Sure, you could dole out another round of Amazon gift cards this year.
Or you could surprise your loved ones with something truly unique and made with care: think artisanal chocolate truffles from Buffalo; art from a renowned Detroit printmaker; affordable candles poured in Los Angeles.
Small businesses power the US economy, creating jobs and revitalizing downtowns across the country. Many offer personalized customer service – and unique products you’re just not going to find at a big-box store.
We asked the Guardian newsroom to share what small businesses they’re supporting through holiday shopping this year.
Shop all our holiday guides and recommendations
Gifts from small food businesses
Paro Kitchari
Lately I’ve been leaning on Paro’s kitchari – a simple mix of mung beans, basmati rice and spices including turmeric, cloves and cardamom – on busy weeknights. Founder Umaimah Sharwani, who grew up in a Pakistani household in Texas, named the company after her mother, who sent her ziplock bags with her personal lentil and spice mix after she moved out for college. (My mom, an immigrant from China, did the same with baggies of homemade ginger tea and frozen blocks of broth.) Paro also makes a tomato kitchari with lentils and tarka oil with spices and ghee I’ve been wanting to get my hands on. Karen Yuan, commissioning editor, the Filter US
Blue Table Chocolates Sampler collection
I’m a sucker for a dessert whose taste lives up to its swanky presentation, and Buffalo-based artisan chocolatier Blue Table Chocolates excels on both counts. I’ve been gifted its sampler collection a few times, and each truffle – from Blackberry Lavender to Spicy Cherry Cashew – is as pretty as it is decadent. Prices are competitive for artisan chocolate, shipping is available nationwide and the company regularly supports local organizations and causes, making these a thoughtful gift from a small business that takes pride in both its craft and community. Tracy Allison, photo editor, the Filter US
Rancho Gordo holiday gift box
Whether for the vegetarian on a perpetual protein quest or the plain old bean lover, a Rancho Gordo gift box of rare heirloom beans makes for an amazing present. The company works with growers in the western US and Mexico to source rare and indigenous beans. It’s achieved something resembling cult status, exploding in popularity when we all discovered our inner chefs during the pandemic, but I still count it as a “small business” for its focus on sustainability and small-scale farming. Noa Yachot, senior editor, news and features
Canaan Palestine Rumi olive oil and za’atar gift set
Canaan Palestine produces deliciously luxe and bright olive oil as well as an array of tapenades from the region’s ancient native trees. The West Bank-based company employs regenerative agricultural practices even as increasing attacks by Israeli settlers have made olive oil harvest especially difficult in recent years. When you purchase one of Canaan’s holiday gift sets, the company plants a tree on a Palestinian farm. Dharna Noor, climate reporter
Shared Cultures assorted miso jars
A perfect gift for home chefs and condiment queens. The small-batch fermentation company, based in San Francisco, creates playful modern misos, many with California-grown ingredients, heirloom beans and foraged mushrooms. Their unusual ferments are the secret ingredient at famed Bay Area restaurants like the Michelin-starred Sun Moon Studio, and can be a great addition to any party. The nutty, sweet honeynut squash miso tastes divine swirled into rice crispy treats, while the deeply flavored mushroom-y variety adds a nice burst of umami to sauces or buttered toast. Maanvi Singh, immigration reporter
Taharka Brothers Keep Ya Head Up ice cream
It is my firm belief that the best ice cream in the US comes from my hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. That’s thanks to Taharka Brothers, a worker-owned cooperative that happens to offer nationwide shipping. The festive Biscoff cookie and eggnog would be a welcome addition to any holiday party, and the nostalgic honey graham truly slaps atop a slice of pie. But my favorite is the blackberry crumble flavor known as Keep Ya Head Up, named for the corny-but-perfect Tupac song. DN
Home gifts from small businesses
The Bitter Southerner tea towels
I covet a good tea towel – though I’m often loath to use them to wipe up messes. (I’m more of a “line the bread basket” person.) Our media colleagues at food publication The Bitter Southerner have some of my favorite affordable swag, including colorful tea towels that appeal to me as a food journalist and a Carolina girl. The nasturtium towel – an edible flower popular in many southern gardens – has a Christmas-ey color scheme. And I’ve given more than one friend the Axioms No 2 towel, which includes community-minded imperatives such as “Give more grace”, “Listen more closely”, “Hug more necks” and, yes, “Eat more biscuits.” The publication’s T-shirts have a similar bent. We rock the “Practice Radical Empathy”, “Feed the People” and “Read Banned Books” in our house. Cynthia Greenlee, deputy editor, special projects
Hilweh Market Palestinian embroidery
Hilweh Market is nestled in the old city of Jaffa, a Palestinian hub before most of its residents were forced out during the 1948 Nakba. One of the neighborhood’s few remaining Palestinian-owned businesses, Hilweh sells art, textiles, jewelry and more from Palestinian and regional artisans. I have literally dozens of pieces from Hilweh – my favorites include these ceramic coasters featuring the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish in gorgeous Arabic calligraphy; an original tatreez (Palestinian embroidery) designed by the artist Sliman Mansour and embroidered by a local women’s cooperative in the village of Surif; and these gold olive leaf earrings made with the help of actual olive leaves. NY
1970s pinch bowl from Big Mike’s Furniture Shop
I first discovered Big Mike’s Furniture when looking for a cute, comfortable secondhand office chair – a shockingly difficult quest. I eventually found a red, steel base Pollock office chair from the Chicago-based vintage seller. It was in great condition and on offer for a fraction of the exorbitant prices I saw on other vintage platforms. (Don’t even bother looking at the prices for new ones!)
Secondhand shopping is often more sustainable than buying new products, and allows you to gift products that no one else will have. Right now, the shop has a beautiful collection of 1970s decor, like this tiny earth-toned ceramic bowl. I also have my eye on this cute blue and purple pinch bowl. And if you don’t buy this green vase, I might. DN
PF Candle Co Amber & Moss candle
In a scented candle-crazed era when some brands are charging upwards of $75 a pop, PF Candle makes subtle and reasonably priced candles, incense and reed diffusers. My favorite scent is Golden Coast, which smells like hiking in the California redwoods, but I’m also curious to check out the new Grillo’s pickle-scented candle. The company makes all its products in California, and this year reportedly donated more than $50,000 to wildfire relief efforts in LA. Charlotte Simmonds, deputy west coast editor
after newsletter promotion
One-of-a-kind mystery print by Amos Kennedy
Amos Kennedy is a legend of the disappearing art form of letterpress printing and the best-known African American master of this craft. His socially aware and color-saturated prints delight the eye and are a balm to people who love both activism and affordable beauty. For a mere $15, you can take a teeny risk and order a 8-by-6 “mystery print”. You won’t know what inspirational nugget will be on this small poster from his Detroit studio. You won’t know the color scheme. But who cares? It’s a unique handmade meditation on paper, perfect for hanging in a cozy nook or framed on a desk. CG
Future Society’s Floating Forest parfum
Some people splurge on designer purses or new technologies. I indulge in niche perfumes. Future Society creates scents from extinct flower DNA, offering a whiff of plants from past ages and (hopefully) a reminder of the remaining biodiversity – and scents – we must preserve. This spring, a dear friend gifted me a sample of the Floating Forest scent as an engagement gift. It’s a soft, meditative fragrance that celebrates the Shorea cuspidata, a tree once common in Borneo that has been wiped out by logging. DN
Grovemade brass pen
Nobody needs a pen this luxurious, but after picking up Grovemade’s solid brass pen from its desk cradle, your mind will scramble for a rationale for one in your life. I have both atrocious penmanship and an aversion to paper clutter, but this pen makes me want to start hand-writing letters to friends I haven’t seen in 10 years. The sheer weight of it lends gravity to every stroke you take, even when you’re just scribbling “milk” on a Post-it.
Like most of Grovemade’s items, it’s handmade in a small factory in Portland, Oregon, that you can tour by appointment. If a pen isn’t your style, check out the brand’s obsessively engineered desk accessories. Nick Mokey, editor, the Filter US
Wellness gifts from small businesses
Lillipad standing desk
It’s pricey, but if you have a loved one who’s working all the time, they might deeply appreciate this gift. The Lillipad collapsable standing desk offers a shorter and taller option and fully electric height adjustments from 6 to 48 inches. Despite its heft (the taller model clocks in at 78 pounds), it takes just a few minutes to fold it down and roll it into a closet or under a bed.
Additionally, Lillipad’s customer service is exceptionally good. When I first set up the desk, I found a rogue screw and panicked when I couldn’t find where it belonged. The support team was so helpful that they even offered to get the CEO on the phone to help troubleshoot. (In the end we discovered the screw was from something else entirely, and the desk was perfectly intact.) TA
Lucky Honey Socks
Grippy socks are the unsung hero of good Pilates practice, and Redditors seem to swear by their Lucky Honey socks.
When my first pair arrived, I understood why: they are the best fitting and sturdiest grip socks I’ve owned. The one-size sock comfortably fits across a range of foot sizes, and the generously placed grips offered the stability necessary for safely balancing on a reformer. The brand offers a variety of design and color options, but for a nostalgic trip to the 80s, check out the tall “Vintage Dad” tube sock. TA
Speks stress ball
An old co-worker kept one of these memory gel stress balls on their desk and squeezed it all the time. The ball has a soft yet durable rubber outer shell and thick, squishy gel inside, so it bounces back after every squeeze. Speks is a tiny Brooklyn outfit that prototypes, photographs and packages everything in-house; other stress-relief trinkets include magnetic putty and stackable magnetic balls. The team also claims to test fastidiously for safety and ergonomics. All of that makes this little gel ball feel pretty thoughtful. KY
Travel gifts from small businesses
Baboon To The Moon small bag
I first stumbled onto Baboon to the Moon during a late-night Instagram scroll a few years back, when one of its neon-bright bags caught my eye. The 40L small Go-Bag is a flashy favorite among influencers, but it’s got both style and substance: it fits up to five days of clothes and is made from waterproof, phthalate-free PVC fabric, so it’ll last through all the dragging and banging that we subject our travel bags to. Plus, the colors make packing and lugging stuff around feel a little more fun. KY
Orox leather goods classic bifold wallet
The best leather goods only get better with time, and that’s certainly the case for the Orox Classic Bifold I’ve owned for seven years. It bears the scars of a life sometimes clumsily lived, but the wire-thick stitching hasn’t loosened or frayed at all, and the card pockets within haven’t lost their grip as some cheap wallets do. I was crestfallen when I thought I lost it on a recent camping trip, only to be happily reunited when I found it in the foot of my sleeping bag months later. You can watch fourth-generation Oaxacan leathermakers make these by hand in their shop in downtown Portland, Oregon, or pick one up at the airport if you’re passing through. NM
Peak Design Tech pouch
For all the scammy weirdness that bubbled up in the early days of Kickstarter, Peak Design is the rare success story that used the platform to launch innovative products other companies simply weren’t building. It started with an iconic camera clip called the Capture, then spiraled out into the current line of backpacks, rolling luggage and phone cases. I have friends who swear by the camera clips, now in their third generation, which let you securely click a camera onto a backpack chest strap, rather than having it precariously swing around on a neck strap. The hiker and photographer in your life would love one. NM
