Season's Greetings ukulele lovers! A very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of the musical elves at the Southern Ukulele Store. Whether you're receiving your very first ukulele this Christmas, or searching for a gift for the seasoned strummer in your life, you'll find ukulele regalia and paraphernalia of all ilks in our online store.

Need a little more inspiration? We have something for that too...

Every month we comb the world wide web for the latest and greatest blogs and posts from ukulele fanatics the world over. This month; take a fascinating plunge into ukulele history, get inspired by a compositional project and enjoy some chilled out ukulele sounds.

Dive into Ukulele History

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The ukulele may be a small instrument, but it's been hugely instrumental (gettit?) in social changes and movements throughout history, ever since its invention in Hawaii. From the four-stringed-wonders travels to Japan, to its role in German history, the ukulele has wormed its way into an awful lot of history. The blogger behind the UKULELE Japan blog is especially intrigued by the uke's roots – and they've been posting regular fascinating journeys into the instrument's past. If you love ukes and you love history, this blog is for you.

Composing for the Lincoln Ukulele Band

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We totally inspired by Making Music's “Adopt a Composer” project which pairs talented young music makers with skilled musicians in order to compose a unique piece of work. In this blog you can read all about Angela Slater's journey towards creating a piece for the 50+ members of the Lincoln Ukulele Band, despite never having played a uke before! It makes fascinating reading and we were thrilled to hear that the piece premièred earlier this month! Lovely stuff.

Zuli Loves “Ukulele & Chill”

With all the 2016 doom and gloom and all this festive chaos and mayhem to contend with, sometimes it's nice to escape the endless renditions of Slade and East17 and turn on something that totally transports you. Writing on Stereofox, blogger Zuli has shared a little slice of “get away from it all” Nirvana: Ukulele and Chill by Cody G. It does exactly what it says on the tin and we'd strongly recommend it for those moments when it all gets too much.

Have you ever make an instrument out of unusual materials? Have you ever taken your uke abroad? Share your stories with us via Twitter @SUS_UKES.