Give The Gift Of Cardiff; How I Spent A Day In Cardiff Using FOR Cardiff’s Gift Card (ad)

What do you buy a Cardiffian who has everything? Well, perhaps you should consider the FOR Cardiff gift card!

This bespoke gift card can be used at a range of shops, restaurants, bars, and activities across Cardiff’s city centre. There is a combination of smaller, independent businesses alongside household names such a Primark!

So, I decided I would put the card to the test! As an honorary local myself, I feel like I can judge how best to spend the day in the Welsh capital – I mean, I don’t describe myself as a ‘local tourist’ for nothing – so I was interested to see if the locations you can spend FOR Cardiff’s gift card would be a good reflection of what I believe a great day out in Cardiff looks like.

First of all, we did some shopping! The gift card could be spent at a multitude of shops and, as appealing as Primark was, I decided I would focus on small businesses – something we are fortunate enough to have a lot of here in Cardiff.

We first visited Shop Wales. This small, unassuming gift shop is home to a wide range of notably Welsh gifts – from Welsh language signs and gift cards to food gifts produced locally. They also have a large range of Jelly Cat products which my children adored! Everything in the shop seems very curated to feel either handmade or locally produced – but without any tackiness that you sometimes find in gift shops. I could have spent my entire gift card here but made do with some cuddly toys for the kids and a beautiful set of drinking glasses for myself.

Our next port of call was a Cardiffian’s home from home – Wally’s Deli. This independent deli is located in one of Cardiff’s historic arcades and is very well known by the people of Cardiff. They sell a selection of products but, most notably, a range of (local and not so local) cheese, cold meats, handmade chocolates, and much more. This is another place that I could have done some real damage but somehow managed to walk away with just a box of chocolates (which were delicious!).

I would love to add here that, despite not visiting this place, I did notice that the Cardiff Creative Shop is also on this gift card and is a wonderful shop that I often frequent for gift buying. They are home to multiple vendors who are local craftspeople and they sell a really diverse range of products – there is really something in there for everyone!

We then decided to stop for a drink and something to eat. Luckily one of our favourite independent eateries was part of the gift card – Bar 44. This is the sister bar to Asador 44 and they do a delicious tapas menu in a slightly more casual bar setting.

I was also informed that the card can be spent on Bar 44’s in-house shop which sells their own line of drinks and other Spanish inspired products.

For us, we had to have sangria! I went for a delicious grapefruit and elderflower version but they had multiple different sangrias on the menu alongside wines and cocktails. We also got a selection of small plates – most notable of which had to be the cheese plate which had some really nice, unusual cheese paired with crackers and different chutnies.

Perusing the list of activities on FOR Cardiff’s gift card, I also noticed that Cardiff Castle is one of the options. This is definitely an activity I would encourage anyone visiting Cardiff to indulge in – even if you just explore the grounds without paying to enter the building itself. A walk around the castle grounds – maybe with an iced coffee in hand – is the perfect way to end a day spent in Cardiff’s city centre.

Overall, I think the FOR Cardiff gift card is great idea for a gift – especially for students moving into the city or for people who spend a lot of time within Cardiff. I really like that you can support small businesses through this card which you may not otherwise be able to get gift cards for and it is a lovely way to promoting our city centre and everything it has to offer.