Every year, I look forward to writing my North Carolina Holiday Gift Guide to highlight all the goodness the Old North State has to offer. Here are 12 North Carolina gifts and corresponding experiences to book depending on your preferences. This year is even more important to support local for our western North Carolina businesses after Hurricane Helene. You can see previous year recommendations here.
This post was originally published in December 2020 and has since been updated and recirculated for 2024.
Holiday Gift Guide: 12 North Carolina Gifts to Offer this Christmas
Asheville Tea Company The Holiday Trio
One of my favorite tea companies is Asheville Tea Company, especially their Elderberry Yaupon. That said, this holiday gift set is perfect for the winter season. It is worth noting that the Asheville Tea Company facility was badly damaged during Hurricane Helene, so there are some shipping delays. This is available for pre-order and will ship in January.
Chemist Spirits is located in Asheville.
Aunt Ruby’s Peanuts Honey Roasted Peanuts
A&B Milling Company is proud to present superb Aunt Ruby’s peanut products and gifts from North Carolina’s historic Halifax County, one of the largest peanut producing counties in the state. Aunt Ruby’s Honey Roasted Peanuts are a delightful blend of peanuts, sugar, honey, and salt. We always have these on hand for snacks or for parties.
Aunt Ruby’s Peanuts is located in Enfield, NC, in Halifax County.
Baxter Miller Fine Art Print – Little Birds from the RISING Collection
Baxter Miller is a friend and an all around spectacular human with immense talent and eye. little birds features a gorgeous scene of Hatteras Inlet Sandbar. Shot from a doorless helicopter, the RISING series depicts the dynamic and vibrant fabric of the North Carolina coast. A distant yet intimate portrayal of the region that celebrates the distinct life and nature of a beautiful, resilient, salt-laden place. Her full collection is available here.
Bright Black Candle 2024 Holiday
Bright Black is a candle company based in Durham, NC that uses scent as a medium and candles as a platform for sharing positive narratives about Blackness. This is the second year that Bright Black has created a holiday scent. The muse behind our 2nd annual holiday scent is black cardamom, green cardamom’s cooler cousin. Whereas green cardamom is known for its delicate, citrusy, almost floral aroma, black cardamom is bolder, deeper, more robust, and has a slightly earthy, heartier nose. It’s a daring scent that gently nudges us to cultivate warmth during this season–both literally and figuratively. It was also designed to be an aromatic reminder of all that cardamom symbolizes and all that really matters in life: love, health, joy and connection to the divine.
Chemist Spirits Conservatory Rose Gin
This gin is such a lovely one that it made my September edition of Things I Bought & Loved this year. I had the pleasure of visiting Antidote, the brand’s cocktail bar in August. Include a hand written recipe card for one of the Chemist Spirits recipes, like this one, for this gin.
Chemist Spirits is located in Asheville.
Hawks & Doves The Pearl Woven Tote
Hawks & Doves Handcrafted Goods are made in Raleigh, NC and features several different tote options. I love this particular bag, especially as an option for a leather tote in warmer months. See the full collection here.
Kenda Kist Venus Charm and Paperclip Necklace
This necklace and charm have been on my wishlist for a couple of years now. The paperclip necklace comes in several lengths and would be a beautiful layering piece. The Venus charm has this write up on Kenda’s site: To us, this sign of femininity stands for strength, balance, and grace. This mixed metal charm is inspired by the force that female energy brings into any space. A symbol for staying kind but fierce.For every purchase of the Venus Symbol Charm, Kenda Kist will donate to support reproductive freedom. We are proud to support bodily autonomy for all individuals.
Kenda Kist is based in Raleigh, NC.
Old School Mill Cookie Trio Gift Box
Old School Mill features a wide variety of products and mixes, such as these cookie mixes. Located in Albemarle, NC, this small, family-owned business features a wide variety of corn meal products. Learn more about how this company was started here. The snickerdoodle cookie mix is my absolute favorite.
Sam Jones BBQ Cookbook and Sauces
In Eastern North Carolina, whole hog barbecue is king, and Sam Jones BBQ is doing it better than just about anyone else. Sam is whole hog royalty: His grandfather, Pete Jones, opened the renowned Skylight Inn in Ayden in 1947. Sam grew up helping him tend the coals, and after graduating college he moved back to Ayden to devote his life to perfecting the art of whole hog BBQ. He struck out on his own in 2015, when he opened Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville, with a second location in Raleigh that opened in 2020. In the meantime, he earned a 2018 James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef: Southeast and published a cookbook, “Whole Hog BBQ: The Gospel of Carolina Barbecue.”
Sam is carrying on a legacy of whole hog cooking that goes back hundreds of years. His pork is carefully cooked low-and-slow over local Carolina hardwood before being pulled, chopped, mixed with crispy skin and a little spicy vinegar sauce, heaped onto a bun, and topped with some crunchy sweet coleslaw. It’s Carolina-style BBQ perfection, and along with ribs, turkey, sauces, and sides, it’s shipping nationwide!
Saltwater: Coastal Carolina Coffee Table Book
The debut coastal coffee table book by Saltwater Collection is here! Featuring nearly 200 curated film photographs and hundreds of miles of coastline, this book is a must have for coastal lovers everywhere. Inspiring travel guides and fun facts are woven throughout the book, making it a truly immersive experience.
Author Faith Teasley shares musings of her childhood summers on the Pamlico sound, and how her Grandma Betty has influenced her journey. Saltwater: Coastal Carolina captures the magic of North Carolina’s shoreline, from the renowned Outer Banks, tranquil waters off the Crystal Coast, serenity of the Brunswick Islands and sun-drenched surf towns of the Cape Fear.
Spicewalla 6 Pack Grill & Roast Collection
Fire up your grill and break out the meats! The Grill & Roast six-pack collection is here to take the guesswork out of marinades, rubs, and seasonings. This page also includes recipes to try with these different spices. Meherwan Irani is the founder of Spicewalla and Asheville’s Chai Pani. Learn more about Spicewalla here.
Willow Hill Soap Company Willow Winter Ultimate Gift Set
This 5 piece gift set comes with an Eco-friendly reusable hemp bag, Smooth as Silk lotion (14oz.), Artisan Wash (14oz.), 4 oz. Soy Wax Candle OR Bath Bomb, and Whipped Sugar Scrub (6 oz.). This particular scent features fragrance notes of berries, pine, snow. There is also a fragrance quiz that you can use to find a new fragrance for yourself or whomever you are gifting. Learn more about this small business located in western North Carolina here.
Here are 21 unique North Carolina gift ideas. You can find all things I’m Fixin’ To holidays here. You can find a list of western North Carolina businesses to support here.
Which of these North Carolina gifts do you like the most? Let me know in a comment below as I am always looking for locally sourced small businesses to try throughout the year!
