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Made in Florence in your Christmas stocking! Unique Christmas souvenirs
[Susan Glasspool]
Are you spending Christmas in Florence this year or going home? Have you friends or relations visiting? Remember that Florence has plenty to offer during the winter months for the city, and especially its shops, will, as always, be doing its best to create a festive and joyful pre-Christmas atmosphere for visitors and locals alike in order to make a stay here unforgettable. Naturally you will want to stock up on Christmas presents, whether you are staying here or returning home. Do remember to shop early in order to get your gifts sent off in plenty of time. If you have guests, they too will want to do a little Christmas shopping in between visiting all the sights and museums, so that, in their turn, they can find special and unusual gifts for friends and family.
It is also a fact that many people come to shop in Florence’s fine stores, especially in the famous fashion houses in the centre, though others prefer to hunt for bargains in the markets. These are fun, but best for souvenirs and small gifts and, be warned, do not purchase any illegal copies of famous brand names for you risk a heavy fine if you are caught buying them!
As you probably now know, most of the great fashion houses have their shops in traffic-free Via Tornabuoni and Via della Vigna Nuova, but there are plenty more exclusive stores bearing the famous names of fashion in Via Strozzi, Piazza della Repubblica, Via Roma, Via Por Santa Maria and Via Calzaiuoli, in other words, in the historic centre of Florence. Here you can find a wide choice of irresistible, original and quality products, some of which are almost impossible to find elsewhere. Here you can hunt for that very special gift, not necessarily horribly expensive, but something that will last and always remind its recipient of you.
Florence is renowned for its wonderful craft shops and, if you have set your heart on finding something special you are more than likely to be able to find it here. It is really one of the few places in the world that offers so much in such a limited space. Traditional craftwork lies at the base of most of the great houses of fashion because they have always made use of the creative talents and manual skills of the local craftsmen to produce their wares. Thanks to its many craft workshops therefore, Florence can be a fascinating place to explore when searching for handmade articles, which you can often buy at very reasonable prices. This means that the more enterprising can find some highly original gifts, while also exploring many little known parts of the city.
Look out for the beautiful handbags, handmade and fashionable shoes, gorgeously soft leather jackets, skirts and trousers, to belts, wallets, purses, key rings. You can still find handmade shirts, hats, shoes, furnishings, paper, beautifully embroidered underwear and house linens or hand bound books with hand engraved leather covers. If you fall for an antique, it can be professionally restored by expert restorers before being shipped home. Florence in fact boasts a wealth of restorers who can renovate almost anything, from paintings to books and textiles.
Then there is the jewellery... Almost all the Florentine jewellers are also craftsmen and designers, with their own laboratories offering really desirable creations of the jeweller’s art. And lastly, dreamy clothes, for Florence is Italy’s heart of fashion, famous for its twice yearly Pitti Fashion shows, when Florence is flooded with fascinating fashion buyers, designers and models.
Always ask the shop to gift wrap your purchases. There is a real art in this and part of the fun in buying the presents is admiring the agile fingers of the salesgirl transforming simple ribbons and paper into an exquisite package.
And, after finding that perfect present for friends or relations, something unique that you know they will always appreciate and remember you by, don’t forget to look out for something for yourself to put in your Christmas stocking or under the Christmas tree!
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