independent businesses, they can be a little tricky to find but deserve to be celebrated and shared!
Been to visit one of the shops recently?
Share your experiences in the comments below.
Looking for More Inspiration?
- Have You Heard Of Christmas Cottage? The UK’s Only Year-Round Christmas Themed Holiday Rental.
- The Best UK Christmas Markets To Visit This Year.
- 100+ UK Santa Special Christmas Train Rides: Find Your Nearest.
And if you’re contemplating sprinkling a litle new to your festive decor this year, be sure to check out this year’s hottest Christmas trends.
Hannah Bartlett
Hannah Bartlett is a year-round Christmas writer, creator, Christmas trend researcher, and all-round festive enthusiast! With extensive first-hand travel experience across all seven continents and time spent working in the Travel & Hospitality sector, she brings a world of inspiration to help you create a Christmas that’s uniquely yours. More about Hannah…
