Halloween has officially passed, which means the Christmas season is upon us. If you’re one of those proactive shoppers, you’ve probably already begun your holiday shopping. But, if you’re anything like us, you’re just starting to think about making that shopping list.
2020 has been one heck of a year, with many businesses struggling financially to make it through. And a lot of those struggling businesses aren’t the likes of Walmart, Target, and Amazon. No, they are the small, oftentimes locally owned, ‘mom and pop’ shops. In today’s blog, we wanted to talk about some of our favorite small businesses and hopefully give you a few gift ideas.
Food & Drink
Are you or anyone in your family a fan of popcorn? If so, you need to check out Tropical Shores Popcorn. The Sarasota, Florida based business has a refined expertise in making delicious popcorn. You can find your typical flavors (kettle corn, caramel, and cheddar) alongside an assortment of others (cookies & cream, cotton candy, and hot wing). Each week they also have a signature popcorn flavor (this week’s happens to be jalapeño kettle corn). They offer both savory and sweet popcorn, sure to satisfy any craving.
They also sell over 90 different flavors of taffy. You can order a box with up to 15 flavors if you just can’t decide on one or two. Some of our favorite flavors are caramel apple, key lime and s’mores.
Right now, Tropical Shores is offering a subscription box for $20 per month where they will send you one savory, one sweet, and one signature flavor each month. Or, if you’re looking for a gift for the popcorn lover in your life, they have holiday themed gift baskets. For more info on shipping and pricing, visit their website. We love Tropical Shores and have tried so many flavors. They have all been delicious and we cannot wait to try more!
Calling all winos! We love a good (inexpensive) wine ourselves and have discovered a few really great companies/vineyards we’d like to mention. First is a company called Nocking Point Wines, founded by Andrew Harding and actor Stephen Amell (Arrow). We have had several of their wines now and they’ve all been delicious. And, at $20-$25 per bottle, they fit nicely into our price range. Many celebrities have teamed up with Nocking Point to curate their own wine (from Gennifer Goodwin’s ‘Goodwine’ to Stephanie Beatriz’s ‘Wine Wine’). Another good thing about this company: the proceeds from some of the wines the company sells are donated to charity. For example, proceeds from Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ wine ‘Quarantine’ went to COVID-19 relief funds. To check out their other collabs and wines, or to join their monthly wine club, visit their website.
Another of our favorite wineries resides close to home in North Georgia, and that is Sweet Acres Farms Winery. We’ve always been partial to sweet wines (though our tastes have broadened in recent years) so when we first discovered this winery at a wine festival, we were hooked. A lot of their wines have a fruity flavor, which really appeals to us. If you like very sweet wines, check out their Sweet Ass Peach. For a little less sweet, try their Brambling Sam (blackberry apple) & Quitting Time (with a hint of lemon) wines. You won’t regret it. We once spend our entire $100 trivia winnings on Sweet Acre wine.
The last winery we wanted to mention is Georgia Winery, close to the GA/TN line. This is one of our cousins favorite wineries and she has gifted us some bottles to try. Their Chattanooga Blush was sweet but not too sweet and their Southern Sangria was a true blend of delicious grapes and berries. We cannot wait to try more!
Home
If you know someone who hoards old t-shirts, a great gift idea is to make them a t-shirt quilt or blanket. We’ve used Project Repat (for a blanket) and Campus Quilt (for…you guessed it…a quilt). Both did a really great job and having a blanket/quilt is much more practical than having 50 shirts sitting in a box somewhere. Check out their websites for more info.
Do you need a smaller gift for your co-workers? Or stocking stuffers? A gift that never gets old…the candle. Yes, you can buy candles in pretty much every store in the world, but why buy from Walmart or Target when you can support small businesses instead? Will they cost more? Probably. But handmade gifts always seem more special than mass produced ones. Two of our favorite places to get candles are Chattahoochee Candle Company in North Georgia and Lindbergh Candle Company in Atlanta. Both have wonderfully scented candles, themed holiday candles, and more. Chattahoochee also offers an assortment of hand soaps, lotions, scrubs and wax melts. Mal- My favorite candle is the banana nut bread scent. It smells exactly as if you were baking banana nut bread. Court- my favorite Chattahoochee Candle is the Awaken candle which is a lively blend of lemongrass and other scents that help you wake up. My favorite Lindbergh Candle is the Cabin candle that is perfect for a fall day.
If you need a gift for the coffee and tea lovers out there, check out Clay in Motion Pottery. Based in Oregon, this family run business offers a variety of handmade pottery, including baking dishes, mugs and dispensers. Their handwarmer mugs are a favorite of Courtney’s. All of their products are microwavable and dishwasher safe.
There are tons of Etsy shops out there, a lot run by individuals or small businesses. We try to buy from Etsy when we can to support these creators. One such shop we’d like to mention is PetitePenArtistry. This shop has t-shirts, prints, and stickers that are all very cute and may be perfect for someone you know. Court- I love a good pun and I love tea and tee shirts, so when I found Petite Pen Artistry’s Tea Shirt, I had to have it.
Geeky Gifts
Are you a fangirl or fanboy? We love us some fandom gear and it’s one of our go-tos for friend gifts. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorites that we’ve found online and at conventions over the years.
Looking for the perfect cutlery for the geek in your life? The Utensil Company has got you covered. They sell flatware and drinkware with fandom logos and it is all really good quality. And what’s really cool about them? They’re nomads who run their business on the road from the back of their RV. During non-COVID years, they drive from city to city to various cons, making their product as they go. They ship free domestically and are currently making orders as they are received. So order now to make sure you get it before the holidays!
Who doesn’t love chocolate? And who especially doesn’t love chocolate in the shape of a Tardis or a Storm Trooper? We found The Truffle Cottage at Dragon Con in 2019 and were very impressed by their chocolate crafting skills. Courtney purchased a chocolate in the shape of the Serenity from Firefly and some Hufflepuff themed truffles that were really cute and delicious. They also offer holiday themed chocolates.
Also a Con find, 2 Bros and Bard is a cool small business, run by two brothers, that crafts chopsticks and jewelry out of wood. Court- I got some cute wooden block earrings because I was honestly in the market for some tortoise shell studs and these were pretty close in pattern but were so unique. I always get complimented on them and they go with so many outfits.
For all of the avid readers out there, especially the geeky ones, Beyond the Pages sells an assortment of fandom related bookmarks. From Harry Potter to Audrey Hepburn, you can find the perfect bookmark for any reader.
If you loved themed parties and you love a good role playing game, check out Murder Mystery Games on Etsy. They have a good selection of downloadable games you can play with your friends and family. We bought their vampire game and played it one Halloween and it was a hit. Everyone had a great time playing their character and trying to figure out whodunnit.
Hopefully this gave you some good gift ideas and encouraged you to shop small businesses this holiday season! Happy Holidays everyone!
Our McTravels 