Every year I set myself a challenge to do as much of my Christmas shopping as possible locally. It takes more time, and sometimes more money, but in 2025 - a year where the cost of living is still stretching families and local business owners to their limit - it feels more important than ever. Here are my tips, if you’d like to join me.

Every year I set myself a challenge to try and do most of my Christmas shopping as locally as possible. It can be time consuming and a fair bit harder than running around a shopping centre for a few hours, but it’s far far more rewarding. In this article I give you heaps of tips on how to save money, time and stress and still support local and small businesses through the silly season - for gifts, food, wine and more.