The Owl & The Pussycat Christmas Gift Guide

For those of you that have not visited our boutique in person, The Owl & The Pussycat, in the small town of Stockbridge, Hampshire, UK; I feel the need to describe it a little before I launch into our first ever Christmas gift guide. The shop is about the size of your average deli counter at Waitrose – however, packed into every nook and cranny (I absolutely love that saying) are more products than you can shake a stick at. I’m not entirely sure we started out with a strategy to offer something for absolutely everyone from baby to Granny, but it appears that is what we are trying to do. 

When you enter the shop you are greeted by a myriad of ladies fashion accessories, pretty pieces of jewellery, bags, hats & gloves and heavenly scented items for your home, tableware (place cards, napkins, etc) and even bridge cards (surprisingly popular it appears).

There’s a rail of delectable nighties & PJs and another of ladies fashion that suits most budgets, sizes and ages (a lot of the items at The Owl & The Pussycat are ‘one size’).

I often jest with customers that ask if we sell men’s ‘bits’ (chortle!) that the gentlemen’s section is up the escalator and to the left – in reality it is a bookshelf and windowsill at best but packs a punch with cufflinks, bow ties, smellies (masculine ones of course), and very cool gadgets to suit all chaps from the teen to the Grandpa! 

Through a door, the shop opens (remember it is small so opens may be a stretch) into what we affectionately call ‘The Little O&P’, where we try to offer something for newborns right up to the tweens and have clothes, toys and an abundance of gifts everywhere you look. 

Many of our lovely customers tell us that the ambiance of the shop is complimented by the selection of Jazz, Parisian Café & Latin music we serenade them with as they browse and that the shop is a bit of a time vacuum as it takes so long to look at all the goodies displayed ‘just so’ for them to peruse.

I waffle (we all know this - you can check out my weekly Wednesday Waffle series on our Instagram!) but my point (thank the Lord there is one) is the fact that the shop catering for the whole family has resulted in our online presence as being rather akin to a little department store – so when trying to curate our 2020 Christmas Gift Guide for your pleasure we have split into many departments and collections in the hope you’ll find something for everyone you love (and those you don’t, but buy for anyway, come on we all have a couple - Aha)! 

Another crafty strategy, we think, to keep you all engaged is to mix up the collections so those of you who don’t have babies in the family don’t disengage from posts relating to them and those who don’t have a gent in your life to spoil, again, don’t lose the faith in us. So, the guide is coming to you, daily with our picks on 5 or 6 gifts that we think are rather fab (we would) and you might like to buy. 

I feel that Christmas will be here before we know it this year and I know people are shopping early, perhaps fearful that lockdown will extend or that products will run out or perhaps at home right now so they may as well crack on! Whatever your motivation, or perhaps I can help give you some through this, I hope you enjoy the Owl & the Pussycat Christmas Gift Guide for 2020!

Love,

Tiggy & the Team