If you are anything like me, every year you think you are going to get all of your Christmas shopping done super early, so you can kick back, relax and feel so accomplished that all of your shopping is done. More realistically, you start shopping a couple of weeks before. That’s okay! With two and a half weeks to go until Christmas, it’s not too late to get those perfect presents for your loved ones and I am here to help you with some ideas. I am all about supporting small businesses by buying their products, so here are my faves this year!
1. Addition Holiday Spice Gift Set– You may remember Addition from my Tarragon Whiskey Sours post, but in case you missed it, they are a new local cocktail spice company specializing in making savory and spicy flavors to add to your cocktails, drinks or even in baking. They have assembled this yummy Holiday Spice Gift Set to add to things like Egg Nog and Cider. $64 for the whole set. If these flavors don’t excite you, browse their 20+ other cocktail spices on their site!
2. Old Dog Sk8s limited edition hand silkscreened skateboard– Created by Chip Baker (friend of the blog and designer of my lovely logo). These boards are all hand painted, silkscreened and one of a kind. Give it to your favorite skater or art collector, because it can be ridden or hung on the wall as art. $50 and it comes with grip tape!
3. Shroom by Becky Selengut- I was introduced to Becky Selengut through her first book Good Fish, during the Cook the Books Cooking Challenge that I participated in last year. I made her Hang Town Fry recipe and it was delicious… I should make it again! Now she has a new book called Shroom and it’s all recipes for cultivated and wild mushrooms. While not a foraging book, (Becky strongly emphasizes that in the book), wild mushrooms have gained popularity recently and this books gives you tons of new and interesting ideas for what to do with them. It would be a great gift for the mushroom lover or adventurous chef in your life. I bought this book for my mushroom loving friend Cara… and one for myself (more on the adventurous chef side)! If you are in the Seattle area, you can pick up a copy in person this Wednesday evening at Marx Foods, where Becky will be doing a cooking demo and signing books. Check out Becky’s website for other events and places to buy Shroom. There are also videos on her website that accompany the book.
4. Fiddlehead Hat- These are the cutest, softest, most cuddly little hats for kids. I know, because I bought one for my nephew. Shh, don’t tell! You can find these in Tasha Miller Griffith’s Etsy store and all of these hats are made from recycled cashmere sweaters. You get to customize your colors too! $32
Check out her blog too, Stale Bread into French Toast, where she sews and knits and does all the things I love!
5. Heritage Soaps- As someone who has sensitive skin, I am constantly on the lookout for good soaps that don’t irritate my skin, but are still moisturizing. There are a lot of fragrance free soaps out there, but that’s boring! With Heritage Soaps, I can have it all. The owner, Kate, just happens to be Chip’s sister (what a talented family) and was once a guest poster, with her soap making tutorial. There are many types and scents to choose from. I am currently using the Chamomile Flowers Soap as a face soap and the Pomander (orange and clove) soap as a hand soap. I was intrigued by the description of the Bergamot and Coffee soap and she advertises it as “a nice kitchen soap to remove odors or dirty hands from a day in the garden”. She sent me a sample of it, so that will be on my next order. She has a holiday sale going right now where you can get 3 soaps for $15 and if you mention Rake and Make, she’ll throw in a sample for you too!
Hope this helps! Happy Shopping!