Christmas Gift Picks from Front of House Assistant Jen

Published November 2024

Jen, our wonderful Front of House Assistant, shares her top picks for gifts and seasonal treasures available in the Cathedral’s retail space as we prepare for Advent and Christmas 2024…

Please note: The last day of trading before Christmas for the Cathedral retail space will be Monday 23 December. It will reopen in mid-January following our annual stock take.

Our Cathedral retail space is now fully stocked for Advent and Christmas, and from Sunday 17 November, we will be open seven days per week, led by our wonderful team of volunteers. Our usual opening hours are between 10am and 3:30pm.

So, if you’re looking for unique cards or gifts that celebrate our magnificent cathedral, wish to purchase items that support charities, local businesses or ethical suppliers, or want to give your loved ones something that embodies a spiritual message at this special time of year, our team of volunteers are ready to help you.

Our offer includes a range of beautiful Christmas cards, a selection of slow-burning advent candles, a wide choice of hand-made hanging decorations, and a mix of traditional and more quirky gifts for those people in your life you might like to surprise with something a little different.

Here are some of our favourite items on sale this year…

Traditional glass decorations handmade in Bethlehem

Bethlehem Baubles is an incredible small business founded by an inspirational woman called Ros Pollock, who previously worked for the United Nations and lived in Jerusalem from 2008 to 2011.

Ros was drawn to working to support Palestine but saddened by the lack of practical support and opportunities available to many of the local communities there, particularly in Hebron and Bethlehem. This motivated her to establish Bethlehem Baubles to create regular employment for people, inspired by the ancient glassblowing tradition in Hebron.

This year, Ros and her team launched their Peace Light project and created hand-made tea lights to serve as a reminder of our shared humanity and the desperate need for regional stability whilst also providing much-needed income for Palestinian families. Profits generated from the project are reinvested into the community, empowering their team of craftspeople to become teachers with the intention of leaving an enduring legacy of craftsmanship and goodwill for a new younger generation, across borders and beyond.

We currently have a limited stock of these beautiful individually crafted Peace Lights, available in blue and turquoise.
In addition, we also have a range of lovely glass baubles available in several colours and designs, which will make a special addition to any Christmas tree this year.

All Bethlehem products are hand-blown by Muslims, painted by Christians, and shipped from Israel, symbolising a unique collaboration across faiths and they are a meaningful gift to give at this time of year.

bethlehembaubles.com

Unique wooden baubles by local company Rip and Snip

Rip and Snip are a local company with decades of design experience, specialising in crafting unique, eye-catching pieces, from wedding day decor to everyday items.

Their quirky decorations celebrate iconic local landmarks, including the Angel of the North, the Tyne Bridge, Newcastle Cathedral, and our nearby mysterious ‘Vampire Rabbit’ sculpture!

If you want to add one to your Christmas tree, pop one in someone’s stocking, or buy something super lightweight that can easily be popped inside a Christmas card, be sure to get in quick as they were very popular last year – especially the unique Vampire Rabbit which sold out.

ripandsnip.co.uk

Handmade Saint Nicholas hanging decoration

Our St Nicholas decoration (modelled in the photo above by our Dean, Lee Batson) is a new product for this year, and judging by the excitement amongst our volunteer team when they saw the samples, we’re confident these will be a big hit.

The company of the same name specialise in creating heritage and Christmas decorations, handmade using traditional techniques to produce unique keepsakes. What better way to celebrate the legend and legacy of our cathedral’s very own patron saint than by getting one for your tree this year?

stnic.co.uk

Fairtrade seedpod robins and turkeys

Our final top pick for Advent and Christmas 2024 is our fair-trade seedpod gifts, handmade in Zimbabwe using seedpods collected from Ulumbu trees. Every bird is hand-painted and uniquely decorated, and each piece supports local artists, providing a stable income for their families.

Tilnar Art was formed in 2005 by Tom Hawes. Tom gave up a career as a successful London Solicitor to form Tilnar Art, as he wanted to help many of the artists he had met on his various trips to Zimbabwe. Tilnar stands for ‘This Is Life Not A Rehearsal’ and today continues to expand and support disadvantaged producers.

They also produce some fabulous mini angels made from recycled aluminium, which have been on sale for a while now and have proved very popular. We still have some of these left, too, if you would like to buy one, as they make a lovely gift which you can place in a sacred space at home or carry around in your pocket or handbag as a meaningful token.

tinarart.co.uk

We hope to see you at the retail space in the coming weeks, and please remember that all Friends of St Nicholas, the Cathedral’s friends membership scheme, receive a 10% discount.

Wishing you blessings and warm season’s greetings from all our retail team.