Christmas Shopping in West Malling

Christmas is a time when community spirit is at its best, so it’s a wonderful opportunity to support your local shops and businesses. We all shop and spend more in the run up to Christmas, so if that extra money can be spent in neighbourhood shops, on locally sourced products, it can help to sustain our local economies.

Walking into your local town to browse for Christmas goodies will make you feel far more festive than picking them up in the supermarket, and you may find the quality of the products in the local shops is so much better you carry on shopping there right through the New Year.

In a recent post we looked at the many advantages of shopping locally. These included the opportunity of buying fresh, local, organic produce that hasn’t travelled halfway around the world, the personal friendly service you receive in small local stores, and the environmentally friendly effect of walking into town rather than driving to out-of-town stores. All these benefits are particularly relevant during the Christmas period.

If you’d like to support the local shops and suppliers of the West Malling area when you’re preparing for Christmas this year, here are a few ideas on where you can pick up those festive essentials:

Christmas turkey. The most important item on anyone’s Christmas shopping list is a turkey for the big day. Why not combine shopping locally with supporting a worthwhile charity, when you order a delicious organic Christmas turkey from Spadework Farm Shop? Spadework is a charity that enables people with learning difficulties to develop independence and personal skills. Why not pick up your Christmas tree while you’re placing your order?

Christmas veggies. This is an easy one as there’s no better place to pick up fresh, locally produced vegetables than the West Malling Farmer’s Market. Held in the High Street on the fourth Sunday of each month, the farmer’s market is beautifully timed to take place on Sunday 22nd December. Look out for tasty cranberry sauce and chutneys alongside the parsnips, sprouts, and spuds.

Christmas cards and wrap. There’s another chance to support a valuable local charity when you’re looking for your Christmas cards. The Heart of Kent Hospice shop, located on West Malling High Street, has a stylish selection of cards and you’ll know your pennies are going to good use supporting palliative care for local people.

Christmas decorations. Nothing warms the dark days of winter like a Christmas candle, and at Katie’s Candles and Gifts in Abbey Arcade you can pick up gorgeous candles with festive scents ranging from orange, clove and cinnamon, to nutmeg and ginger. All their candles are hand poured with eco soy wax and natural cotton wicks, and are made in West Malling.

It adds an extra sparkle to Christmas when you know that all the seasonal food you’re eating, and all the festive decorations around you, are sourced locally. In a couple of weeks we’ll be publishing a West Malling Christmas gift guide, so look out for ideas about what to buy every member of you family, right here in West Malling.