Shop Small 2023

It’s time for holiday shopping! Since we’re not traveling at the moment, we thought we would do a different kind of post for December. We did a similar post several years back, encouraging people to shop small businesses and thought, why not make another. This really helps out budding entrepreneurs and you can often find a lot of unique and handmade gifts for your friends and family. (This blog is not sponsored in any way, these are just shops we personally love.)

My Vintage Gypsy Teas is a tea shop right off the square in Dahlonega, GA, but fortunately, it’s teas are available online. In addition to tea, they also have delicious hot chocolate that is hand made in the store. The teas are fresh and come in a variety of flavors including a few magical blends like Buttery Beer.

Firefly Frippery is just a cute Etsy shop with cute stuff. I know these days cute is one of the most generic words but these items are just so… cute! I recently got a pair of the Christmas cookie earrings and these little guys look just like real cookies. You can tell that the artist behind these really puts in the work. Check this Etsy store out for some seriously cute stuff!

HappyFridayCo specializes in fandom merch with a special emphasis on a few particular carpet patterns (iykyk). It is the Etsy shop that provided us with our carpet cell phone cases, which allows us to represent our allegiance to Dragon Con while having a cool phone case.

Chattahoochee Candles made our list last time too, but there are even more great things to love this year. In addition to the great smelling jar candles, there are now dough bowl candles which make great centerpieces and harken back to our grandmas making biscuits on Sunday mornings. The shop also has fire starters, soaps, wax melts, lip balms, and scrubs.

If you love earrings as much as we do, check out Maggie’s Chic Designs. She handmakes all of her jewelry and always has a unique and awesome pieces we find we cannot go on living without. She travels around the North Georgia area to festivals and also sells her jewelry at several local stores and on her Insta page. Follow her to check out her newest designs and see where she will be selling in person next.

If you have little ones in your life, Berry Littles has unique onesies, including ones that can be customized. This Etsy store also has customizable ornaments perfect for baby’s first Christmas.

TurnandTwist has embroidered shirts that are so lovely. I, Courtney, got the ghost shirt and the Merry and Bright shirt and both are amazing. The shirts are Comfort Colors so you know they will wear well but the embroidered designs are so unique and beautiful.

Peach Custom Shirts also has wonderful embroidered shirts and a lot of customizable designs. Having a custom gift just puts that little extra on a gift.

ElmSpringsLLC has a variety of cute wooden earrings and some candles. There are a number of fandom inspired earrings and some that are just plain fun. I, Courtney, got some Ted Lasso Believe sign earrings and the mixed pair of Groot and Rocket. Both have become some of my go to sets.

PetrillaWoodCrafts makes a variety of ornaments. I, Courtney, ordered the “I Love You” sign ornament and it was excellent quality. My aunt was very happy with it.

If you are looking for a gift for a reader or to track your own books, BritishBookArt has you covered. The Etsy shop makes adorable book trackers in a variety of styles. We need to order some new trackers for next year!

Speaking of books, Wildflower Bookmarks also has super cute reading journals and fandom inspired bookmarks.

Do you have any favorite Etsy shops or other small businesses?

Happy Holidays! See you in 2024!