We are kicking off our definitive guide to the best of Oswestry Christmas Shopping with a whirlwind sleigh ride around town, for everything you could possibly need  for that special Christmas.

Let’s start with the Christmas tree.  For those of you who love the smell of Christmas, a real tree is a must.  Pentreclawdd Farm just off the A483 has cut Nordmann and Norwegian Spruce, as well as living trees that can be repotted or planted out after Christmas.   Not only that, if you buy a tree from Pentreclawdd Farm, you get £5.00 to spend in their rather lovely Christmas shop!

Carrying on the scented theme, why not make up some scented Christmas Citrus pomanders to hang on the tree.  Oswestry Herbarium carry an exotic range of spices, including cloves and nutmeg as well as essential oils to lift the spirits – talking of which – you can get all the spices you need for your mulled drinks.

Booka Bookshop and Honey Pots have, amongst all the other impossibly lovely things, some gorgeous scented candles to waft out frankincense and myrrh, or Christmassy cinnamon around the house.

And we move on with eagerness to the next sense – taste, and what a smorgasbord of yummy ideas we have for you.

Oswestry Market and our four cracking independent butchers can cater for all your Christmas meal needs – from duck and geese to prime beef, hot smoked salmon to oysters, chipolatas, stuffings, gammons and hams.  It’s a good idea to get your order forms in now!

Give a hamper as a present – and fill it from the heart.  A Christmas  Day hamper  with lovely Italian panettone,  jars of sweet scented conserve or jam and some splendid coffee or hot chocolate would  make a wonderful post Midnight Mass or easy Christmas Day brunch gift. Or gratify your Boxing Day or New Year’s Day hosts with pates, pies, hams,  seasonal chutneys  and crisp crackers.  Gillhams are happy to make up hampers to suit your inclinations and purse – from their beautifully filled delicatessen. And you cannot forget to buy some Coopers Gourmet Sausage Rolls – perfect for winter walk munchies or informal buffets – or anytime really!

Cheese – perfect any time, any place, anywhere and more welcome than a martini (possibly). From  a perfectly ripe blue cheese or camembert,  via some  sharp and refreshing goat or  ewe cheeses to a a truly fabulous British Cheese, such as Cheddar, Cheshire or Lancashire to go with that rather gorgeous slice of Christmas Cake (try it – really!),  Radfords Fine Foods in Oswestry Market are there to help you chose the best cheese for your Christmas.

Something perfect to go with the Turkey Roast – a Christmas Wine.  Twelve Green Bottles on Leg Street have a bijoux but lovely eclectic range of wines with tasting notes and plenty of valuable advice.  They also have some rather splendid desert wines and sherry’s.  Its not every day that you get the chance to uplift your olefactory taste buds, so go and pick something really special!

And finally, and definitely not leastly – a proper Christmas ain’t a proper Christmas without a good Christmas beer – whether it be a party  or a quiet night  in front of the fire, a nice glass of well made beer helps lift it above the ordinary.  Our very own, multi award-winning Stonehouse Brewery has a range of beers, either boxed as gifts, or in polypins, to suit your discerning palate.  Their Christmas Beer – The Polar Express is going at a rate of knots, a deliciously festive witbeer with orange peel and warming winter spices.

Good Yule!