You want to find the perfect items for everyone on your list and support local businesses, right? We have 76 gift ideas that do both.
STORY TIME
The Infamous Frankie Lorde 1: Stealing Greenwich By Brittany Geragotelis, $17.99, Pixel+Ink
Keep It Together, Keiko Carter By Debbi Michiko Florence, $17.99, Scholastic
Moleskine Smart Writing Set Ellipse Instant-access kit containing the Pen+ Ellipse smart pen and a large-ruled paper tablet with special Ncoded paper. $149, Moleskine. Barnes & Noble; us.moleskine.com/en
Don’t Look for Me By Wendy Walker, $27.99, St. Martin’s Press
The Life & Love of the Forest By Lewis Blackwell, $50, Abrams Books
Phantom Messages: Chilling Phone Calls, Letters, Emails, and Texts from Unknown Realms By William Hall and Jimmy Petonito $16.95, New Page Books
Behind the Red Door: A Novel By Megan Collins, $27, Atria Books
Plantopedia: The Definitive Guide to Houseplants By Lauren Camilleri and Sophia Kaplan $40, Smith Street Books
Musical Chairs: A Novel By Amy Poeppel, $27, Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Accidentally Wes Anderson By Wally Koval, $35, Voracious Books
19 Crimes: Combining wines and storytelling Every bottle has a story. Buy the wine, download the Living Wine Labels app and use your smartphone’s camera to let the bottle unfold a story in augmented reality. $19.99, 19 Crimes. Danielson Liquor; Danielson; Nutmeg Wine & Spirit Shop, Bristol; 19crimes.com
MUSEUM GIFT SHOP
2020/20+ Women tote bag Inspired by the New Britain Museum of American Art’s groundbreaking series of seven exhibitions devoted exclusively to works by women artists. $15, Budget Printers. New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain; nbmaa.org
Museum Nerd T-shirt Proclaim your nerdy proclivities with this preshrunk 100% cotton tee. $27, Popcorn Custom Products. Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme; florencegriswoldmuseum.org
Gold Slinky This 14-karat gold-plated original Richard James slinky is a must-have for all mid-century aficionados and collectors of design history. $150, Richard James 1945. The Glass House Design Store, New Canaan; designstore.theglasshouse.org
Mark Twain bobblehead Hartford’s own great American storyteller, Samuel Clemens, sporting his iconic white suit and clutching a cigar. $24.95, Royal Bobbles. The Mark Twain House and Museum, Hartford; marktwainhouse.org
GurglePot Make a visual and auditory statement with this pitcher that makes a gurgle sound when you pour. $45, GurglePot. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford; wadsworthshop.org
Camping mugs Featuring a map of the Connecticut River Valley. Follow the river! $17.50, Connecticut River Museum, Essex; ctrivermuseum.org
Frank Stella ornaments Designed by Frank Stella exclusively for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Shop in conjunction with Stella’s 2014 retrospective. $150, Whitney Museum of American Art. The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield; thealdrich.org (These ornaments correspond with the Aldrich's current exhibition Frank Stella’s Stars, A Survey, on view through May 9, 2021.)
Dona Bela Shreds Upcycled garments turned into unique necklaces and headbands. $26, Dona Bela Shreds. The Bruce Museum Store, Greenwich; brucemuseum.org
Louis Comfort Tiffany in New London Exhibition note card set Highlighting three stunning works of art featured in Lyman Allyn’s Louis Comfort Tiffany in New London permanent collection gallery. $15, Museum Store Products. Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London. lymanallyn.org
HOME SWEET HOME
Horizon trivet 100% cotton, natural-colored rope. Use to protect your table or counter from hot plates and pots. $20, Wild Carrot Cordage, Colchester; wildcarrotcordage.com
Cardinal poinsettia bone china teapot A large red cardinal sitting on a wintry blend of holly leaves, berries and poinsettia. 32 ounces. $42.95, Stechcol. Simpson & Vail, Brookfield; svtea.com
Modern geometric challah cover Velvet laser-cut design starts with an original Star of David pattern. $75, Apeloig Collection. Peace, Love, Light, Trumbull; peacelovelightshop.com
Connecticut Alphabet art print Designed and made by Jillian Goeler (JAG Ink Studio). Unframed and unmatted, 11x17. $50, Hartford Prints!; hartfordprints.com
Nautical Santa Round and cute with storybook hat and boots. 100% American cotton. 31/2 inches. $30, Mystic Knotwork, Mystic; mysticknotwork.com
Artisan woven blankets Heirloom-quality blankets, 100% Romney sheep wool raised and spun in Connecticut. Woven on vintage machines from the 1920s. $439, Henny Penny Farm, Ridgefield; hennypennyfarmct.com
Functional stoneware pottery Each piece is custom designed using lead-free glaze and clay formulations. The work is richly colored, delicately designed and durable. Prices vary, John Macomber, potter. Greenleaf Pottery, South Windsor; greenleafpottery.net
Starfish wine stopper Handmade with turquoise and personalized with your favorite sand or element. $54, Dune Jewelry Inc. Just For You Gift Shoppe, Plantsville; shopjustforyougiftshoppe.com
Knot pillow Sculptural profile adds visual interest to this throw pillow. Began with an experiment in tubular knitting. $120, Design Within Reach, Stamford; dwr.com
Balsam sachets 100% dried balsam sachets with a vintage feel. All sachets have an image of an old Christmas postcard back on the reverse side. 15 varieties. $15.99, Bearly ‘N Stitches. Local Soul, Wilton; bearlynstitches.com
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Reusable Swedish dishcloths One dishcloth replaces 17 rolls of paper towels. Absorbs 20x its weight. Far more hygienic than a sponge and won’t crumble or pil. $6.95, Three Bluebirds, Cos Cob; The Fat Robin, Hamden; Mindful Goods, Guilford; threebluebirds.com
Cleaning products gift set Holiday gift basket filled with natural cleaning and home products. Set includes four starter cleaners, two household sprays, cloth and is beautifully packaged. $50, home prep products, Hebron; homeprepproducts.com
Highclere Castle gin Winner of 14 prestigious gold awards. Highclere Castle Gin is crafted from ancient botanicals at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, England. $39.99-$47.99, Highclere Castle Spirits, Centerbrook; highclerecastlespirits.com
Miniature Series chairs Experience Danish design with the Miniature Series (2016) of the iconic Egg, stunning Swan, and ubiquitous Series 7 chairs. Great gifts for designophiles. $188, Design Within Reach, Stamford; dwr.com
Vintage truck holiday cards Boxed set of holiday cards contains six 4.25 x 5.5 folded cards (blank inside) with coordinating envelopes. Set includes 2 each of three designs. $16, MSD Design, Colchester; msddesignshop.com
Colorful candy dish One-of-a-kind, handmade fused glass dish. 6 inches square. $40, Funky Tulip Glassworks, Redding; funkytulipglassworks.com
Canoe container set Set of 2; 231/4” L. x 51/8” W. x 7” H. $54.95, Midwest-CBK. Black Swan Hearth & Gift Newtown; blackswanhome.com
FROM OUR LOCAL CHEFS
Connecticut Chefs: Recipes for Restaurant Relief e-cookbook 100 recipes from Connecticut chefs in support of the state’s unemployed restaurant workers. 100% of the proceeds go toward the delivery of pantry boxes to feed out-of-work restaurant staff throughout Connecticut. $25 = 1 pantry box which feeds a family of 4 for a week. $25, CTbites. ctbites.com
Latin Superfoods: 100 Simple, Delicious, and Energizing Recipes for Total Health By Leticia Moreinos Schwartz. $22.99, Skyhorse Publishing
The Vintage Baker: More Than 50 Recipes from Butterscotch Pecan Curls to Sour Cream Jumbles by Jessie Sheehan. $24.95, Chronicle Books
Sweet Maria’s Italian Cookie Tray: A Cookbook by Maria Bruscino Sanchez. $17.99, St. Martin’s Griffin
FAMILY FUN
Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencil, tin of 36
Albrecht Dürer Magnus watercolour pencils, tin of 36 Available in 120 colors that are part of a unique color matching system encompassing all Faber-Castell Art & Graphic products. $98.40, Faber-Castell. Hull’s, Blick, Jerry’s Artorama; fabercastell.com
Your Year in Art: Watercolor Filled with weekly challenges, step-by-step lessons, helpful tips, and gorgeous artwork, Your Year in Art: Watercolor is a must-have for any watercolor artist. $19.99, The Quarto Group
Campbell’s Alphabet Dice Game This award-winning anagram crossword game will warm your day. Just roll the dice and spell. Comes in a faux soup can. Fun for ages 8 to adult. $15.99, Wood Expressions; dabblesack.com
Wooden chess and pachisi It’s twice the fun with this double-sided wooden game board that also doubles as unique room decor. With two strategy games that are easy to learn but offer a lifetime of fun. $24.99, Melissa & Doug, Wilton; melissaanddoug.com
PAIRZI dice game Everyone gets two dice. As soon as you roll a pair then you get to find pairs of “Critter Cards.” Roll a pair, find a pair. Roll a pair, find a pair. Most pairs wins. $19.95, Carma Games. Greenwich, Darien, Stamford, Westport, Bethel, West Hartford; Amato’s, Middletown; HobbyTown, Fairfield; The Toy Tree, Newtown; ilovetenzi.com
Shadows in the Forest A thrilling, immersive play experience that brings a distinctive twist to family game night — you play it in the dark! An Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award Winner. $29.99, Think Fun. The Silly Sprout, Litchfield; thesillysprout.com
Portable corn hole set Set it up in your backyard and quickly pack it up for the beach, pool or lake. $225, The Two Oh Three; ShopThe203.com
Arcade Skee-Ball Keep the good times rollin’ at home with the arcade classic. $3,995, Made in the USA; Encore Billiards & Gameroom, Milford; encorebilliards.com
The Arcana of Astrology boxed set A dreamy guidebook and deck of 54 oracle cards revolving around all things astrological. $29.99, Abrams Books
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Classic Paperbacks Memory Game Richard Baker’s remarkable paintings of vintage paperback books feature titles by some of the most iconic writers of the modern era, from Emily Dickinson to George Orwell. $19.95, Princeton Architectural Press; Barnes & Noble
Sofia Valdez’s Big Project Book for Awesome Activists An empowering, hands-on look at activism and the democratic process. Get inspired to make a change in this project book from the team behind the bestselling Questioneers series. $14.99, Abrams