My very favorite post to write every year is my North Carolina holiday gift guide because I enjoy highlighting all the goodness that my home state has to offer! Usually, I get this up on Black Friday; however, 2020 is such an odd year anyway, I’m sharing this post on December 1st. This year, I’m sharing 12 North Carolina gifts and several different experiences depending on your preference. Thank you for joining me today and helping support local businesses in my home state! You can see previous year posts here.
Holiday Gift Guide: 12 North Carolina Gifts to Offer this Christmas
1: Indigo Sands: No pair of earrings are the same! Due to their handmade quality, each pair may vary slightly in colour or size. Each unique and one of a kind. Every jewelry finding is made out of hypoallergenic golden stainless steel.
I am in love with the pair that is linked! I’ve added those to my own personal wish list for this year!
2: Jeddah’s Tea: Founded in 2018 by Morgan Siegel, Jeddah’s Tea was birthed from both a passion for tea and a deep love of community. Sourcing small-scale organic, vegan-friendly and fair-trade teas, herbs, and spices, Jeddah’s Tea prepares authentic, traditional teas, blends and concentrates from geographies and cultures underrepresented in the American tea-sphere.
My very favorite flavor is the Lavender Rooibos – South African herbal blend!
3: Bright Black Candles: Each 10oz Black, matte vessel contains 7.5 ounces of wax and custom-blended fragrance, along with sleek wooden wicks. 70-80 hours of burn time each.
The Discovery set is a great way to explore all 6 scents; however, I love the Durham candle and have added the Harlem Renaissance candle to my cart.
4: Shibumi Shade: The Shibumi Shade is the perfect beach shade because it’s lightweight, easy to assemble, provides enough shade for everyone, and won’t blow away in high winds. Designed and tested on the beaches of North Carolina, the Shibumi Shade uniquely works with the wind, not against it.
We took our Shibumi Shade for a socially distant summer trip to Ocracoke and it’s worth all the hype!
5: Vivian Howard’s New Cookbook: From Vivian’s website: “Each chapter of this is built on a flavor hero—a simple but powerful recipe like my briny green sauce (Little Green Dress), spiced nuts (V’s Nuts), fruit preserves (Sweet Potential), deeply caramelized onions (R Rated Onions), and spicy pickled tomatoes (Red Weapons). Like a belt that lends you a waist when you’re feeling baggy, these flavor heroes brighten, deepen, and define your food.”
If Vivian wrote it, you know it’s gonna be a good story! Vivian’s Deep Run Roots was on my list for quite a while, and her second book is just a lot of fun from her launch, to the retro vibes, and obviously that chambray jumpsuit.
6: Lo & Behold Facial Care: Product mission: drives us to create high quality, feel-good skincare products that add calming moments of happiness to any self-care practice.
Listen, I’ve been a follower of Lo & Behold for a couple of years now and the gift set I’ve linked above is an excellent option with some of my favorite products. Honestly, though, any of her skin products are glorious!
7: Mother’s Finest Elderberry Syrup: Mother’s Finest Elderberry Syrup, helps build immunity system and prevent illness during cold and flu season. It comes in an 8 ounce bottle and is my own special recipe of lavender infused honey, Mother’s Ginger powder, eucalyptus and organic elderberries.
I read about Samantha Foxx in this The Bitter Southerner article last year and immediately bought some Elderberry Syrup prior to my trip to the Bahamas. I am a lifelong fan!
8: Videri Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt: Our most popular chocolate bar. It’s made with the 70% Classic Dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt. Salty-sweet is hard to beat.
I’m not one with a huge sweet tooth, but this is hands down my favorite chocolate bar. If you’re local, drop by to get a bar or 10 for small gifts and enjoy one of their homemade hot chocolates!
9: Davis Designs Personalized Bracelets: Personalized accessories for any occasion!
Emily made me a set that says “Vote” and “Dissent” and then another set that says “Winston” and “Gizmo.”
10: Mama’s Salsa: Fresh & Authentic Salsa Made weekly! You can usually find her at local Raleigh Popup/Farmers markets but if not you can purchase at Raleigh Provisions.
The Avocado Lime and the Spicy Tomatillo cannot be beat, y’all!
11: Edge of Urge Stamped Jewelry: It’s important to keep special artifacts as close as possible. Wear this token around your neck to signify you do just that. Stamp the most important person/place/pet/thing and wear it with you always. Each piece is hand stamped to order by human hands, so every letter’s spacing and alignment is 100% unique to each piece.
I’ve linked the page to Edge of Urge made in shop page here. I think their hand stamped jewelry makes for amazing gifts for friends and family. This necklace is quite lovely and I wouldn’t mind having one just like it!
12: Bertie Peanuts: One of my favorites is the Smoky Sans Souci and this description is just lovely:
The Roanoke and Chowan serve as the western, southern and eastern boundaries of the county, while the Cashie River bisects the county from northwest to southeast. In fact the Cashie River runs for over 55 miles at depths up to 80 feet, all in Bertie County! Early settlers dealt with all this water by building canals, bridges, and ferries. Today only one ferry remains in the county, and it is one of the few one car, cable driven ferries still found in North Carolina. This beautiful location on the Cashie is known as Sans Souci, or “without worry”. And, folks take that name seriously as they use the Sans Souci area for water skiing , swimming, fishing, grilling, and dancing. In fact, from early spring to late summer the waters of the Cashie at Sans Souci are often covered by a thin layer of smoke from the campfires and grills. So sit back and enjoy these smoky hot peanuts, and think of lazy days on a slow moving river right here in Bertie County!
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite out of the Bertie Peanuts options, so you may as well get the Smoky Sans Souci, the Blister Fried, and then the chocolate covered ones for good measure. Read about one of our go-to recipes featuring Bertie Peanuts here.
Here are 21 unique North Carolina gift ideas. You can find all things I’m Fixin’ To holidays here.
Which of these North Carolina gifts do you like the most? Let me know in a comment below!