We checked 14 Watford shops, from Jackson Jewellers to Millie Moo & Friends in the Harlequin, for opening hours and addresses. Updated November 2026.
Watford has 14 shops worth a Christmas shopping trip in 2026, and this guide puts them in one place with opening hours, addresses and what each one sells. Jackson Jewellers on The Parade, the local makers at Millie Moo & Friends in the Harlequin, the Hornets Shop for Watford FC fans and the gallery at The Picture Maker on St Albans Road are the names most people land on.
Watford’s centre is dominated by the Harlequin and the national chains, so this guide leans on the independents that are easy to miss, most of them members of Watford Town Centre BID, plus two long-running shops in Chorleywood for anyone shopping on the Rickmansworth side. Shops often change their hours close to Christmas, so check before a special trip.
Updated 10 November: the Harlequin has published its Christmas week and New Year opening hours, added below.
Dates for the Christmas shopping diary
- Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays: late opening at the Harlequin, 9am to 8pm, which the centre lists for November and December. From Monday 14 to Wednesday 23 December it stays open until 8pm every day except Sunday. Christmas Eve is 9am to 6pm, it is closed on Christmas Day, and it opens 10am to 6pm on Boxing Day, 11am to 5pm on Sunday 27 December and 10am to 6pm on Monday 28 December. New Year’s Day is 10am to 6pm, for selected stores only (Harlequin festive opening hours).
- 28 November to 23 December: Santa’s Christmas Emporium at the Harlequin, a £5 family photo with Santa, booked in advance, with the money going to Watford Mencap. Our Santa’s grotto page has the details.
- Tuesday to Saturday: Watford Market, 9am to 5pm, on Watford House Lane, with Sunday opening on trial. No festive Market Lates is on the market’s calendar this year.
- Saturday 21 November: the Christmas lights switch-on at Pondside on The Parade, 4pm to 6pm. It is free.
- Sunday 22 November: the Waterstones Watford Christmas Book Festival, 11.15am to 4.15pm inside the Harlequin, with children’s authors including Lucy Strange, Jenny Pearson, Gill Lewis and Kieran Larwood signing books. No tickets are needed.
- The Watford Gift Card is accepted by more than 140 town centre businesses, according to Watford Borough Council, and is sold through the Town and City Gift Cards site. Jackson Jewellers is among the shops the BID lists as taking it.
The Parade and the High Street
1. Jackson Jewellers, The Parade
Jackson Jewellers calls itself “a gem set in the heart of Watford” and gives its founding year as 1876. Its site sells engagement rings and new jewellery, and a preloved and antique range of rings, earrings, brooches, watches, clocks and silverware, and it offers servicing and repairs.
The shop closes every day for lunch from 12pm to 1pm, and it does not open on Sundays or Mondays.
Open Tue to Sat 10am to 6pm, closed 12pm to 1pm
Call 01923 232449
Address 16 The Parade, Watford, WD17 1AA
Website jacksonjewellers.com
Good for engagement rings, antique and preloved jewellery, watches and clocks, repairs
2. Heather & Rose Health, The Parade
Heather & Rose is an independent health food shop, which Watford Town Centre BID describes as an “organic independent natural health store” on The Parade. Beyond supplements, it stocks organic chocolate, herbal teas, honey, skincare, aromatherapy and bath products, which is where the Christmas presents are.
Its owner told Watford Borough Council in 2024 that shops outside the shopping centre “sometimes get forgotten about”. Its site already lists Christmas Eve hours.
Open Mon to Fri 9.30am to 6pm; Sat 9.30am to 5pm; Sun 12pm to 5pm; Christmas Eve 9.30am to 4pm; closed Christmas Day
Call 01923 805508
Address Unit 2 Faircross House, 116 The Parade, Watford, WD17 1BD (Watford Town Centre BID)
Website heatherandroseh.co.uk
Good for organic food, natural skincare, aromatherapy, herbal teas
3. Krafty Koala Pottery Cafe, The Parade
Krafty Koala is a paint-your-own pottery cafe on The Parade, listed by the BID for craft activities for children of all ages. A painted mug or plate makes a handmade present, so it earns a place on a Christmas shopping list, though pieces need to be left for firing before they can be collected.
It is closed on Tuesdays and stays open to 8pm on Thursdays.
Open Mon, Wed and Fri 10am to 6pm; Thu 10am to 8pm; Sat 10am to 5pm; Sun 10am to 4pm; closed Tue
Call 01923 590864
Address 95 The Parade, High Street, Watford, WD17 1LN
Website kraftykoalapotterycafe.co.uk
Good for handmade presents, children, rainy days
4. Waterstones, High Street
Waterstones is the national chain, and its Watford shop on the High Street says it has new titles and fiction on the ground floor, with the children’s, teenage fiction and manga sections upstairs. On Sunday 22 November it runs its Watford Christmas Book Festival in the Harlequin, with authors signing their books from 11.15am to 4.15pm; it is first come, first served.
Open Mon to Sat 9am to 5.30pm; Sun 11am to 5pm
Call 01923 634724
Address 122 High Street, Watford, WD17 2BJ
Website waterstones.com/bookshops/watford
Good for books, children's books, author signings, Sunday opening
5. Mad Squirrel, King Street
Mad Squirrel is a taproom just off the High Street run by the brewery of the same name, which brews in Potten End near Berkhamsted. It says it sells its beers “on tap and in cans for drinking in or taking away”, so a mixed box of Hertfordshire-brewed cans is a local present that can be bought on the way home.
It is a bar first, and it does not open on Mondays.
Open Tue 5pm to 10pm; Wed and Thu 12pm to 10pm; Fri and Sat 12pm to 11.30pm; Sun 12pm to 9pm; closed Mon
Call 01923 888781
Address 3 King Street, Watford, WD17 2EN
Website madsquirrelwatford.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for local beer to take away, cans, gifts for beer drinkers
6. Watford Market, Watford House Lane
Watford Borough Council traces the town’s market back to the 12th century. It moved to its current home in 2015: a covered market of 45 container units for street food, shopping and services, plus an outdoor market up The Parade near B&M.
The market’s own site says it opens Tuesday to Saturday, with Sundays on trial.
Open Tue to Sat 9am to 5pm
Call 07769 219443
Address Watford House Lane, Watford, WD17 1BJ
Website watfordmarket.co.uk
Good for independent traders, street food, outdoor stalls
In the Harlequin
7. Millie Moo & Friends, Upper Mall
Millie Moo & Friends is an independent boutique in the Harlequin’s Upper Mall that sells work from local independent artists, makers and small businesses under one roof. Its site lists jewellery, candles, home decor, fashion, accessories and “delicious sweet treats”, and the centre’s listing says most of its makers can offer personalised and bespoke items.
It keeps the centre’s hours, with late opening on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Open Mon to Wed 9am to 6pm; Thu to Sat 9am to 8pm; Sun 11am to 5pm
Address Upper Mall, Harlequin Watford, WD17 2UB
Website milliemoofriends.com
Good for local makers, personalised gifts, candles, jewellery
8. The Hornets Shop, Harlequin and Vicarage Road
The Hornets Shop is Watford FC’s official club shop. Its online range runs from home, away and retro kits, including an Elton John kit, to scarves, books about the club, signed framed prints, a Christmas section and gift cards.
There are two shops: one in the Harlequin’s Upper Mall, which keeps late hours, and one at Vicarage Road Stadium, which is closed on Sundays. The club says hours may differ on match days and bank holidays.
Open Harlequin Mon to Wed 9am to 6pm, Thu to Sat 9am to 8pm, Sun 11am to 5pm; Vicarage Road Mon to Fri 10am to 5pm, Sat 9am to 5pm, closed Sun
Call 01923 496005
Address Upper Mall, Harlequin Watford, WD17 2UB; Vicarage Road Stadium, Watford, WD18 0ER
Website thehornetsshop.co.uk
Good for Watford FC kits, scarves, books, gift cards
9. Harlequin Watford, High Street
The Harlequin is the town’s main shopping centre, between the High Street and Queens Road, and it is where most of the Christmas chains are. Its directory includes Lakeland, Oliver Bonas, Hotel Chocolat, The Entertainer, HMV, Lush, Smiggle, Warhammer and Marks and Spencer.
The opening times it publishes for November and December give late nights on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with restaurants and leisure open later.
Open Mon to Wed 9am to 6pm; Thu to Sat 9am to 8pm; Sun 11am to 5pm
Address 201 Lower High Street, Watford, WD17 2UB
Website harlequinwatford.com
Good for late-night shopping, national chains, Sunday opening
St Albans Road
10. The Picture Maker and Art in Herts gallery
The Picture Maker, near Watford Junction, describes itself as “a creative community space in Watford” with bespoke framing, fine art printing, a photography studio and a cafe. Its gallery, run as the Art in Herts community art project, shows original work by local artists that is for sale.
When it opened, the owner told My News Mag that the space was “so different to anything else there is around”. It points visitors to a car park on West Street.
Open Tue to Sat 10am to 5pm; closed Sun and Mon
Address 81-89 St Albans Road, Watford, WD17 1SJ
Website thepicturemaker.co.uk
Good for original art by local artists, framing, fine art prints, cafe
11. Watford Framing, St Albans Road
Watford Framing is a family-run framer that has been on St Albans Road since 1978. It makes bespoke frames and mounts, stretches canvases and keeps a range of ready-made frames “to suit all tastes and budgets”, which covers anyone framing a photograph or a print as a present.
Allow time for bespoke work before Christmas.
Open Mon to Fri 10am to 5pm; Sat 10.30am to 4pm
Address 324A St Albans Road, Watford, WD24 6PQ
Website watfordframing.co.uk
Good for bespoke framing, ready-made frames, canvas stretching
12. Rosanna’s Florist, St Albans Road
Rosanna’s says it has served Watford and Hertfordshire for three decades and calls itself the town’s only Luxury Interflora supplier. Alongside flowers for every occasion, it sells orchids and plants, balloons, gifts, and wine, champagne and chocolates, and delivers seven days a week with a same-day service.
Its site notes a problem with its main phone line and gives 01923 229563 to reach the shop.
Call 01923 229563
Address 193 St Albans Road, Watford, WD24 5BH
Website rosannasflorist.co.uk
Good for Christmas flowers, orchids and plants, same-day delivery, wine and chocolates
Chorleywood, beyond Rickmansworth
13. Chorleywood Bookshop, New Parade
The Chorleywood Bookshop has been trading for more than forty years and is owned by Sheryl Shurville, who says her vision was “to get people reading and to maintain a love of buying books”. It is known for author events, and its Chiltern Bookshops site lists school visits by children’s authors through late November and early December.
It is a short walk from Chorleywood station on the Metropolitan line.
Open Mon to Sat 9am to 5.30pm; Sun 10am to 4pm
Call 01923 283566
Address 7 New Parade, Chorleywood, WD3 5NJ
Website schools.chilternbookshops.co.uk/contact/chorleywood-shop
Good for books, children's books, author events, Sunday opening
14. W.H. Higgins Butchers, Lower Road
W.H. Higgins has served Chorleywood since 1901, and says it passed to new family ownership in September 2025.
It sells premium cuts and roasts, has a deli counter, and says it works with farmers in Kent and across the UK. Its site says Christmas orders are open and are taken in the shop, but the deadline it shows, Sunday 14 December, is last year’s date, so ask the shop for the 2026 cut-off.
Call 01923 282184
Address 29 Lower Road, Chorleywood, WD3 5LQ
Website higginsbutchers.co.uk
Good for Christmas meat orders, deli counter, local butcher since 1901
How we chose
We started from Watford Town Centre BID’s directory of member businesses, the Harlequin’s store list and Watford Borough Council’s Shop and Eat Local campaign, then kept the shops that sell gifts or Christmas essentials and could be checked on their own websites on 5 November 2026. We left out shops we could not confirm as trading from a website of their own, including Situls Gifts on The Parade, whose listed shop page no longer loads, and MAVIS in Bushey, which has closed its shop and now trades online. Run a shop that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@watfordtoday.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@watfordtoday.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.
More for the season: Christmas dinner in Watford, ice rinks near Watford, pantomime and Christmas shows, Christmas travel, parking in Watford, what’s on this month, things to do in Watford and the Watford business directory.
Frequently asked questions
When are the late-night shopping hours in Watford before Christmas?
The Harlequin shopping centre publishes 9am to 8pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through November and December, 9am to 6pm Monday to Wednesday and 11am to 5pm on Sundays. From Monday 14 to Wednesday 23 December it opens 9am to 8pm Monday to Saturday (11am to 5pm Sunday). Christmas Eve is 9am to 6pm, Christmas Day closed, Boxing Day 10am to 6pm, Sunday 27 December 11am to 5pm, Monday 28 December 10am to 6pm, and New Year’s Day 10am to 6pm in selected stores.
Where are the independent shops in Watford?
Most are on The Parade and the High Street: Jackson Jewellers, Heather & Rose and Krafty Koala Pottery Cafe on The Parade, Watford Market on Watford House Lane, and Millie Moo & Friends, which sells work by local makers inside the Harlequin. St Albans Road has The Picture Maker, Watford Framing and Rosanna’s Florist.
What is on in Watford town centre for Christmas shopping in 2026?
The Christmas lights switch-on is at Pondside on Saturday 21 November, 4pm to 6pm. Waterstones holds its Watford Christmas Book Festival in the Harlequin on Sunday 22 November, 11.15am to 4.15pm, with children’s authors signing books. Both are free.
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