Raise your hand if you're ready to chill out with your quarantine pod, friends, and family and send out 2020 with a safe holiday season filled with only pleasant surprises. (We are!)
Bay Area artists, makers, and businesses need our support more than ever—and, we promise, their halls are stacked with unexpected and delightful gifts at every budget and for all your loved ones near and far. Whether you're looking for affordable stocking stuffers, artisanal host gifts, or splurge-worthy items like private concerts and wellness escapes, we have something for absolutely everyone on your list. Shop local, and tag your perfect presents #7x7shopslocal on Instagram. Happy holidays, friends.
Gifts for Foodies and Drink Connoisseurs
The Xocolate Bar's 24-piece bonbon box is packed with 12 seasonal flavors (two of each) of bite-sized organic, fair trade, Berkeley-made chocolates. Opt for the variety box with flavors ranging from matcha sesame to coconut toffee macadamia—or please chocolate-loving vegans with the all dark box. // $49, thexocolatebar.com
Gifts for Arts and Music Lovers
Windy Chien's book, The Year of Knots, will have knot and macramé experts and novices alike creating everything from dog leashes to necklaces to room dividers for 365 days in a row. // $28, sfmoma.org
Gifts for Wellness Warriors
Juniper Ridge's Holiday Christmas Fir Gift Set includes essential oil, incense, and body wash, all handcrafted in Oakland with a blend of sustainably wild-harvested fir and pine essential oils. We promise your nature-loving gift recipient will appreciate the aroma of crushed conifer needles and the forest floor, even after the holidays. // $34, juniperridge.com
Gifts for Fashionable Guys and Gals
Boot-stomping Frēda girls will love the Sausalito-based brand's new Italian leather Lou bag, handcrafted in Spain. With space for a phone, keys, lip gloss, hand sanitizer, and more, the black embossed croc bag can be worn in three ways—as a belt bag, shoulder bag, or crossbody. // $395, fredasalvador.com
Gifts for Design Enthusiasts
Sustainable Black-owned bow tie brand Sonson's Tremayne bow tie lumbar pillow will instantly jazz up an armchair—and it reduces back pressure to boot. The pillow is made in Oakland with African Mali-inspired cotton fabric and naturally harvested organic kapok fiber filling. // $40, sonson.com
Gifts for Adventurers
Perfect for a biker or hiker, creative studio Unsettle's Rover belt crossbody bag has plenty of pockets and a lanyard—and thanks to a water-resistant 100D nylon exterior and AquadGuard YKK zippers—will protect from the elements to boot. The compact bag can be worn as a sling or belt bag—and the buckle strap can even be removed and transformed into a belt. // $55, unsettleco.com
Gifts for Cool Kids and Dogs
Fifty illustrations of SF's iconic neighborhoods and outdoor spaces by Bay Area-based artist Charles House provide fun and soothing coloring material for kids and adults on the go. Highlights from Views of San Francisco include the Palace of Fine Arts, the cable cars, and the Golden Gate Bridge, of course. // $13, parksconservancy.org
