I've always considered myself pretty supportive of local brands and I like to find small companies close by that I can help support as opposed to huge corporations. Supporting small businesses is supporting someone's dreams and families and showing love in your own community.
I purchased everything in this post
It's been said a million times, but it's been a pretty crazy year and Covid19 has wrecked havoc on peoples personal lives and work. It's basically controlled most of the year and it feels like there is no end in sight. And, with Alberta well in to our second wave and new measures imposed yesterday, it feels especially important to shop and support local - so many of our small shops found ways to go online at the start of the pandemic (if they weren't already) and they often deliver as well too!
I'm by no means perfect, and my goal this year is to have at least 50% of my gifts come from local Calgary shops, and honestly, with my list almost done already, I'm feeling pretty accomplished in that goal! I wish that I could share every Calgary shop ever on this list and that's just not possible, but I will try and show as much love and support to as many of them as I possibly can! So, if you are looking for stocking stuffer and smaller gift ideas made local here in Calgary, look no further:
For Sweet Sakes Hot Chocolate Bombs ~ $30.00 CAN for 6 bombs. Available flavours are: candy cane, milk chocolate, white chocolate, oreo, s'mores, mocha and salted caramel.
Okay, Hot Chocolate bombs are all over the place right now - you pour warm milk over these and the chocolate melts, releasing the hot chocolate mixture, flavours, and little marshmallows! They are super cute and I think these are the perfect stocking stuffers. For Sweet Sakes is the first company I saw doing them, so I ordered from here, but there are lots of places offering them now too!
The Chocolate Lab Custom Bon Bon Box ~ $11.00 CAN for 4 pieces. Here’s where you get to call the shots. Browse our chocolate bonbons, and select to add them to your custom box. If you want a box of all one flavour, or all white chocolate, or all boozy ones, you can create the exact box you desire.
Are these not the most stunning little chocolates you've ever seen?! They have so many beautiful designs and flavours and all of the ones that I tried were delicious! You can order custom boxes of 4, 9, 16 or 25 pieces. The Chocolate Lab also has different chocolate bars and dragees that are delicious as well!
Kin + Pod Chocolate Bars ~ $6.00 - $7.50 CAN each. Kin + Pod is an Alberta Company Dedicated to Making Exceptional Chocolate from Bean to Bar.
Kin and Pod is a small Calgary company that focuses on ethically sourced ingredients and making quality chocolate. They also offer coconut milk vegan chocolate bars as well and have a little something for everyone! They are available in lots of shops locally and across the country!
While I only have a few places to talk about right now, Calgary has so many options - I wish I could share something from everywhere! I would also highly recommend chocolate by Cochu Chocolatier, macarons by By Ollia, and anything by Sweet Relief Pastries, Pretty Sweet YYC, and 8 Cakes YYC!
I always add drinks to gifts baskets, stockings, and exchanges - coffee, tea, booze, you name it, I love gifting it! And, Calgary has so many places to pick up amazing drinks!
Burwood Distillery Coolers ~ $15.49 CAN for a 6 pack of coolers. Can't decide which wonderful hand crafted Burwood canned cocktail cooler to choose from? Well, they're all made with REAL ingredients and with 100% genuine craft spirit. No macro booze snuck in and none of that fake "all natural" business. This is 100% the real deal and each one is designed and crafted from our hearts.
Burwood is known for their Honey Liquor and these coolers are unique and perfect to throw in someone's stocking (of course, if they are legal age!), and I picked up a few of these for gift baskets as well! They have plenty of liquors and unique drinks, including kombucha cocktails - they will have something for everyone on your list!
Fratello Coffee Roasters Coffee ~ $18.21 for 12 oz. Our philosophy is simple: financially reward the coffee producers we work with for the quality they produce in order to bring our customers better quality coffee. It’s a win-win.
Fratello focuses on coffee that is consciously chosen, responsibly purchased, and carefully roasted - they have different beans from different regions of the world and there will be coffee for everyone. I picked the Botanical blend that's a medium blend and sounded pretty easy to please everyone!
Again, I can only share so many small beverage shops, but there is plenty more I can recommend. For local coffee roasters, there is also Monogram Coffee, Calgary Heritage Roasting Co., Phil & Sebastian, and Rosso Coffee Roasters. If tea is more your or your gift recipient's thing, I would suggest you check out The Naked Leaf, Tearrific, and TotaliTea. Calgary has so many breweries and there is so many different types of beers to go to add to a gift - I like Eighty Eight Brewing Co., and Village Brewery. And for other booze, Calgary has it's own local winery so I would check out City and Country Urban Winery, and if cider is more your taste, maybe give Sunny Cider a try or we love mead from Chinook Honey Co. and it's a unique drink to gift!
Every gift basket or stocking needs a little home, accessory or clothing item - and of course, this year it will probably have to include some new masks!
Onyx and Ivy Classic Bow Scrunchie ~ $16.00 CAN. When in doubt, put a bow on it! Your Onyx+Ivy classic style with a bow comes with a REMOVABLE bow on it! Just tie it in a knot around your scrunchie when you want to add that little extra something to your hairdo!
This is the perfect gift exchange addition and these scrunchies are fantastic - they are thick and well made and hold the hair well, and the little bow on there is a delight! I think hair accessories locally made for women are a little hard to find, so I'm happy I found this brand. A few other local companies that make hair accessories are Cinder and Sage and Hello Freckles.
Ashabi Wears 2-Pack Reversible Bamboo Facemasks ~ $17.99 CAN. 100% locally made in Calgary Canada. 66% Bamboo, 28% Cotton, 6% Spandex. Very soft, breathable, organic. Hand and machine washable.
These masks are a super soft bamboo material that is super comfortable to wear - these come in a two pack in a variety of colours, with kids sizes as well as the option for a nose piece in them. There are a ton of companies making masks out these, so there will certainly be some wherever you are looking, but a few other Calgary makers include Riyoko and Seams Friendly YYC.
Land of Daughters Candle ~ $28.00 CAN. Get ready for a cult-like devotion to a scent you won’t want to live without. Girl Gang is a blend of sweet, pink cotton candy and bright, sparkling lime. Named for your fave babes, you’ll be reminded of them every time you smell it.
I just recently featured a Land of Daughters room spray and their scents are lovely. I honestly think you can never go wrong with a candle for anyone as a gift - they look nice, smell good, what more could you want?! I also love candles from Milk Jar and Natura Soy!
I haven't picked up any clothing items yet, but if I do, I will likely grab a shirt or accessories from Local Laundry (especially a buy one, give one toque), socks from Friday Sock Co., or even men's boxer briefs from Devon + Lang for the guys!
For women's clothing, I love Bare Activewear, Renard + Elliott, and Lost in Layers, as well scarves from Wild Wind Rags.
And, my most favourite category of gifts to give (and receive) are bath and beauty products! There are so many amazing Calgary makers with fantastic beauty products - again, I wish I could share more, but there are just too many for me to pick up something from all of them!
Bloom Body Co. Bath Soaks ~ $22.00 CAN for 16 oz. Relax and unwind with our ZEN Bath Soak. It's packed with skin softening clays, a blend of mineral rich salts, and calendula flower petals. Scented with an uplifting blend of Lemongrass and Ginger essential oils.
Who couldn't use something to help them relax right now?! I absolutely love bath salts and soaks and these ones feel extra luxurious! Bloom has a whole range of bath and body products as well as boxed gifts sets that are really great. I love the packaging of these soaks are either a reusable jar or a smaller compostable bag (Calgary has a city wide compost program, so we should certainly be taking advantage of it!)
The Potion Masters Alchemy Masks ~ $35.00 CAN. An exploration through the list of ingredients in each mask is like a thrilling world tour. From vitamin rich Dragon Fruit and Wild Blueberry to soothing Butterfly Pea Flower and Sea Buckthorn, antioxidant Moringa Leaf and Chaga Mushroom to enzymatic Papaya and Mango. Alchemy Masks have yet to have their potent ingredients activated, so you receive the freshest mask possible for ultimate results.
The Potion or The Potion Masters have a whole range of lovely skincare and body care products with a focus on potent ingredients to target specific concerns. The formulas that I've tried are really nice and their packaging is so gorgeous, they make a lovely gift!
XO Treatment Room Travel Size Products ~ $8.50 CAN to $35.99 CAN. Founded by Canadian Facialist, Annie Graham, XO FACEcare is dedicated to creating hyper effective skin care with clean chemistry processes. All products are intensely focused on the task at hand – whether that be hydrating, calming or strengthening. XO FACEcare uses only the best advances in science and formulations delivered with elegance of use and application.
You could always go ahead and throw a full sized product in there, but I always think if you are gifting someone skincare, a travel size formula is a good way to see if they like the formula and it works for them - I have a cleanser and serum here, but really you can't go wrong with a cleanser and moisturizer as those are basic products most people use daily. I have been loving the products I have tried from XO Treatment and they have been so effective - definitely worth checking out!
Lamb's Soapworks Emulsified Sugar Body Scrub ~ $18.50 CAN. Because our scrubs are emulsified they won't leave you feeling greasy; instead the scrub provides a barrier to trap water close to your skin with a lotioning effect. Gently rotate small amounts of scrub in circular motions over dry or damp body to remove as many dead skin cells as possible.
A body scrub is a perfect Winter gift because Alberta is dry, we could use a good scrub that it also moisturizing on the skin! I have the Vanilla Cream & Coffee scent, but they have a few scents to pick from, plus a whole range of artisanal soaps and body care products!
Also, if you are interested in more Calgary made bath/beauty/skincare products I would check out Sweet As Candy Bath, Pranic Forest, Skwiik, Apt 6. Skin Co., Bowness Soapworks, Frsh Beauty, Sunshine Soap Co., HollyBerry Soaps, Lowens Skincare, Lavami, Ellie Bianca Beauty, Tok Beauty, and Sun Tree Soaps.
And, if you are interested in gifting or getting a subscription or gift box of (mostly) Calgary and local made products, there are plenty of great companies to check out as well: My Petite Box, District Box, YYC Goodie Box, Mod Box YYC, Mountain Made Box,
I know I didn't even touch on Men's products, food, jewelry - there is just too many things out there for me to feature and share everything, but there is amazing local Calgary products in all those areas too so make sure you look them up!
What are your favourite local brands?! I'd love for you to share some in the comments, even if you aren't from Calgary, let me know where you are from too!
So many lovely shops to buy from! Love this idea! ❤️💚
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteSo many great local gifts. I love shopping and knowing I'm supporting people in my community
ReplyDeleteYes, feels much more personal!
DeleteOMG I thought the For Sweet Sakes Hot Chocolate Bombs were bath bombs, I was going to say they look good enough to eat... LOL of course!
ReplyDeletehehehe - it is good enough to eat! :)
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