As this crazy year comes to an end, we find ourselves in a strange holiday season. Smaller gatherings, canceled parties, and a greater urgency to shop small and support local businesses who’ve been through the ringer in 2020.
I’ve rounded up some local gifts and favorite local shops to visit for the wellness enthusiast in your life (and hey, self-gifting is a thing too!)
Twin Cities Wellness Passport
Our Twin Cities Wellness Passport gets a little upgrade this season with two great gift sets.
More Healing Gift Set – $30 ($41 value) / Support your wellbeing this winter with our Twin Cities Wellness Passport, where you can explore 20+ special offers from a variety of local businesses. You’ll also get a Healing Body Salve from local maker Julia Elise to heal and protect dry winter skin.
Less Hustle Gift Set – $50 ($73 value) / Embrace the slowing down of this season with a Calm + Clear Essential Oil Roller from Sage Mind and Body and a Calming Body Salve from Julia Elise. Includes our Twin Cities Wellness Passport and a structured canvas tote with comfortable shoulder straps.
Beauty + Spa Gifts
We’re lucky to have quite a few salons and spas in the Twin Cities that sell safer products and they’re great places to find beauty and skincare gifts this year.
Haven Nail Salon in Edina has some new gift packages available with a combination of products and services. Adding a little something to a gift card makes it more fun to open.
Spot Spa is a great place to browse for body care products, skincare, and other self care goodies. Shop online or in person at their Uptown or NE Minneapolis locations.
Tula Spa has a ton of body care, skincare, makeup, and CBD products to check out. Shop in their new space over in South Minneapolis, or pick up a few goodies in their online shop.
Self Care Gifts
Art, jewelry, journals, whatever brings you a little extra joy this season is worth investing in (did I mention self-gifting is a thing?)
I love browsing these cute local shops for inspiration and great gift ideas.
Healing Elements Wellness is a wellness studio in St Paul with an incredible retail section. Browse in person to check out their selection of crystals, candles, books, jewelry, and other self care products you didn’t realize you needed. They also have a huge bulk herbs section, and they can help you put together a custom tea blend for a sweet personalized gift.
Golden Rule Gallery is worth the trek out to the suburbs (if you’re not already nearby). Find the perfect little art print, card, or pair of earrings for that person on your list. Their online shop is full of goodies as well, so check out their selection of candles, body care, and accessories.
Jewelweed is another suburban treasure, with a great selection of crystals and various tarot and other card decks. If you’re not up for shopping in person, you can contact them through their website for a virtual shopping experience and help selecting the perfect gifts.
SJC Body Love Products is a local maker who’s now offering a quarterly subscription pack featuring 6-8 self care goodies featuring BIPOC and woman-owned businesses. Sign up for the first box by November 28th for delivery on December 15th.
Makers Markets
Holiday Market season looks a bit different this year, with some events going completely virtual and others spreading out into longer stretches with less people allowed to shop at a time.
Sacred Space Holiday Bazaar – December 4th-6th / Kicking off with one day of in-person shopping (ticket required to reserve your spot) and then moving into two days of online shopping with some Instagram Live broadcasts featuring some of the items available.
The Collective 2020 / The Lab + Galleria present this four-weekend showcase of local brands. Kicking off Thanksgiving weekend and featuring different brands each weekend through Christmas, you can shop in person at The Galleria by reserving your spot for free.
Paikka Bazaar is going totally virtual this year, and you can shop their selection of local brands and makers through their online portal.
It’s more important than ever to shop local this holiday season, with so many of our favorite local businesses hurting from the pandemic. Think about what businesses you want to see on the other side of all of this, and do what you can to support them this season.