Shopping local this Christmas? Here are 22 ideas of what to buy or where to shop.
Saturday is Small Business Saturday, a day to boost local businesses and artisans.
To celebrate the start of the traditional holiday gift buying season, the staff of The Spokesman-Review offers some of their gift ideas from establishments in the Inland Northwest.
IN SPOKANE AND NEARBY:
Build-your-own box at Spokandy
1412 W. Third Ave. in Spokane
The joy of shopping at the retail store of Spokandy, the chocolatier that’s operated in the Lilac City since 1913, is that you can pick out exactly the treats you think your loved one might like.
“Or perhaps you pick something you like, hoping they’ll share it with you,” joked Todd Davis, Spokandy’s owner, on a recent afternoon.
The showroom will be lined in the coming weeks with gift boxes and candies that celebrate the holiday’s flavors, including red, white and green creamy pastel mints (6 oz. for $9.99) or a hot buttered rum truffle ($3.75 each). The chocolates, including the store’s signature Murphy candy first produced by original owner Terrence J. Riley, are made on-site and packaged fresh for shipment anywhere in the country.
Davis encouraged shoppers to visit early and get their orders in. Orders received 10 days before Christmas should get to homes in time for the holiday, among the biggest for the chocolatier that also does big business for Valentine’s Day and Easter.
“That tends to be the season everyone gives,” Davis said.
Spokandy’s retail store is open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
– Kip Hill
Grab some vinyl – or a cassette tape or reel-to-reel – at Resurrection Records
1927 W. Northwest Boulevard in northwest Spokane
Enter the unassuming doors of Resurrection Records, whether it’s off Northwest Boulevard or through the back where owner Mike House sometimes offers free LP’s and tapes, and you’re bound to find something for the music-lover on your list.
On the walls of the shop on a recent Friday were the latest release of Taylor Swift, “Midnights,” along with a copy of Vince Guaraldi’s holiday classic soundtrack to “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” But it’s not just vinyl you can pick up at Resurrection. There’s a wall of cassette tapes separated by genre and plenty of CDs, movies and stereo equipment to peruse as well that’s always changing.
“I get plenty of products every day,” House said.
You can check out what the latest titles are on Resurrection’s Facebook page, facebook.com/GetResurrected. Or you can drop in and check out the bins of new arrivals in classic record-shopping style.
Sales of recorded music in all formats continue to increase, with vinyl sales in the United States reaching $1 billion nationwide in 2021, according to the Recording Industry of America. Chances are you have someone to shop for with a turntable looking for something to spin while you enjoy a holiday meal.
Resurrection Records is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. House said he ships products daily, and they can be delivered worldwide.
– Kip Hill
Go gift-basket easy at Simply Northwest
11806 E. Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley
Simply Northwest is often an easy button for custom holiday gift baskets filled with regional items, including decor, candles, packaged food items and Northwest wines.
“Our best-selling gift basket is our Classic Holiday Collection ($65 to $150), a wonderful mixture of sweet and savory and all the core gift basket items: smoked salmon, cheese, savory crackers and sausage, plus some of our best treats,” said Denielle Waltermire Stuhlmiller, owner since 2011.
Other baskets or boxed treats include themes like Ho Ho Huckleberry ($35-$85), Cheers & Beers ($34.99) and Northwest Breakfast ($45). Staff can make custom baskets or go with premade ones. Customers find a bounty of individual gifts too: Christmas decor, Dandles Candles, Simply Soft Peanut Brittle and Grandma Rubin’s peppernuts.
A new item being stocked is the book “Santa’s New Team,” Stuhlmiller said. Author Trevor M. K. Airey got the idea for the story’s team-building message in the middle of a sleepless Christmas Eve after he’d finished his master’s in leadership from Gonzaga University.
Simply Northwest purchases can be delivered locally or shipped nationwide. The store has holiday hours 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. You can also shop online at simplynorthwest.com.
– Treva Lind
Celebrate Spokane landmarks with Megan Perkins’ 2023 calendar
Available at From Here at River Park Square, Auntie’s Bookstore and meganperkinsart.com
Megan Perkins’ favorite structure in Spokane is an old standby, the Monroe Street Bridge. She’s painted it more than anything else in the city she’s called home since she came to Gonzaga University as a student in 2006.
“It’s a great framing device,” she said. And she likes the way it changes in different light. She’s depicted it from all kinds of angles, and it is featured on the October page of her 2023 calendar. For this painting, she set up from the new plaza on the southeast side of the bridge so that the Spokane County Courthouse, Spokane Public Health Building and the county jail are in the background.
Her 2023 calendar also features her favorite “building” (this is a different category than “favorite structure,” by the way). Her favorite Spokane building is the Parkade, the massive mid-century parking garage that takes up half a block of downtown. It’s March.
The show stopper for 2023 might be the piece for July, which she titled, “You Gonna Finish That?”
It celebrates a common midsummer Spokane scene: a hopeful seagull in the parking lot of Dick’s Hamburger’s, with the “Buy the Bagfull” panda sign setting the scene. Perkins said her Dick’s original painting sold earlier this fall at the Terrain art show.
Other scenes in the calendar include the Campbell House, the Liberty Building, Duncan Gardens, the Longbotham Building, a landscape from the Dishman Hills, the McCarthey Athletic Center and the Sister Cities Garden at Riverfront Park.
November commemorates a scene that has been destroyed – the mural on the side of the White Elephant on Division Street. The outdoors, firearms and toy store closed in 2020, and the building was torn down to make way for fast food.
“I thought at the very least that someone would preserve the mural,” Perkins laments. “Nope. A Panda Express. Stupid.”
Her calendar costs $18 and if you buy it at From Here, you can check out some of her other art as well as the work of numerous other local artists.
– Jonathan Brunt
Shop vintage Spokane at Bovey’s shop
914 W. Garland Ave. in Spokane
Known for regional retro images, artist Chris Bovey just opened Vintage Print & Neon this fall in the Garland District. Its hyperlocal gift choices include his designs on posters, apparel and coffee mugs that are all about Inland Northwest landmarks.
“We’ve got hats, socks, mugs, shirts and mason jars,” Bovey said. “We have our calendar that sells out every year.” Novelty items include a coffee mug with the Zip’s Drive-in vintage rabbit mascot and a Hanford shirt that glows in the dark.
Coasters start at $6. Stocking-stuffer choices include stickers and temporary tattoos. Shirts go for $25. “There’s a good range,” he said. “And then we have neon signs that are splurge items,” like Garbage Goat and an Expo ’74 sign.
Also available are posters of Bovey’s retro prints featuring hundreds of regional landmarks, such as Dick’s Hamburgers or Lake Coeur d’Alene, at $25 each unframed or $60 framed by the shop. For display only, Bovey set up old window decor – Santa on a reindeer – from the former Crescent department store for people to enjoy. He also will have a sales kiosk for the holidays at River Park Square, first floor near Nordstrom. Atticus Coffee still carries Bovey items as well.
The Garland District store hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursdays, noon-7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays.
– Treva Lind
You’ll find unique mugs and drinking vessels at the Cup of Joy Sale and Exhibit
Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery, 115 S. Adams St., Suite B, Spokane
From Dec. 2 through Jan. 7, the Trackside Studio Ceramic Gallery in downtown Spokane will feature drinking vessels – coffee mugs, goblets, etc. – crafted by some of the region’s best-known pottery artists.
The 9th Annual Cup of Joy Sale and Exhibit will feature more than 150 handcrafted items created by more than 40 artists who hail from the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area and from as far away as Connecticut, New York, Florida and Indiana.
“One of Trackside’s most complex events but also one of our most popular, this exhibit features ceramic cups in many forms, colors and treatments, some serving as mini sculpture, many times they feel like a small lovely 3D painting and most often they are functional mini-artworks,” the gallery said in a news release.
Most of the cups will range from $40-$60, Freun said, although some can sell for $100 or more. The artist Freun said she’s most eager to feature in Spokane is 13-year-old Tuile Fionnuala of Kingston, Ontario, who has been showing her work at galleries and major shows in the U.S. and Canada.
The show will open on First Friday, Dec. 2, with a reception from 5-8 p.m. The gallery also will be open the following day, Dec. 3, from noon to 4 p.m. Online sales at trackside-studio.square.site will open at 8 a.m. that day as well. Starting in December, the gallery will be open Wednesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and by appointment. For information or to make an appointment, call or text (509) 863-9904.
– Carolyn Lamberson
Knick-knacks, but much more are gift options at Teleport Vintage + Co.
917 W. Broadway Ave., Spokane
Kitschy, kooky and classic meet at Teleport Vintage + Co. just off Monroe Street .
The store boasts vintage furniture, clothing, jewelry, and knick-knacks.
Owner, Paul Forster, opened the store in 2021 that brings together a variety of vendors in a cohesive shopping experience. You’ll find a menagerie of gift ideas, including vintage Levi 501s, hard-to-find cassette tapes and classic turquoise jewelry. Diane Ellsworth recently began selling her coats made from vintage quilts at the shop, which have become a big hit, according to an employee fawning over the new arrivals on a recent busy weekend.
The store packs a lot in so a drink from the store’s bar is an ideal browsing accessory.
– Emma Epperly
Boost your senses with Ember and Pine Co.
Hand-poured in Chattaroy
These coconut and soy wax candles have something for every sense, like the beautiful dried botanicals and the crackle of the wood wick.
The business boasts dozens of scents in a variety of sizes and colors. Classic scents include Eucalyptus and Spearmint, Lavender and Vanilla, and Jasmine and Sage.
Owner Samantha Harrison wanted to create candles full of Inland Northwest botanicals that offer more than just great scents.
“I try to create an experience with the candles,” Harrison said.
Holiday scents abound with cinnamon bun and vanilla glaze, coffee and cane, hot cocoa and marshmallow, and frost and pine. The candles are available online or at the Wildland Cooperative in Green Bluff and the Chop Shop in Spokane. Harrison will also have a booth at Brrrzarr at River Park Square on Dec. 17.
– Emma Epperly
Something for just about anyone can be found at Lolo Boutique
319 W. Second Ave, Spokane
This locally owned store has everything from clothes to accessories to home decor. The expansive store offers a variety of styles, making it a great stop while shopping with friends.
They carry products from other local businesses and artists from lip balm to Christmas ornaments. From stocking stuffers to an entire new outfit, Lolo has it all, making it the perfect place to stop and pick up a gift card for that picky person in your life.
Lolo will be open for extended hours, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday along with hosting their holiday open house on Dec. 9 and 10.
– Emma Epperly
For the young or old who love the fiber arts, there’s The Hook & Needle
Nook
1508 N. Monroe St, Spokane
Esther Wheeler didn’t plan on opening a fiber arts shop.
But when one of Spokane’s local yarn stores closed its doors, it hit her and her friends hard.
“We were all sitting in our knit group mourning the fact that we didn’t have another small yarn shop in town, so we started fantasizing about the perfect yarn shop,” Wheeler said. “Driving home, it dawned on me that it was a business plan … pretty soon I was looking for places.”
Wheeler, formerly a biochemist at the University of Texas-San Antonio, opened her brick-and-mortar store on July 1, 2018. The Hook and Needle Nook sells all shapes, colors and sizes of yarn as well all of the supplies needed to knit, crochet, weave and spin. The store offers a range of classes for anyone new to the fiber arts, too – if you want to learn how to knit a hat, they can teach you.
Knitting is for everyone, regardless of the stereotypes, Wheeler said.
“I have a lot of young people come in,” she said. “It’s something that has changed over the years from the old lady craft into an everybody craft, including men.”
The Hook and Needle Nook is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
– Colin Tiernan
Dry Fly Distilling has gone national, but it’s still very local
1021 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane
If there’s one word that sums up Dry Fly Distilling, it’s “local.”
Founder Don Poffenroth, who used to work in marketing, said he created the company so he wouldn’t have to move away from Spokane. The wheat that goes into Dry Fly’s spirits and cocktails comes from farms less than 30 miles from downtown. Heck, the distillery even makes a huckleberry vodka.
Dry Fly makes different kinds of whiskey, vodka and gin as well as canned cocktails. The company has grown since its first distillation in 2007 and now sells its products in more than 40 states. As of last year, Dry Fly occupies part of the building on Monroe Street that once housed The Spokesman-Review’s printing press.
Poffenroth said he doesn’t think of Dry Fly as having a specialty, but the distillery makes some products unique to the Inland Northwest.
For instance, Dry Fly makes a whiskey out of triticale, a wheat-rye hybrid typically grown as livestock feed.
“We’re the only ones that make triticale whiskey that’s 100% triticale,” Poffenroth said.
Dry Fly is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
– Colin Tiernan
Fish World Spokane offers range of pets
11522 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley
If you like watching brilliantly colored fish swimming among corals and anemones but can’t afford to go snorkeling somewhere tropical, Fish World Spokane’s the place for you.
Bobby McGowan opened the fish shop less than four years ago after his dad passed away. The longtime fishkeeper, who also works full time as a Spokane County Jail corrections officer, described the fish store as a “healing project.”
“I grew up in the Ozarks in Missouri, in the rolling hills, dirt poor. I grew up on dirt floors,” McGowan said. “But my dad … we always had a love for fishing.”
Fish World Spokane has dozens of tanks in neat rows – strategically positioned at eye-level height for kids – filled with different species of exotic fish, corrals, snails and more.
Some of the rarer fish come with price tags in the $100 range, but many species start at just a few dollars.
“We have it all,” McGowan said.
Fish World is open seven days a week from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
– Colin Tiernan
Sub Sox sells cool socks sure to bring joy on Christmas morning
There is a time in every person’s life where socks go from the least interesting of all Christmas presents to a reliable source of holiday joy.
Sub Sox, one of the many bespoke clothing options by Casandra and Trent Quintero, the husband and wife team behind Simply Me Gentlemen, is for people in that happy latter part of life. The designs include Spokane themes, Bigfoot and more.
A purchase also helps to support a good cause. A portion of the proceeds for some socks go to support breast cancer awareness, women and children in need, or to support Ukraine.
With some others designed by third-party artists, such as local Chris Bovey, a part of the proceeds goes to pay commissions to the artist for every pair sold.
And for every pair purchased, a pair is donated to homeless Spokanites.
Pairs can be found at the online store, simplymegentlemen.com/collections/sub-sox, as well as at the Little Garden Café location near Whitworth University.
– Emry Dinman
Hierophant Meadery infuses its mead with local ingredients
16602 N Day Mt. Spokane Road, Mead
Sometimes the only solution for a cold wintery day is a bottle of mead.
Hierophant Meadery, opened in Mead in 2012 by Jeremy Kyncl and Michelle Scandalis, specializes in metheglin, or herbed mead.
That can be as simple as an infusion of hops, or as complicated as a bouquet of turkey tail mushrooms, nettles, hibiscus, rose petals or vanilla. For the holiday season, spiced apple is a solid option, as is the Song of the Elders, flavored with Douglas fir and pine resin and cedar tips.
Their mead is available at the Hierophant Meadery Green Bluff tasting room in Mead, the Main Market Co-op downtown or at a variety of winter markets.
– Emry Dinman
Bring green to your winter at Fern Plant Shop
1526 W. Riverside Ave.
309 W. Second Ave.
211 E. Lakeside Ave., Coeur d’Alene
As the weather outside gets frightful, the trees grow bare and plants wither, it’s still possible to fill life with a little bit of green.
Stepping in from the cold to a warm Fern Plant Shop, customers are greeted with plants on shelves and hanging from the walls and ceilings.
Grab a Christmas cactus, a moisture loving cactus that adds a splash of color in the wintertime with a late bloom that returns year after year. Norfolk pines, a small tropical plant with soft, bushy branches, can act as a mini Christmas tree for apartments or desktops that adds a pleasant fragrance to a space.
The stores, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday-Wednesday, are having a Black Friday sale through Nov. 28. All items are at least 30% off, though rare “fancy plants,” terrariums and handmade jewelry are 50% off.
– Emry Dinman
A DRIVE FROM SPOKANE:
Urban country flair can be found at Golden Gem Mercantile
18805 S. state Route 27, Rockford
This unique roadside gift barn combines a feed store with a boutique and a coffee shop. Owned and operated by Jeff and Amanda LaShaw, the storefront on their family farm combines their loves of agriculture, clothing and coffee.
The boutique offers informal, urban country flair for men and women. The cafe features an assortment of whole beans and grounds from Tom Sawyer Country Coffee, a local roasting company they purchased in 2021. They also sell many homegrown gifts by local artisans including sweets, skin care and home decor.
Shop online at goldengemmercantile.com.
– James Hanlon
Gift that are all the buzz are at The Coco Bee
103 S. Main Street, Colfax
What started as an online store selling luxury beeswax products handcrafted to provide relief for allergies now has a main street storefront that opened in Colfax this month. The Coco Bee sources beeswax and raw honey from small beekeepers in Utah, Idaho and Washington to create natural candles and skincare products.
Candle scents include fruity and herbal profiles or fun themes like “Fresh Baked Bread.”
A “Merry and Bright” holiday collection suggests customizable gift options and holiday-themed stocking stuffer kits.
Shop online at thecocobeeco.com.
– James Hanlon
The Post and Office offers cool gifts in a Lincoln County farm town
2 S. 3rd St., Harrington
Occupying a historic post office building in Harrington, The Post and Office is a cozy coffee shop and co-working office space with a gift shop selling trinkets from small businesses, both local and not. Right now, they have a lot of crafty holiday decorations, ornaments and candles. Locally themed T-shirts, hats and mugs are always popular. And handmade items like dish towels and crocheted baby toys have a personal touch.
– James Hanlon
IN NORTH IDAHO:
Get a holiday-themed bath bomb or bar of soap delivered from Mountain Madness Soap Co.
310 E. Sherman Ave. in Coeur d’Alene
The holiday lineup at this small-batch soap maker in downtown Coeur d’Alene lives up to its origin story in North Pole, Alaska.
A bar of peppermint bark soap, the gingerbread bath bomb and winter cranberry shampoo bar are among customers’ favorites around Christmas at Mountain Madness, said Andy Morsell, co-owner of the shop.
For the mischievous loved one, you might also consider the lump of coal bath bomb, which includes real coconut carbon charcoal that detoxifies in your tub.
Mountain Madness has partnered with Spirit Lake-based Rush Deliveries to bring their products to customers in the greater Spokane-Coeur d’Alene region, Morsell said. Next-business-day delivery is available for $7 on orders under $75, and it’s free if you spend more than that.
The shop downtown is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. It will be closed on Black Friday, but open the rest of the holiday season. For a list of other local retailers that carry Mountain Madness products, visit mountainmadnesssoap.com.
– Kip Hill
For the chef in your life, Culinary Stone offers gadgets, classes and gourmet food
2129 N. Main St., Coeur d’Alene
Along with an assortment of kitchen gadgets, cookware and baking supplies for the kitchen wizard in your life, the Culinary Stone in Coeur d’Alene’s Riverstone area features a cafe and deli with artisan meats and cheeses, wine and gourmet food items. It carries an extensive collection of items from the Stonewell Kitchen line as well as some locally crafted treats. Shop here for Caramel Kitchen’s Salted Caramel Sauce, and barbecue sauce from Black Elk Sauce Co., as well as a house-branded olive oil and vinegar selection. Prefer to give experiences rather than stuff? The Culinary Stone can help you out, too, offering a variety of cooking classes each month.
The store is open 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. For information, visit culinarystone.com/ or call (208) 277-4116.
– Carolyn Lamberson
The Well Read Moose has books for all kinds (and lip balm as a stocking stuffer)
2048 N. Main St., Coeur d’Alene
This charming, locally owned bookstore in Riverstone is a great spot to shop for the bibliophiles in your life. Its children’s corner offers a wide variety of picture books and early readers while older kids can browse the Young Adult and Middle Reader shelves. The store offers a well-curated selection of current releases, too, with plenty of staff recommendations to help guide you in your shopping. There’s also a wide selection of journals and fun pens as well as games and other gift items. Need a stocking stuffer? Grab a tin of Hannah’s Honeybees, a lip balm created by Coeur d’Alene college student Hannah Neff. The lip balms are made from all natural ingredients and come in lavender, pink grapefruit, peppermint and unscented.
The store is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. For information, visit wellreadmoose.com or call (208) 215-2265.
– Carolyn Lamberson
Savory or sweet, big or small expand the options at Birdie’s Pie Shop
1003 N. Spokane St. Post Falls
9375 N. Government Way, Hayden
This shop’s owner realized that people love giving pie as a gift, but don’t always know which of the assortments offered at Birdie’s Pie Shop that recipients would prefer, or perhaps even share. Its gift cards get snatched up, either bought online and emailed to a recipient, or the actual cards for sale at two store locations.
The specialty bakery, which Sharee Moss started in Post Falls and named after her pie-making Grandma Birdie, offers sweet and savory pies of various sizes. For hostess gifts or as a present closer to the holidays, two stores offer whole savory pies ($24-$32) including spaghetti, pulled pork, mac and cheese and taco. On the sweet side ($19.50-$32), customers can purchase caramelized banana cream, strawberry lemonade and peanut butter chocolate. Many sweet pie flavors are available gluten-free, as well.
Gifts also can come as a solo snack, as many of the same savory and sweet flavors are available in personal, 4-inch pies ($4.95). For a slightly bigger solo snack, pick a quad, aka four personal pies ($19.50). For family snacking, game night or sharing at the office, there is a pack of eight bites ($16).
Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays; closed Mondays and Sundays.
– Treva Lind