2024 SimVenture Christmas Gift Guide
Shop local, unique, and small business gifts with this ultimate christmas gift guide!
You spoke, and we listened! The SimVenture Christmas Gift Guide is back for another year!
This festive season, we have a range of different small businesses offering unique and thoughtful gift ideas to complete your Christmas list. This is our way of supporting the universities and organisations that we work with, including the many innovative entrepreneurs across the UK.
This year, each business has been categorised based on the type of business and what they are selling. Get your christmas socks on, grab a hot chocolate, and keep reading to find out more about our 2024 SimVenture Christmas Gift Guide and the businesses involved.
Thank you to all of our partner universities and organisations for making this possible and for supporting students and graduates on their entrepreneurial journeys. To our readers, we hope you find the gift you’re looking for in this list and have a very Merry Christmas.
Plants gift ideas
Everyone knows a plant lover and what better gift than the gift that keeps on giving? You’ll be proud to see the plant you’ve gifted turn into a beautiful showpiece in your friend’s living room.
GrowTropicals
Specialising in rare and unusual houseplants, GrowTropicals is an online houseplant shop that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. University of Leeds, Medical and Microbiology and Bacteriology graduate, Jacob James, founded GrowTropicals in his bedroom and it grew rapidly as people turned to houseplants to bring greenery indoors during lockdown. Providing plants that you won’t typically find in garden centres or supermarkets, this small business is a multi-award winning company, with achievements such as the Gold Medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2023 for their Houseplant Studio ‘The Language of Houseplants’.
This Christmas, why not give the gift of green with their fast next day delivery options and wide range of houseplants to choose from?
BioBright
Oxford Brookes University and University College London student, Vanessa, and University of Oxford co-founder, Ayrton, are passionate about protecting marine life and reducing CO₂ emissions – even during Christmas. Founded by the siblings, BioBright began with a shared love for the ocean and a deep desire to create real change in the maritime industry.
This Christmas, BioBright is bringing a piece of the ocean to homes with their algae-based decor. These beautiful, easy-to-care-for pieces absorb CO₂, produce oxygen, and smell like the sea, letting people join their journey towards a healthier planet. It’s more than decor; it’s a small way to make a big impact.
Clothes gift ideas
If you’re looking to stand out from the crowd this christmas, then look no further than these stylish gift ideas! As a gift or for yourself, these clothes will make you feel like dancing around the christmas tree.
Love and Hope Creations
Founded by West African born Ghislaine, graduate and now staff at London South Bank University, Love & Hope Creations was created with the vision to celebrate the beauty of modest fashion while embracing cultural heritage. The clothes are designed in the UK to cater to women seeking elegance without compromising on comfort and are then manufactured in Africa with colourful and vibrant african print materials to support local artisans and communities.
TXLVII
Founded by University of Sunderland graduate, Ralph-Tinashe, TXLVII is on a mission to popularize streetwear with substance, combining striking visuals with empowering, deep and meaningful typography. The Newcastle-based streetwear brand offers hand-painted heather grey zipped hoodies that are perfect for those who dare to stand out.
This holiday season, give the gift of individuality with a one-of-a-kind TXLVII hoodie. Shop many more uniquely designed wardrobe staples to add to your own collection this Christmas.
Food and drink gift ideas
Let’s get this christmas party started with some delicious food and drink!
Cooking with Feem
Cooking with Feem started with two brothers harvesting a dream into a reality. University of Huddersfield English BA student, Faheem, dreams one day of having his own bakery and, through the enterprise team at the university, the founder has worked alongside Michelin star chefs, built a loyal community of customers, and are now hoping to expand their brownies and baked goods over to an e-commerce demographic with their new website. You can find them in multiple West Yorkshire markets and bigger cities, such as Leeds, catering high quality goods to everyone who wants a taste.
Get your brownies at this year’s University of Huddersfield 2024 Christmas market or shop their new website by clicking the button below.
Cotswold Hills Wine
A social enterprise project run by staff and students at the Royal Agricultural University, Cotswold Hills Wine is an award winning wine brand in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The grapes are grown on a 6 acre vineyard, before being handpicked and made into their range of white and rose wine. A proportion from each bottle or can of wine sold, goes into the University’s Enterprise Fund to help provide start-up support and proof of concept funding for student entrepreneurs. The business strives to create beautifully crafted wine which can grace any occasion whilst supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Self-care gift ideas
Christmas can be a busy time of year. The stress, the rush, the worry! Why not choose a gift that can look after you or your receiver?
Positive Procrastination
Allegedly, you can’t buy time, but Positive Procrastination has the solution to that. University of Kent PHD researcher, Jane Davidson, created Cards Against Procrastination – a set of cards to help you be more productive, make your brain work with you, and save you time. Jane founded the business as she believed that existing education systems do not allow people to explore how best they work and wanted people to trial new ways to find, access, assess and use information.
This christmas, why not buy a gift that’s unique and helpful?
Happy Steps
Student entrepreneur with the London South Bank University, Enterprise and Innovation, Yvonne Williams, founded the motivational business – Happy Steps. Featuring a range of products, Happy Steps includes motivational calendars, self-help mini sized pocket booklets, tea-shirts, cups, coasters, notebooks, and more! These unique gifts include supportive message for people with mental health and learning difficulties. Yvonne is an advocate for raising awareness within communities and health organisations, having sold to charitable organisations and the NHS. Her products can also be a positive resource tool for people recovering from drug and alcohol misuse, strokes, and other physical disabilities.
Let’s try and challenge ourselves, our fears, and overcome our obstacles with these meaningful gifts. Just email Yvonne to order your gifts today!
Creative gift ideas
Handmade and full of love (and a lot of effort), check out these creative gifts that would make the perfect present this christmas.
Craft Bear Studios
Founded by final year London South Bank University student, Sarah Trieu, Craft Bear Studios offers cute, sweet, and thoughtful gifts with her range of crocheted items. Each creation is lovingly hand made with hopes of bringing comfort and joy to everyday life. At Craft Bear Studios, you’ll find crocheted items, including plushies, keyrings, and accessories! What better gift than a small companion during the seasonal holidays?
Zee Creation
Founded in 2018, Zee Creation came to life with a passion for art and storytelling, finally hitting the market in 2023 with the support of the University of Huddersfield‘s Enterprise Team. PHD Graphic Design student, Ayesha, started by creating handmade greeting cards, which then grew into a diverse range of digital art, posters, calendars, illustrated booked, and even hoodies! Each piece is crafted to share her love for art, bringing meaningful, heartfelt creativity into the hands of others.
Social impact gift ideas
If you want your gift to help others this christmas, then these businesses should have you covered.
Social Stories Club
University of Edinburgh graduates, and former Edinburgh Innovations employees, Karis Gill and Aaayush Goyal founded Social Stories Club – sustainable gift hampers that bring powerful stories to life. Each social enterprise hamper is filled with items such as biscuits, chocolates, teas, and soaps- each supporting a different social cause such as education for vulnerable girls, employing refugees, and providing jobs for people with disabilities.
Build your own gift hamper this christmas to create that perfect personalized gift!
Love Calixta
Founded by Oxford Brookes University graduate, Calixta, this small business offers clothing and accessories including beautiful stocking fillers, gifts for friends, and christmas day blouses! Love Calixta was founded just after her first business, Adored Again, and has now been stocked at Wolf & Badger and featured in Vogue. With the incredible support of the Oxford Brookes Print and Post team, Calixta was able to balance university commitments alongside her business orders.
Love Calixta’s clothing are also sustainably made and the business has supported a range of charities through their collaboration with fashion shows and pop up events.
Unique gift ideas
A gift that’s unique and original for that one-of-a-kind person!
EntreConchitas
EntreConchitas is a small business of handmade jewellery created in 2019 in Lima, Peru. First year student at the University of Kent, and participant in the ASPIRE group, Alessia, created EntreConchitas to help communities feel empowered and enhance their beauty with their own unique pieces. Every product is made with love and inspired by the sea and its nature. Most of their jewellery comes in different colors and can also be personalised.
This Christmas, choose from a variety of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings and eyeglasses holders.
SM Health
After gaining the knowledge and skills through studying Nutrition at the University of Nottingham and University of Surrey, founder, Thomas Lim, is a registered associate nutritionist. He is also the founder of SM Health – an online health store selling a wide range of vegetarian, vegan, gluten/dairy/wheat free products, drinks, skin care, and more! Their mission? To prevent diseases and promote health and wellnes to everyone!
If you’re struggling to buy for that health-orientated friend, then why not check out SM Health this christmas?
We hope you’ve enjoyed browsing through our 2024 Christmas Gift Guide! By supporting small businesses together this Christmas, we can help someone’s lifelong dream become a reality. Even just spreading the word will make an impact.
Thank you again to colleagues at our partner universities and startup support organisations across the UK, who have come together to help us feature all 14 businesses in this Christmas guide. We appreciate your ongoing support and know the entrepreneurs within our guide do too.
From all the team here at SimVenture, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and our best wishes for an amazing 2025!
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And just so you know…
The team at SimVenture has created this gift guide entirely for free so you can buy directly from the small businesses. None of the featured entrepreneurs or universities are charged for appearing in this guide and no commission has been or will be taken from any sale made. The team at SimVenture simply wants to help you to help small businesses this Christmas.
