Sheffield Christmas shopping: Residents reveal the best places to do Christmas shopping in the city

With the time to do any internet shopping quickly running out, and postal strikes in the pipeline before Christmas, good old fashioned shops are set to come into their own in the remaining days before Santa arrives in town.

We asked people in the city centre where they thought the best shops in the city were when it comes to Christmas shopping – with some pretty varied answers given.

Shoppers out and about on Fargate today had not been put off by the cold temperatures which have gripped the city this week, and stopped to share their views with The Star.

Although some people spoke of their regret over the closures of the John Lewis and Debenhams department stores, Sheffield’s remaining department store, Atkinsons was a popular suggestion among some.

Nydia Beckingham, of Sothall, said: “Well, I think the best all round shop is probably Atkinsons, because it’s the only department store left that’s got lots of departments, and lots of different things that you can choose. I think other shops, it tends to be one thing, like clothes or perfume.”

Jobe Page, of Walkley, was a fan of Bird’s Yard, on Chapel Walk. He said: “I think you can’t go wrong with The Bird Yard. It’s a lot of local stuff. I’ve picked up stuff for my wife there for the last five years.”

Katie O’Reilly, from Hunters Bar, opted for an out-of-town choice. She said: “I think Sharrow Vale has lots of great independent shops, and there’s a great bottle store on Sharrow Vale where the people are really knowledgeable and have got all sorts of spirits and things from all over the UK – it’s really good.”

Kevin Rodgers, from Doncaster, was a fan of Paper Chase. He said: “I like the Paper Chase shop that we have here in the High Street. It’s the only one really in South Yorkshire where you can get the best sort of writing journals, and they do a lot of good Christmas stuff as well.”

Dad Duane Roberts, from Firth Park, was a fan of the toy shop, The Entertainer, on The Moor. He said: “The best shops in Sheffield are definitely those ones that come round during the winter, those Christmas shops to help out with people. Also, if you’ve got kids like me, The Entertainer, that’s a good, they’ve always got discounts.”

Andrew Nurse, from Shalesmoor, said: “If it’s snowing and its cold I’d probably go somewhere like the Moor Market. The Moor Market’s got a brilliant craft beer shop there, some of it from Abbeydale Brewery, and I think they did Kelham stuff.”

Another shopper, who did not want to be named, said her favourite place for Christmas shopping was the Waterstone’s book store in Orchard Square. Another mentioned TK Maxx in the same area, as a place they did a lot of their shopping this year.