Spirit of Christmas Fair 2015 Cat Lovers Gift Guide

We were recently invited to The Spirit of Christmas Fair at London’s Olympia. Having not been before we weren’t sure if there would be anything of interest to Katzenworld followers. However, we decided to accept the kind invitation with the idea that we might be able to find something cat related at London’s largest Christmas market. And that proved to be the case. Following is a selection of items featuring cats from charming earthenware and cute greeting cards to luxury cat beds.

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First up we have some beautifully made puzzles from Wentworth. We featured them a few months ago with their Halloween inspired puzzle (see here). On display at their stall, as well as a cute multi kitten on a kitchen shelf themed puzzle, there were some stunning pictures of the larger cats. Not only are the pictures impressive but the puzzles have another layer of interest with unusually shaped pieces including cat shapes.

More on Wentworth products here. Cat related puzzles and more here.

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Next on our tour of the fair, a little sign on the Angelic Hen stall caught our eye. If you’ve ever been had by your furry friend pretending that they haven’t already been fed by your partner/housemate, you could make use of this lovely hand painted two-way sign. I’m sure if we put this up, Oli or Nubes would find some way to flip it around when we weren’t looking. We also spotted a rather cute Owl & Pussy Cat clock.

More from Angelic Hen here. Cat Feeding Double-sided sign here.

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Staying on an artistic theme, the Ripped Up Art on the Origin Gallery stall was next to catch our attention. Their range of handmade art includes cards with an unsual second life and pictures perfect for framing. Among their “cheeky critters” which included penguins and bees, we saw a couple of cute black cats. The “second life” of the cards come from the fact that they contain seeds and when the whole card is planted you’ll be rewarded with wild flowers. How about that for recycling? There was also a superb, humourous triple cat picture on display showing a few of the many sides of our feline friends.

More about Ripped Up Art here. Cat Cards here and here. Cat Picture here.

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Not Before Tea had a stall full of animal inspired usual gifts for the young and young at heart. If you want to keep your pens, toiletries or bits-and-bobs out of your kitty’s way then the Billy the Cat character cases will do the job and look super cute too. There’s also a matching card which we saw framed on the stall.

More on Not Before Tea here and their Billy the Cat range here.

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The handmade earthenware jugs on the Jane Hogben stall stood out for us next as we next scanned the numerous displays for signs of anything kitty related. You’ll see from the photo that Janes has created some cute kitty related jugs, mugs and bowls amongst her animal inspired range. There’s even an extremely cute card featuring a tabby kitten along with all the other animals which Jane so obviously enjoys creating. On the website it’s possible to purchase frames specifically designed for the cards if you like to idea of appreciating the cards for longer.

More on Jane Hogben here. Poettery items here. Cards (including details on the frames) here.

We love our cats, and I’m sure our followers do too even though they are often hard work. If you know someone who would like a cat with none of the associated hassle of feeding, cleaning and fussing; how about a pet that pops up? Quite literally. Featured among their cardboard creations, Pop Up Pet have not one but three feline friends to make and keep you company. Though we are partial to gingers and tabbies, the black and white kitty with a pink nose just like Oli’s made us go “Aaah”.

More about Pop Up Pets here. Cats (Black & White) here,  (Ginger Tom) here and (Silver Tabby) here.

Slippers are often given at Christmas but if you want something a little bit more inspired than a pair of moccasins for the younger ones on your Christmas list, then Sew Heart Felt’s Suki the Cat felt slippers might be very thing. There’s also a pair featuring Ginger the Farm Cat. All slippers are made from organic wool with soap and water used for shaping by hand. Sadly, neither catst feature in adult range and though I tried, my size 10 feet weren’t going to fit into Suki or Ginger. At least I could console myself with a Ginger the farm Cat hand puppet.

You can see more on Sew Heart Felt here. Ginger the Cat Slippers here, Hand Puppet here and Suki the cat here.

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Never to look anything over, we scanned The Labrador Company’s stall in the hope of finding something among their Wagging tail Clock Collection. Perseverance paid off as we locked onto a black silhouetted cat shaped clock nestled amongst the other animals swishing its tail to keep time. Very cute and very good that the company decided to branch out beyond their initial canine set. There was also a lion clock if you fancy something a bit less tame. Maybe they’ll realise there’s a demand for cats and expand their other lovely ranges to include them too?

More about the Labrador Company here. The Black Cat Silhouette Clock can be found here.

If like us, you like to send messages the old fashioned way (i.e. by writing rather than texting or messaging), then using these lovely animal head origami sheet notes from Lollipop Designs will add a level of cuteness to your postings. The notes are folded to create the characters and have an envelope too. I know I’d rather receive one of these Black Cat Head notes than a text full of emojis.

More on Lollipop Designs here. Cat Head Shape Note Paper here.

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We were really happy to see Sophie Allport had a beautifully displayed stall at this year’s event. For those of you new to the blog we featured the black cat oven glove and mug a few months back (see here). As well as featuring festive Robin items, we could see that the company has expanded its range of items with their signature black cat design to more than 50 products. As well as our favourite bone china mugs, the range now includes, coaster, pet feeding bowls and just in time for Christmas meal preparation; lovely aprons. Look our for an upcoming competition on Katzenworld to win one of these soon.

Sophie Allport website here. The whole Cat Collection here.

Our final gift feature from the Spirit of Christmas Fair was a last minute find. Hugo & Otto appeared to be only dog related but a chance spotting of a photo in the fair guide inspired us to drop by the stall. Christmas in my mind should be a time where you appreciate the finer things in life and give something of the same to the ones you love. The items on this stall certainly fell into this category. If you want to treat your cat to luxury sleeping arrangements, then the Mia Cara range designed by a German architect could ideal. In the picture you can see the Lana Cat Bed in Ivory faux fur fabric. It was enough to make me wish they had human size beds so I could curl up with Oli and Nubes. All items are tested for cat safety and are made from the highest quality materials. There’s even a sheepskin pom pom in colours to coordinate with the Lana Cat Beds .

More Hugo & Otto here. Lana  Ivory Cat Bed here with matching Topo Cat sheepskin pom pom here.