‘Tis not the season

With the sun still beating down (if intermittently) and school summer holidays in full throttle, Christmas is the last thing on most people’s minds. However, the hard-toiling retailers are busily launching their Christmas ranges, ready to put into stores in the autumn. Here are some of our favourites.

On the theme Wonderfully Wild Christmas, Liberty has looked towards enchanted marshes and fairytale woodland for its seasonal shop, which will open for business on the 30 September. At Liberty there seems to be a trend for retro designs and wild animals, occasionally of the suited and booted variety. Bauble designer Gisela Graham has created a monocle-wearing hound decoration, Roger La Borde’s illustrated teapot feature a lion and unicorn with top hats and spats, and the Liberty of London scarf features a bright pink Amazonian monkey.

Muji continues the retro trend, opting to reinvent classic wooden decorations and toys in its typically neat style. Spinning solar systems are the stocking filler of choice, as is the beautifully designed skeleton of Muju’s Operation-style game. Easily-lost gamers will also be pleased with this London map pack of cards. The map may be modern but the sepia speaks of archived tomes. 

Habitat has also opted for timber toys. As with Liberty, Habitat has gone with the woodland trend, replacing traditional polar bears and reindeer with owls and deer. The collection has been titled Footprints through the Forest, and is described as being inspired by a frosty woodland walk where the remnants of autumn still hang in the trees. It may be far too early for Christmas, but autumn I can just about cope with.