Petersfield or thereabouts

• One Tree Books. Petersfield's biggest independent stockist of new books and a lot more - cards, games, coffee shop (no bacon sandwiches but excellent bara brith)... Has recently expanded to two floors and now offers tickets for local events too. Great hub for local readers and writers, offering a regular book club and readings. Support your local bookseller...7 Lavant Street, 01730 261199.

• The Petersfield Bookshop, cavernous, fascinating second hand bookshop dating back almost a century and featuring everything from dog-eared paperbacks (available 24x7 in the forecourt) to real antiquarian stock, plus old maps and prints.  Good selection of new stock in the front too, and an art supplies and framing department which boasts a Royal warrant. Well worth an afternoon's rootle.  16A Chapel Street 01730 263438, mail sales@petersfieldbookshop.com (picture courtesy Leah Cohen)

• Academy Arts Centre fine selection of artists and craft materials, and a gift section which includes interesting small ceramics, paintings and jewellery. Framing too. Winton Road, 01730 261 624, mail: info@academyartandcrafts.com

• Bonica. Fabulous floral arrangements. Very special indeed.  Pages Court, off the High Street. 01730 267444. Some very nice gifts too - flowerpots, vases and more. Online orders too.

• The Blacksmith's Daughter. Not your everyday florist. Good selection of flowers and arrangements and more besides. Regular floristry workshops. Bakery Lane (off Waitrose carpark. Why [oh why] would you buy your flowers at Waitrose?). 01730 261611.

• Tricot Too, Dragon Street, cool Scandinavian style, clothes nicely arranged by colour and shade. Lots of Nordic-style stuff for kitchen and garden too. And Crocs. Very classy... 01730 231 218

• Twenty the High Street, really very nice clothes -  for women only, regrettably....20 The High Street (surprisingly), Petersfield. Tel: 01730 265466

• Hackman and Potter opened its doors on December 1st in Dragon Street. Beautiful gifts and Finnish-inspired furniture. Not cheap, but not tacky either. Really exceptional stuff in fact. With Tricot Too next door, the south end of Petersfield high street is starting to become a real design destination. 2, Dragon Street. 01730 710011.

• Far Horizons Gallery, Folly Lane, amazing range of gifts and jewellery from around the world, striking absence of tat. 1 Folly Lane, 01730 265864.

• Inside Out. Next to The Petersfield Bookshop. Nice selection of gifts, frames and decorative stuff. Add it to your Christmas circuit. 18, Chapel Street. 01730 710717

• Cute, Pages Court, High Street, Petersfield. Very nice clothes and toys for small children. Wooden and traditional toys, continental clothing, lovely stuff now packed into a sensible space since the move to Pages Court. Cards and wrapping, perfect for last-minute presents for the under 3 (feet). 01730 300900

• Armorica, Rams Walk. Great range of classy and practical kitchen and cooking gear. Small but select range of electrical equipment upstairs - blenders, processors and so on. Serious about cooking but friendly local service. Good online site too and a fantastic specialist site for cook's knives - the biggest we've come across. 08456 017 262.

• Petersfield Electrical Services, Lavant Street. Why trek down the A3 to a soulless warehouse when PES has already picked out an excellent range of white goods and audio-visual equipment? All your top brands at internet-matching prices pus great local service, spares, advice ... and not a spotty Herbert in sight. 01730 263 242

• Petersfield Photographic, Lavant Street. Great source of leading camera brands, developing and printing services and all-important advice from people familiar with the kind of camera you don't also make phone calls on ... Passport photos, frames, accessories...  fabulous Crumpler bags too! D&P by appointment to myPetersfield... 01730 263848.

• The Music Station Lurking up Bakery Lane between Waitrose Car Park and Chapel Street. If Santa specialised in hard-to-find vinyl, tapes and CDs, this is how his grotto would look. Very friendly, buys as well as sells (maybe more than)... surprisingly good jazz collection. Just about the only source of non-chainstore music in Petersfield. Also a welcome source of picks and strings 'n' things for guitarists. Sadly, nowhere else for musicians any more, though Sue Ryder seems to have diversified into guitars and wind instruments (flutes, saxes, clarinets and more - don't look too bad actually). Plenty in Guildford and Portsmouth, though, and great new, second hand and vintage guitars and amps at Guitar Village in Farnham.

• Qube All your philosophically challenging requisites under one virtual roof. Intriguing and worth a look. Occasionally at Petersfield market. 01730 895222.

• Citroen Care, Rake, 5 miles. Yes, yes, we know, you don't drive a Citroen, but really, that's just the name of the shop. Servicing and MOT work, tyres, bodyshop on all makes of car, very friendly, great prices, terrific quality of service. By appointment these many years to the myPetersfield fleet and can't be recommended highly enough. If you're out of warranty, say farewell to can't-be-arsed main dealership misery. Unit 12/Rake Business Park, Rake, Liss GU33 7PN, 01730 894994.

• U-Do DIY, Liss, 4 miles. Brilliant, tardis-like emporium on Station Road in Liss which manages to cram a substantial part of both B&Q and PC World into a space only slightly larger than a telephone box. All kinds of hard-to-find parts and spares, and avoid the pain and profanity of skinned knuckles and bashed thumbs with the advice given gratis with or without purchase. Enquire within for anything. Great place. 01730 894437

Midhurst and further afield

• Cabbage White, Midhurst. Very lovely and classy stuff for home and garden. Knockhundred Row, 01730 814555.

• WildWood Charcoal and Coppice Products. Beautiful things made from locally coppiced hazel, chestnut and oak - everything from coathooks to fencing, benches, chairs... . barbecue and artist's charcoal too. At the farmer's markets too and most of the  big country shows. Halnaker, West Sussex 01243 778106, wildwoodcoppice@btinternet.com.