When it comes to shopping local this holiday season, are you naughty or nice? A tiny elf told us that Santa approves of Vermonters who spend their money close to home. Why? Not only will you save him some reindeer miles, you’ll also find a unique selection of goods from Green Mountain makers and, by purchasing them, make an investment in the community.
Our brave little state has weathered a veritable flood of challenges in recent years. Directing our dollars toward our neighbors and downtowns is a powerful way to boost the local economy — and spread holiday cheer.
Seven Days readers will show you the way. We asked them to shout out their favorite local retailers — boutiques to bookshops, kitchen stores to confectioners. Check out their top recommendations on the Nice List, a handy guide for your holiday shopping.
Isabella Sances of Colchester contributed to the Nice List and won our Gift Local Giveaway, scoring $500 to spend on Myti.com, a local online platform that allows users to buy goods from Vermont’s indie retailers and get them delivered locally or shipped anywhere.
“I love to shop locally, especially during the holidays. I get to engage with the community, support local shop owners, pick out high-quality Vermont products and have a fun shopping experience with a story to remember!”
The Seven Days Gift Local Giveaway is presented by:
Food & Drink Gifts
… for sweetie pies
Boxcar Bakery
Essex Junction, boxcarbakeryvt.com
Klinger’s Bread Company
South Burlington, klingersbread.com
Mirabelles Bakery
South Burlington, mirabellesbakery.com
Poorhouse Pies
Underhill, poorhousepies.com
Sweet Simone’s
Richmond, sweetsimones.com
… for adventurous eaters
Always Full Asian Market
Burlington, South Burlington, Facebook
Dakin Farm
Ferrisburgh, South Burlington, dakinfarm.com
European Market, Deli and Cafe
South Burlington, Facebook
Misery Loves Co.
Winooski, miserylovescovt.com
Saratoga Olive Oil
Burlington, saratogaoliveoil.com
… for sweet snacking
Daily Chocolate
Vergennes, dailychocolatevt.com
Lake Champlain Chocolates
Burlington, Stowe, Waterbury Center, lakechamplainchocolates.com
NU Chocolat
Burlington, nuchocolat.com
Shy Guy Gelato
Burlington, shyguygelato.com
Snowflake Chocolates
Jericho, South Burlington, snowflakechocolate.com
… for the wannabe chef
As the Crow Flies
St. Albans, Facebook
Capital Kitchen
Montpelier, capitalkitchenvt.com
Homeport
Burlington, homeportonline.com
King Arthur Baking
Norwich, kingarthurbaking.com
Kiss the Cook
Burlington, kissthecook.net
… for splendid sipping
Barr Hill
Montpelier, barrhill.com
Mad River Distillers
Burlington, Waitsfield, madriverdistillers.com
Salt & Bubbles
Essex, saltandbubbleswine.com
Standing Stone Wines
Winooski, standingstonewinesvt.com
Wilder Wines
Burlington, wilderwinesvt.com
Arts & Entertainment Gifts
… for geeking out
The Boardroom
Burlington, theboardroomvt.com
Earth Prime Comics
Burlington, churchstmarketplace.com/earth-prime-comics
Quarterstaff Games
Burlington, quarterstaffgames.com
Small Dog Electronics
Burlington, smalldog.com
Twisted Halo Café & Comics
Williston, stores.comichub.com/twistedhalocafeandcomics
… for bookworms
Bear Pond Books
Montpelier, bearpondbooks.com
Bear Pond Books
Stowe, stowebooks.com
Crow Bookshop
Burlington, crowbooks.com
The Flying Pig Bookstore
Shelburne, flyingpigbooks.com
Phoenix Books
Burlington, Essex, Rutland, phoenixbooks.biz
… for the musically inclined
Ellis Music
Royalton, ellismusic.com
The Flynn
Burlington, flynnvt.org
Higher Ground
South Burlington, highergroundmusic.com
Pure Pop Records
Burlington, purepoprecords.com
Vermont Violins
South Burlington, vermontviolins.com
… for keeping little ones occupied
ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
Burlington, echovermont.org
Jamie Two Coats’ Toy Shop
Shelburne, Facebook
Kidstructive Fun
South Burlington, kidstructivefuntoys.com
Turner Toys
Williston, turnertoys.com
Woodbury Mountain Toys
Montpelier, woodburymountaintoys.com
… for getting crafty
Golden Hour
Burlington, Colchester, Winooski, goldenhourgiftco.com
Must Love Yarn
Shelburne, mustloveyarn.com
Notion Fabric & Craft
Montpelier, notionvt.com
Sparrow Art Supply
Middlebury, sparrowartsupply.com
Stash
Burlington, stashfabricvt.com
… for vinyl lovers
Autumn Records
Winooski, autumnrecordsvt.com
Buch Spieler Records
Montpelier, buchspielerrecords.com
Burlington Records
Burlington, burlingtonrecords.com
Pure Pop
Burlington, purepoprecords.com
Speaking Volumes
Burlington, speakingvolumesvt.com
Home & Garden Gifts
… for the home
Bailey Road
Montpelier, baileyroadvt.com
Common Deer
Burlington, commondeer.com
Golden Hour
Burlington, Colchester, Winooski, goldenhourgiftco.com
Home & Garden Vermont
Burlington, homeandgardenvermont.com
Homeport
Burlington, homeportonline.com
… for art collectors
ArtHound Gallery
Essex, arthoundgalleryvt.com
Artisans Hand
Montpelier, artisanshand.com
Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery
Burlington, froghollow.org
Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery
Milton, miltonartistsguild.org
Thirty-odd
Burlington, thirtyodd.com
… for antique lovers
Anjou & the Little Pear
Burlington, Facebook
Barge Canal Market
Burlington, Facebook
Bittner Antiques
Shelburne, bittnerantiques.com
Five Corners Antiques
Essex Junction, Facebook
J. Langdon
Montpelier, jlangdonvermont.com
Vintage Inspired Marketplace
South Burlington, vintageinspiredmarketplace.com
… “fur” the whole family
The Dog and Cat
Essex Junction, Stowe, Facebook
Guy’s Farm and Yard
Montpelier, Morrisville, St. Albans, Williston, guysfarmandyard.com
Houndstooth
Burlington, houndstoothvt.com
Pet Food Warehouse
Shelburne, South Burlington, pfwvt.com
The Quirky Pet
Montpelier, quirkypet.com
… for gardeners
Claussen’s Florist, Greenhouse & Perennial Farm
Colchester, claussens.com
Evergreen Gardens of Vermont
Waterbury Center, evergreengardensvermont.com
Full Circle Gardens
Essex, fullcirclegardens.com
Gardener’s Supply Company
Burlington, Shelburne, Williston, gardeners.com
Guy’s Farm and Yard
Montpelier, Morrisville, St. Albans, Williston, guysfarmandyard.com
Outdoor Fun Gifts
… for skiers and riders
Alpine Shop
South Burlington, alpineshopvt.com
Burton
Burlington, burton.com
Outdoor Gear Exchange
Burlington, Essex, gearx.com
Skida
Burlington, skida.com
Skirack
Burlington, skirack.com
… for wheely good people
Earl’s Cyclery & Fitness
South Burlington, earlsbikes.com
North Star Sports
Burlington, northstarsportsvt.com
Old Spokes Home
Burlington, oldspokeshome.com
Onion River Outdoors
Montpelier, onionriver.com
Outdoor Gear Exchange
Burlington, Essex, gearx.com
… for outdoor enthusiasts
Alpine Shop
South Burlington, alpineshopvt.com
Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel
Barre, St. Albans, Williston, lennyshoe.com
Onion River Outdoors
Montpelier, onionriver.com
Outdoor Gear Exchange
Burlington, Essex, gearx.com
Skirack
Burlington, skirack.com
Health & Beauty Gifts
… for self-care
City Market, Onion River Co-op
Burlington, citymarket.coop
Healthy Living
South Burlington, Williston, healthylivingmarket.com
Lunaroma Aromatic Apothecary
Burlington, lunaroma.com
Mirror Mirror
Burlington, Shelburne, Stowe, mirrormirrorvt.com
Railyard Apothecary
Burlington, railyardapothecary.com
… for lookin’ good
AeroMed Essentials
Montpelier, aromedessentials.com
Lunaroma Aromatic Apothecary
Burlington, lunaroma.com
Mirror Mirror
Burlington, Shelburne, Stowe, mirrormirrorvt.com
Splash Naturals
Montpelier, splashnaturals.com
Ursa Major
Waterbury, ursamajorvt.com
… that are, like, super chill
Bern Gallery Smoke Shop & Cannabis
Burlington, berngallerydispensary.com
Ceres Collaborative
Brattleboro, Burlington, South Burlington, ceresvt.com
Green State Dispensary
Burlington, greenstatedispensary.com
Hey Bud
Burlington, heybudheybud.com
Magic Mann
Essex, magicmann.com
Winooski Organics
Winooski, winooskiorganics.com
Clothing, Shoes and Accessory Gifts
… for fashionable folks
Bailey Road
Montpelier, baileyroadvt.com
Ecco Clothes
Burlington, eccoclothesboutique.com
Coco Goose
Burlington, Manchester Center, Stowe, shopcocogoose.com
Harbour Thread
Burlington, harbourthread.com
Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel
Barre, St. Albans, Williston, lennyshoe.com
… for putting your best foot forward
Danform Shoes
Burlington, Colchester, Shelburne, St. Albans, danformshoesvt.com
Dear Lucy
Burlington, dearlucy.com
Fleet Feet
Essex Junction, fleetfeet.com
Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel
Barre, St. Albans, Williston, lennyshoe.com
Roam Vermont
Montpelier, roamvt.com
… for growing and stylish kids
Boho Baby
St. Albans, Williston, bohobabyvt.com
Jamie Two Coats’ Toy Shop
Shelburne, Facebook
Once Upon a Child
Williston, onceuponachild.com
Sweet P Baby
Essex, sweetpbaby.com
Zutano Outlet Store
Montpelier, zutano.com
… for someone who is a real gem
After Midnight Jewelers
South Burlington, aftermidnightjewelers.com
Jennifer Kahn Jewelry
Burlington, jenniferkahnjewelry.com
Perrywinkle’s
Burlington, perrywinkles.com
Tradewinds
Burlington, tradewindsvt.com
Zinnia
Burlington, zinniastores.com
… for thrifters
Battery Street Jeans
Burlington, batterystjeans.com
Dirt Chic
Burlington, dirtchicvt.com
Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity ReStore
Milton, Swanton, Williston, vermonthabitat.org/restore
Old Gold
Burlington, Facebook
Style Encore
Williston, style-encore.com
Need some specific gift ideas? See what our editors recommend for everyone on your list:
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This article appears in 2024 Vermont Holiday Gift Guide.