Hull's Christmas shopping gems as I explore the city's fabulous independents

I hate Christmas on so many levels.

It could be the awful, false-cheery music pumped out of every shop stereo on repeat, it could be the squeaky clean families in Christmas adverts none of us can compare to, or it could be the ridiculous pressure people place themselves under for everything to be "perfect".

But weirdly, one thing I don't hate is Christmas shopping. I don't like to spend a lot of money - January is rubbish enough without debt looming like a dark cloud - but it's nice to buy some little things for my loved ones that I'm 99 per cent sure they will appreciate.

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The key seems to be the luxury of time, I've often regretted panic-bought presents bought online and the stress when they arrive late or damaged. This is when the tradition of buying from the High Street really comes into its own, you can see the quality with your own eyes and find special things that are just right for that awkward person who is hard to buy for.

I much prefer shopping in Hull to bigger cities. I personally feel panicked in York when the Christmas Market gets underway and you can barely move for crowds.

Hull has so many wonderful independents, more than I can list in this one article, but I want to highlight a few Christmas shopping gems I discovered on a day out in our city in November.

First up, I visited Trinity Market. I immediately honed in on Cocoa, a chocolatier who handmakes truffles and other delicacies right here in Hull. In varieties such as Champagne, Bailey's, Tonka Bean Custard, Mocha, Brandy, and even Mango, I knew I was on to a winner.

There are three sizes of gift box and I loved the idea of carefully curating a special selection for a couple of chocoholics I know. I was advised the chocolates keep for three weeks because they are all made fresh, so I will return closer to Christmas.

In Hepworth Arcade, I was drawn to a window display of beautiful necklaces, earrings, rings, watches, and just about every variety of bling possible at Brantons jewellers. The prices depended on whether the materials were sterling silver or more precious metals - there were options for almost every budget.

A heart-shaped necklace is such a cute gift for a girlfriend and I think it will always be a classic. I don't have any "girly" girls in my life so I didn't make a purchase, but it was worth bookmarking for the future.

In Hepworth Arcade I also discovered Beasley's for the first time. It's such a cool clothing shop, with the downstairs having a huge selection of colourful and eclectic new clothing and the upstairs dedicated to vintage fashion, such as rack upon rack of genuine Levis jeans and dungarees.

The problem was, I wasn't buying for myself. It was so tempting to purchase some on-trend fluffy knitwear (apparently the brighter the better and contrast stripes for 2024) but I had to behave and focus on purchases for the relatives. Sigh.

Finally, I made my way to Humber Street. Art and Soul is a great gift shop and I quickly found so many goodies, including handmade tree decorations (a sweet gift that is easy to post with a Christmas card) hand-painted candles that are gorgeous to look at (perfect for my mother-in-law) and a scallop shell with a decoupage pomegranate design for keeping trinkets such as earrings and rings.

Right next door is Form Shop and Studio. It's a great place to buy jigsaw puzzles, they have really fun designs. I bought a quality tea tray for a family member who loves tea trays (convenient), some misanthropic socks, and a goofy-looking felt dog tree decoration for someone who is obsessed with dogs.