For the charcuterie lover: BlueBonnet Collective
Sometimes an experience is better than a present in a box. Located in the Hill Country, BlueBonnet Collective offers planning services for microevents, such as pop-up picnics and charcuterie parties. Surprise the cheese lover in your life with one of its six packages for pop-up picnics, which include wine, custom charcuterie boards, candles, decor and furniture.
For the bookworm: BookWoman
A new book is always a safe bet for the friend or family member who loves to cozy up with a fresh read. This year, support a local business that has been serving the bookworms of Austin since 1975—Bookwoman. To spice up the gift, add in a bookmark with a funny quote or colorful magnet.
For the animal lover: Tiny Tails to You
Want to give a gift that the recipient will remember forever? The best present for the animal-obsessed person in your life is a deliverable playdate from Tiny Tails to You. The mobile petting zoo has guinea pigs, chinchillas, bunnies, chicks, tortoises, blue-tongued skinks, hedgehogs, bearded dragons and miniature chickens. Each experience is curated specifically for the client, and the Tiny Tails to You experts will share interesting facts about each animal while you interact with them.
For the yogi: Austin Yoga Tree
Austin Yoga Tree, a yoga studio for people of all ages and experience levels, has a retail shop with goods that would make the perfect gift for yoga enthusiasts. If you would rather gift them an experience, purchase a class pass for $230 that will allow them to take 10 classes or a singular class pass for $25.
For the art fanatic: Austin Art Garage
Grab an art piece or print for someone’s home or office at Austin Art Garage. The gallery features three showrooms with over 200 original artworks made by a rotation of about 100 local artists. Prints and original paintings are available in store and online, and 80% of its inventory is under $500.
For the soon-to-be parent: Classic Childhood Sewing Studio
Looking to give a gift with meaning? Classic Childhood Sewing Studio uses recycled clothing to create handmade, environmentally friendly, customized children’s clothing. Families can bring in a clothing item, such as a sentimental shirt, to be turned into children’s items, such as a romper, a pillow, a skirt or shorts.
For the jogger: Ready to Run
Gift the runner in your life a new pair of shoes that are perfectly fit for them at Ready to Run, where the shoe-fitting process is more involved than an average running store. Other stores may take a video of a customer running from the shins down, but staff at Ready to Run pay attention to a runner’s entire body to get a better feel for gait, balance, foot variations and bone structure. Ready to Run also sells accessories.
For the hunter: Archery Country
Archery Country sells a variety of archery gear and accessories. A customer who has no experience or equipment can come in the store and try archery in the indoor shooting range attached to the store. Staff will provide recurve bows and arrows for a fee, give pointers on how to shoot and then let customers start shooting in the indoor range.
For the eco-friendly friend: Miranda Bennett Studio
Miranda Bennett Studio, a sustainable clothing store located in East Austin, is an all-women business that carries its own brand of organically dyed and made-in-Austin clothing. Pick up a clothing item, piece of jewelry or an accessory for the person who loves organic, plant-based items that are free of toxic chemicals.
For the fashion-forward: Bokabuku
Bokabuku—B OK as you are—is a boutique for women carrying quality American and European fashion-forward clothing that keeps in mind the changing needs of women ages 35 and up across a variety of shapes and sizes. Pick up earrings, a necklace, a hat or a clothing item for the person who can never have too many options.
For the workaholic: The Breaking Point
If you know someone who needs to blow off some steam, book them a room at The Breaking Point, where people can smash things and not worry about breakage or cleanup. Different areas of The Breaking Point include a splatter room, where children as young as age 3 can splash paint on the walls, floor or a canvas; the rage room, where one can play baseball with bottles or destroy a fax machine; a weapon-throwing room where one can throw axes; and an escape room, where participants solve a mystery.
For the bird watcher: Wild Birds Unlimited
If you have a loved one who loves the birds that frequent their yard or porch, Wild Birds Unlimited likely has an awesome gift for them. The individually owned franchise specializes in backyard bird products with a selection of nature essentials, including backyard bird feeders, an extensive variety of bird food, nest boxes and other products for birds.
For the cigar aficionado: Ashes, The Cigar Lounge
Ashes, The Cigar Lounge carries a mix of large, popular cigar brands and smaller, boutique brands, including a lineup of Black-owned cigars other Austin-area lounges do not carry. Cigars vary in prices from $4-$5 for a cigarillo to up to $30-$35 for high-end cigars.
For the green thumb: OG Agave
OG Agave offers more than 1,000 cacti, agave and succulents online and in-store, ranging from $5-$1,500. OG Agave sources succulents from Central Texas, sources big cacti and agave from Arizona and California, and imports specialty plants from Italy. The shop’s most popular plant is whale’s tongue agave, a large agave used for landscaping that can survive in below-freezing temperatures. The crested Mexican fence post cactus, an indigenous plant from Mexico, is one of the rarest plants featured in the shop.
For the foodie: Asahi Imports
There is no better gift for a foodie than something edible. As an exclusively Japanese grocery store in Austin, Asahi Imports brings a piece of Japan to the city. From noodles and rice, produce, fish, Japanese snacks, sweets, drinks and more, Asahi Imports’ two locations offer all the ingredients and staple brands needed for the complete Japanese meal experience.
