I say it every year, but it’s incredibly important to shop local for the holidays in 2022! We’ve compiled some of our favorite items, gifts, places to shop, and experiences this year.
Local spirits are always on my gift list. We’re fortunate to have seven terrific distilleries in central Ohio. They’re fun to try and even more fun to share.
- Watershed Distillery brought back its Holiday Bourbon Bundle, which includes one 375 ml bottle each of Watershed Old Fashioned, Watershed Bourbon, and Watershed Apple Brandy Finished Bourbon. Find it at the distillery or select Ohio state liquor stores. Their Bottled Old Fashioned also makes a great host gift or stocking stuffer. watersheddistillery.com/holiday-bourbon-bundle
- Noble Cut Distillery features a collection of unique spirits like limoncello and limecello, as well as a line of flavored whiskeys like Salted Caramel and Dark Cherry, both of which are interesting to sip on their own but even more fun mixing in drinks. noblecutdistillery.com/pages/flavored-whiskey
- Middle West Spirits has put together an Old Fashioned Kit that combines their barrel-aged maple syrup, Angostura aromatic and orange bitters, and rocks glass. When you stop in for your kit, make sure to ask for their secret Service Bar Barrel Aged Old Fashioned recipe! middlewestspirits.com/spirits
- Warm up with anything from local distilleries, like Echo Spirits‘ Queen’s Share Rum, High Bank Distillery’s award-winning whiskeys, or Endeavor Brewing & Spirits‘ gins, rums, whiskeys, or infusion jars.
In addition to spirits, I love getting unique beers as gifts, especially holiday offerings.
- Columbus Brewing Company brought back their hoppy holiday ale, Citra Noel, and their Tracksuit Santa holiday brew also made it into cans for the first time! The seasonal beers make a perfect gift, alongside swag like beer koozies, shirts, and frosted glasses. Look for the beers in local stores, or swing by their taproom to pick them up: store.columbusbrewing.com
- Available the first week of December, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing’s Cookie & Beer bundles pair great holiday beers with homemade cookies. Try the Santa Was Here imperial pastry stout paired with dark chocolate chip cookies: store.wolfsridgebrewing.com/collections/seasonal-beer
- Land-Grant Brewing is featuring a festive 12 Beers of Christmas pack that contains 12 different beers with a tasting sheet that includes the brewers’ inspiration for each recipe. You can pre-order through Nov. 20 and pickup at the taproom (or grab extras that haven’t sold after the ordering date): landgrantbrewing.com/product/12beers-22preorder/
- Seventh Son Brewing, Antiques on High, and Getaway have brought back their beer bonds, where you can spend a set amount now and get more in return later. seventhsonbrewing.com/shop/beer-bonds
- The Bottle Shop features a collection of Curated Holiday Wine Boxes designed to fit a variety of budgets. Customers can leave a note at checkout with their specific tastes, and the staff will curate a custom box: bottleshopcolumbus.com/curated-wine-boxes
Many businesses make it really easy to purchase gift boxes already pre-loaded with local goodies.
I love giving restaurant gift cards, especially if you can create an experience out of them: trying a new place for dinner, getting drinks, meeting up for breakfast. A few places we’ve been loving these days:
I love coffee, so new roasts and cold brew are always on my list. Columbus has so many terrific coffee roasters to choose from!
Try to do your shopping at local stores this year! They carry a full range of products and feature loads of local vendors or artists.
Lots of options in books, including plenty from local authors!
- Columbus artist and illustrator Bryan Moss did the work for the graphic novel The Eightfold Path.
- Poet Maggie Smith’s books like books of poetry like Goldenrod or Good Bones, or her book of inspirational observations Keep Moving and its companion journal
- Learn how Columbus does pizza in Jim Ellison’s Columbus Pizza: A Slice of History
- Donte Woods-Spikes released So Long: Unfinished Goodbyes with the Children of COVID-19. It’s available at local shops like Prologue, Two Dollar Radio, and the Columbus Museum of Art.
- Get to know Hanif Abdurraqib’s poetry collections or his latest book A Little Devil in America
- Check out Saeed Jones‘ memoir How We Fight For Our Lives or his books of poetry
And certainly buy your books from small publishers or local bookstores!
Everyone loves the gift of a little pampering! Give the gift of a spa day or a great haircut or beard trim.
Give the gift of an overnight escape, weekend getaway, or staycation! Here are some of our past ideas and experiences!
You know I’m always in support of artists and local arts organizations! Shop local artists, buy memberships, order tickets.
Book classes or just schedule an afternoon at an indoor play park, driving range, or bowling alley!
- Top Golf has become a family favorite for an afternoon or evening on the driving range. You can order food and drinks while you’re there! topgolf.com/us/columbus
- Star Lanes is another favorite, with bowling lanes, arcade games, a 3D theatre, and their new four-player Omni Arena. starlanespolaris.com
- Play: CBUS, an indoor play park with 52,000 square feet of ropes courses, climbing walls, and more. playadventureparks.com/location/columbus
- Movement Lab Ohio, where you can take classes and explore ninja warrior course, parkour, and more: mlabohio.com
- Airhouse Adventure Park at Polaris has an arcade, trampolines, ropes courses, obstacles, and lots of fun games: columbus.theairhouse.com
- Vertical Adventures offers 16,000 square feet of rock climbing and classes: 5.life/va
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