Christmas shopping at its best in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket

Edinburgh’s Grassmarket has never been a better place to shop for unique Christmas presents for the whole family with late opening and special offers on selected days and a new look for the whole area.

Following a £5m redevelopment due to be finished in early December, the Grassmarket now has larger pedestrianised areas which lend themselves to browsing and discovering its unique shops – making Christmas shopping a pleasure rather than a chore.

Christmas gift ideas include:

For Her: Japanese Habu yarns, some of which can’t be found anywhere else in the UK at K1 Yarns, from £7 per ball
For Her: The Winter Warmer (Damson Gin Liqueur and Ginger Wine) at Demijohn for £17.20 including a refillable bottle
For Her: Hatpins, corsages and fascinators made by local artists; all available at Fabhatrix from £10
For Him or Her: Jewellery with Edinburgh Castle Rock: a range of cuff links, kilt pins, pendants and charm bracelets from Clarksons Jewellers. Prices start from £120 for sterling silver jewellery
For the whole family: Gift vouchers for The Cadies & Witchery Tours, starting from £10 including a copy of ‘Adam Lyal’s Witchery Tales’
For the whole family: Unique cuddly toys, including tapirs and mammoths, starting from £8.99 at Transreal Fiction
For small and tall boys: Dinosaur teeth from Morocco: these Spinosaurus teeth are 96 million years old and start from as little as £5 a piece at Mr Wood’s Fossils
For your home: Original aquarelles depicting Edinburgh from Victoria Gallery starting from £168; or buy the paints from £10 and try your hand at painting

Helios Fountain will be visited by a live Christmas Fairy on selected dates in December. Shoppers and passers-by are also invited to guess the number of Christmas decorations in the window in order to win a £100 Helios Fountain shopping voucher.

For more information on Edinburgh’s Grassmarket and its independent traders visit Grassmarket.net.