When most of the high street sells variations on a theme it can be hard to know where to turn for unique Christmas presents. Manchester Wire presents the solution: here’s our top 5 places for gifts they won’t want to return.
Food lovers paradise at Lunya (Deansgate)
An excellent restaurant with an even better deli attached, Lunya offers a treasure trove of potential presents. Yes, fresh Spanish produce is their main draw but if you don’t want to store pressies in the fridge take a look at their selection of wines, oils and dry ingredients. If you think food might be too subjective then choose some of the pottery – made in Almeria – that comes in vibrant designs perfect for adding a bit of Southern Spain to the dinner table.
Barton Arcade, Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2BB, Tel: 0161 413 3317, www.lunya.co.uk
Magical trinkets and toys from Oklahoma (NQ – pictured)
My mum’s favourite shop in Manchester, Oklahoma is perfect for stocking fillers, decorations and unique gifts for your besties. The shop stocks things you don’t know you need until you spot it next to 57 other amazing bits and bobs you just have to get. Case in point, I am now the proud owner of: a concrete angled plant pot; panda face bathmat; bee patterned cups; a scratch off world map; and a neon flamingo light. Make sure you check out their Freida Kahlo corner, and don’t leave without buying some accurate af Christmas cards.
74-76 High Street, Manchester, M4 1ES, Tel: 0161 834 1136, www.okla.co.uk
Crockery and sauces at Wing Yip (North of NQ)
This humungous store is filled to the brim with everything you could possibly need to make Asian food. There are shelves of soy sauce, chilli paste, and sesame oil, as well as country-specific ingredients such as Thai fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, palm sugar and flat rice noodles, plus loads of very reasonable crockery, tea pots and utensils.
Oldham Road, Manchester M4 5HU, Tel: 0161 832 3215, www.wingyip.com
Classic Football Shirts from… Classic Football Shirts (Deansgate)
The perfect place to buy something for your footy loving friend. Classic Football Shirts does what it says on the tin, selling hundreds of vintage football shirts and exhibiting iconic strips from years gone by. The company is said to have over 50,000 different items of football memorabilia including rare match worn kits, that’s right, David Beckham wore that shirt.
Barton Arcade, Manchester, M3 2BB, Tel: 0161 276 0828, www.classicfootballshirts.co.uk
Natural, biodynamic and special wines from online store, Love and Labour
Love and labour sell low intervention wines, all of which are vegetarian/vegan (yup, not all wines are suitable for those avoiding animal products) with little to no added sulphur. For a low alcohol fizz with a great label I’d suggest their PET NAF VDF, and if you want to gift an unusual bottle then an orange wine is the way to go (it’s white grapes pressed the way red wine is made, that’s to say, in contact with the skins). Love and Labour deliver in and around the M60 and you can now collect from Pollen Bakery (any excuse to buy some of Pollen’s amazing bread and pastries).
theloveandlabour.co.uk
- Words:
- Lily Carden
- Published on:
- Fri 16 Nov 2018
