We’ve all been there: You’ve left your shopping to the last minute and you’re realising that you need something that screams “I panicked on Queen Street”.
When it comes to gift giving, there are some Cardiff students who want something practical and serious, and some who just love a good laugh. These ideas are for the latter, unless the person you’re buying for is into some abstract stuff.
So, these are the most chaotic, aggressively Welsh gifts you can shove under the tree or whip out for your flat’s Secret Santa.
1. The full Welsh starter pack
If you want a present that turns your best friend into a walking tourism advert, this is the place for you: Think Welsh 10 Commandments t-shirt, a five-by-three-foot dragon flag, sheep plushies, dragon hats and a “Land of the Dragon” apron. Perfect for that housemate who already wears a bucket hat to YOLO and now needs a national costume to match.
2. Love Wales – the chaotic wall of red, green and regret
Love Wales, located near St Mary’s Street, is arguably known for a messy, chaotic night out. It boasts shelves of slate coasters, dragon mugs and random slogans you definitely can’t pronounce sober. Absolutely nothing in here is necessary, which is exactly why your flatmate needs a Welsh flag oven glove and a Cymru bucket hat wrapped up together.
3. Welsh love spoon
Want to propose and mildly terrify someone at the same time? Get them a carved love spoon explaining eternal devotion after three Hinge dates. It’s traditional, it’s cute, and it will sit on their wall silently judging every situationship they have for the next decade.
4. Dragon glassware
via Google Maps
Because nothing says “student house” like drinking £5 Echo Falls from a dragon wine glass or daffodil shot glass. Castle Welsh Crafts also offers dragon tankards the size of your head, ideal for whoever pres with Strongbow Dark Fruits.
5. Welsh Gifts in Cardiff Market
Down in Cardiff Market you can buy an actual miner’s lamp. Imagine rocking up to pres in Cathays with a brass lamp instead of a normal bedside light. Add a “Ae Ewe the Boss” table mat, a cockle bonnet hat and a Welsh dragon waistcoat, and you’ve basically recreated your nan’s front room in a student kitchen.
6. Slate everything – because coasters are a personality now
Heart-shaped slate coasters, “Gwlad, Gwlad” national anthem plaques, Celtic flower clocks – if it can be made of slate, someone in Cardiff already sells it. This is an ideal gift for that one course mate who has decided they are “really into interiors” but still lives in a room with Blu-Tacked Freshers’ Week posters.
7. Mor Ladron spiced rum pirate energy but make it Welsh
From the Welsh Bottle Shop you can pick up Mor Ladron spiced rum – a bottle that looks classy but will almost definitely end up in a sticky corner of someone’s bedroom after New Year’s. Great for the mate who thinks they’re a cocktail connoisseur but only knows how to make “rum and Coke”.
8. Seaweed rum
Yes, it’s rum made with seaweed. No, absolutely nobody knows why. This is the present you buy for the flatmate who insists on doing “tasting nights” and then makes everyone drink out of random mismatched glasses. Ferality level: Gifting your friend the ocean in alcohol form.
So, if you’re still stuck for ideas, just head into town, follow the trail of dragon flags, and ask yourself: “Would my mum be horrified if I unwrapped this?” If the answer is yes, congratulations – you’ve found a truly feral Cardiff Christmas present.
