Christmas is on the way, and with postal strikes putting shoppers off online ordering for fear goods may not arrive, many are opting for a physical shopping experience instead. Not only that, but there’s been a real shift in recent years, perhaps in part to the pandemic, with more and more people wanting to shop local and support small businesses.
So, where in Manchester can you support local businesses, physically pick out your gifts and not need to spend a fortune in doing so? There’s only one real answer to that.
Afflecks Palace is nothing short of a Mancunian institution - established in 1982 it is one of the city’s longest standing retail experiences.
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It is part of the heart and soul of Manchester – disruptive, different, independent, individual, trailblazing - it embodies the spirit of the city perfectly, so where better for a spot of Christmas shopping?
I headed down to the independent shopping emporium with £50 to see how many Christmas presents and stocking fillers I could pick up for my friends and family - and the money went a lot further than I originally expected.
With over 60 independent traders operating across three floors at any one time, the bohemian, maze-like environment is perfect for exploring and has become famous the world over. Instead of traipsing around the city for the Christmas markets, you could spend an entire day browsing the nooks and crannies of this utterly bonkers but totally beautiful building, instead.
Afflecks’ halls have been well and truly decked from head to toe with sparkly decorations and baubles galore, making it feel merry and bright this December.
So. Fifty quid. How far will it get you when it comes to Christmas shopping? At the markets, it can get your two litres of beer and a couple of bratwurst sausages - but at Afflecks, I managed to get 14 gifts in total, ranging from 75p pins to £12 printed tea towels.
My plan was to start at the Oldham Street entrance and browse the retailers, gathering an idea of what gifts to buy and how much they’d cost, mentally totting up the numbers to make sure I’d be able to stick to my strict budget.
I tried to make sure all the gifts were between £5 and £10, so that I could get the most gifts for my money. Not only that but, according to the Totally Locally campaign, if every adult in the UK spent just £5 a week in their local shops and businesses, it would be worth £13.5 billion going directly back into local towns, benefiting the economy and providing more jobs in the area, too.
On the top floor, I made my way to Vinyl Resting Place in the hopes of picking up something for my dad and brother, both of whom have been gifted record players in the last 12 months. Vinyls from new average at £20 to £30 these days, but you can usually pick up some great records at a bargain price from dealers like this one.
Quite often, stores will have a box of records that they’re selling off extremely cheap, and, after a hunt around the store, I found a box of 7” singles selling for £1 each. Bingo.
I excitedly rooted through the box keeping an eye out for popular names, pulling out discs from ABBA, Wham and A-ha, which would cost £3. Unfortunately there was a £5 minimum spend on card, so I went back to the box for Genesis and Human League to make up the numbers.
In previous years I’ve often bought reconditioned CDs from Poundland for my dad for Christmas, as he has quite the collection of albums, but it seems the high street giant has recently stopped selling them, so these are such a great alternative!
A raft of new traders recently moved into Afflecks just in time for Christmas, including Lock Stock & Smokin’ Art, selling prints and homewares, as well as City & Bloom, offering ‘urban gardening’ gifts.
At Lock Stock & Smokin’ Art, I admired their £5 coasters and £8 novelty socks, but fell in love with a colourful tea towel for which I had the perfect recipient in mind. It came in at £12, making it the most expensive gift I picked up all day, but it’s a stunning piece which you can see hours of work has gone into.
The tea towel, from Salford-based The Neighbourhood Threat, has a funky pink and orange design featuring a cowboy boot, which can either be used for its intended purpose of drying dishes, or be hung up or framed as a quirky home decor piece. It’s definitely made me want one for myself.
Meanwhile, at City & Bloom, I picked up the cutest little candle in the scent ‘Cereal Milk’, which has that deliciously sugary vanilla scent of a bowl of Frosties. The candle cost £5, bringing my total to £22 - so we were nearly half way there. After paying, I did also spot some lovely mini house plants and succulents - for £2 each - which would also make a lovely gift, but I wanted to try and spread my cash among as many businesses as possible - plus I’d have likely managed to kill the plant before December 25, anyway.
Mars Tapes is the last cassette-only shop in the UK, which makes for a rather fascinating visit, and for many, a nostalgic one, too. My boyfriend’s BMW has a tape deck still, and so, I thought it would be good to get a tape or two to listen to in the car.
Naturally, I was drawn to a Spice Girls cassette which cost £12, while many others in the store cost between £5 and £10. It was on my second loop of the shop that I noticed these unusual looking takeaway boxes priced at £3 each. Mystery boxes.
Inside each of the surprise boxes, shoppers are promised three tapes. It was a total gamble, but one I was definitely willing to take and I am so glad that I did, because when I opened up the box after purchasing, sitting on the very top was the Johnny Cash collection - which for me is worth the invested £3 and more.
The other tapes were Engelbert Humperdinck and Gene Pitney - you win some, you lose some.
Heading deeper into the retail labyrinth I came across Sour Cherry - a locally grown, quirky jewellery maker selling a variety of fun jewellery ranging from £5 to £10. I spotted some Vivienne Westwood ‘dupes’ in the form of some lovely Saturn earrings, as well as some rather festive snowflake designs too. However, I knew my friend would love these disco ball earrings - the perfect gift for any festival lover.
The earrings cost £12 - the same as the tea towel - bringing my spend to £37, meaning I had just £13 remaining. I was pretty confident I’d be able to get at least two more gifts, so made my way through to the LQBTQ Bookshop where I scanned the shelves to see if something would catch my eye.
I went for The Little Book of Elton John for £5.99, and, as my nan is a big fan of his music, I think she’ll like this fun little pocket-sized book of wisdom and quotes. There were also very similar books on Dolly Parton and David Bowie, too - although my dad already has the latter, after I gifted it to him last year.
I had £7.01 left by the time I reached the final floor, back at the Oldham Street entrance between Huk and The Manchester Shop. Huk is a fantastic little fashion retailer selling stylish women’s fashion where everything is £10, but seeing as that would take me over my budget, I ducked into The Manchester Shop to see what I could find.
While tempted by some Manchester music prints, I decided to pick up some brightly coloured Manchester Bee socks for my brother, which came in at £6. Realising I still had a quid (and a penny) to spend, I paired them with a Stone Roses pin badge for 75p, meaning I’d managed to get a total of 14 gifts - counting the records and tapes individually - for less than £50.
Whether it’s body and beauty, food and drink, mind and wellness, or homeware and collectables your loved one is after, at Afflecks there’s something to make everyone’s yuletide extra special this year with something unique and thoughtful under the tree, at fantastic prices too.
Shoppers who want to have a go at doing all their Christmas shopping at Afflecks can share their snaps with the hashtag #AfflecksXmasChallenge, which will put them in with a chance of winning some Afflecks vouchers.
In the run up to Christmas, an Indie Pop-Up Festive Village will also be taking place every weekend on the third floor. Each weekend will see different independent businesses provide an even more eclectic mix of independent gifting options under one roof. Think artwork, homewares and jewellery - meaning that Afflecks shoppers can craft a perfectly unique, independent Christmas haul.
Afflecks’ famous third floor café has also welcomed a brand new concept , Third Floor Rising, which has opened just in time for the festive period. The café will be serving up a handful of Christmas specials, including festive paninis, cakes, mince pies and pumpkin spiced lattes.
It just goes to show that you don’t have to go trudging around the Christmas markets to shop small this December. Afflecks really has everything you could need and more to treat the special people in your life.
There’s also no need to break the bank when buying presents as Afflecks is a super affordable shopping haven with lots of gifts coming in under £10. I got so many more gifts than I thought I would - the hardest part was sticking to the budget!
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