Uniquely Seattle Gifts that might help with your Holiday shopping

I am a big fan of locally made and anywhere or anytime I can toot my “I love Seattle” horn, I will.  So here are some things that I have my eye on for holiday gifts:

We have chocolates of all sorts here in Seattle and my favorites are Frans’ and Theos. Both give fabulous samples when you go in their boutiques and I love the Fran’s nut and mendiant bars and the Theo Big Daddies the best.  I also buy a lot of candies and stocking stuffers at Bartells because they seem to stock a lot of neat Seattle-made things.  These things are usually labeled that they are made in Washington so they’re easy to spot and I often find myself running in for cold medicine and coming out with fantastic locally-made finds I didn’t know existed.  For food gifts I also like Herkimer and Vivace and Fonte coffee, pies from A la mode and caramel balls from the Confectionary at Uvillage.

Gifts like Oh so Antsy’s state necklaces, Desteenation elephant car wash shirts, Baleen Tiny Stick Drop Earrings, and Glassbabies in Hudson color always catch my eye. I’m definitely a sucker for cute stores and packaging and it’s fun to shop at Home Remedy, Cone and Steiner, Moorea Seal and Butter Home.  I just found out about this cool savings passport idea that is happening in Pioneer Square on some weekends coming up and I’m going to try to make a point to use the discounts at Drygoods design and London Plane because they are fabulous.  I love innovative shopping ideas and this one is really fun.

The labels on the Rachel Red wine by Wilridge Winery and the 12th man wine by Northwest cellars are also perfectly Seattle too.

And I’m always a big fan of memberships to places people love.  Memberships support local places, artisans and our city and they often outlast things that we buy.  We are members at many Seattle places, but I especially like the Pacific Science Center because it’s an amazing museum and reciprocal at many other Science Centers when we travel (like super-close Science World in Vancouver or OMSI in Portland) and the Mohai Family Plus Membership because it is so uniquely Seattle and the NARM benefits work at many other Washington museums (like the Whatcom museum) I might not otherwise have visited.

A market charm is another great idea for a family who loves Seattle.  The Pike Place Market is expanding and the charms will go in the new entrance area and I think it’s such a romantic thing to have your name or something personal in a place you love.  I also like cooking classes from Booklarder, the Pantry at Delancy, or Hotstove by Tom Douglas.  And some spa memberships like the PDQ club at Julep and the lite Skoah facial membership at Skoah are great value for people who love to go to get their nails done and have facials.  (like well, me. Yes, me please.  I might have to get this one for myself.)

For kids, I like this Little Orange Room S is for Seattle T-shirt, Seattle artist Kate Endel’s color on re-usable placemat, and a Seattle themed coloring book.  Of course my guys are in love with anything Seahawks or Sounders (I like the idea of the Sounders Junior Alliance Souvenir Box) so I’m always on the lookout for products with these teams too.

And for a pre-Christmas experience present, Dick Wittington and his Cat is a great holiday show and if you take the kids, their parents might be thrilled and buy you an especially fabulous present. We went with our kids the other night and I have to say it’s one of my favorite ever plays at the Seattle Children’s Theatre even though I probably should have read the reading guide first because I just looked at the billboard and assumed it would be about an old man and his cat at Christmas and it was actually a musical topped off with pirates, ghost rats, and a hilarious kid-friendly-Monty-Python-esque skit.  It was fantastic.  I even have a discount for 10% off, I can share.

But I’m still shopping (we still have over a month left before the big day even though EVERYONE I know seems to have put up their tree and finished their shopping already!) and will be for a while, so I’ll come back and update when I buy some more.

Do you have any locally-made things you love to buy from your hometown?  Have you put up your tree or gotten things together for the holidays or are you waiting like me?  And do you have any favorite Seattle gifts you might add? Happy shopping!

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)