Public service announcement: You can now leave your Christmas shopping as late as you like – our plan below will keep you sane and your gift list sorted

Confession time. We ADORE Christmas here at Tate House. Our Christmas trees are up, our author is spending more time on her Christmas newsletter to her readers than she is on her new series, and the rest of us are hanging out at our local favorites soaking up the wonderful Christmas atmosphere!

Harry Hartog and Paperchain are our favorite Canberra bookstores, and  a visit to these stores encapsulates all of the magic of this time of year- the bespoke carols playing, the Christmas decorations carefully put together or made by the staff and the new release books all shiny and ready for purchasing, plus reading guides to set you up for a long hot summer of devouring books.

Of course, all of this magic is down to the dedicated teams that run the stores as a hub for a community to grow around. They’re absolutely marvelous.

At Paperchain you can indulge in their stationary, calendars, diaries and assorted accouterments at the counter. While you’re there check out the handmade Paperchain decorations (so cool!).

Further south at Harry Hartog, their range of non-book items has just exploded in time for Christmas (our pick here was a magnetic game travel set of checkers) and their usually welcoming display has been taken to the next level by the lights and decorations of the season.

As you already know, both these stores have an excellent selection of books and an incredible team of staff who can recommend the perfect book for any age category. And we reckon books are the absolute best gift to give anyone at Christmas.

We hope you enjoy your Christmas shopping as much as we did this year and don’t forget to treat yourself to something while you’re there.

Wishing you all a safe and merry Christmas for 2018!

The Tate House Team