Holiday Guide 2021

This holiday season, we hope you choose to keep local businesses in mind for your holiday celebrations & gifting.  I've always had a hard time buying local for the holidays - mostly because I didn't know what was out there!

So just like last year, we decided to put together a list of some of the (perhaps) lesser-known shops & services that we know of, just to help get the word out on what we have right here in our community.

There are SO many more beyond the places we've selected, so whether you shop here or with another local establishment, thank you for supporting the small businesses of Whatcom County!

This year, our Holiday Guide includes some of our favorite places for party shopping, and a roundup of community happenings that will make your 2021 holiday season oh-so-festive!

Tips for shopping local:

Order early: that’s the main reason we released this guide early in November! It takes time for makers and crafters to shop for, create, and deliver during the busiest time of year. 

Be flexible: you might be picking up a special item at the maker’s home, or meeting up for a handoff, or stopping by a local store where the artist knows the store owner. There’s a bit of extra complexity, but it’s worth it when you can see the real human being who created your gift, or put together that beautiful bouquet for your table.

Have Venmo/PayPal: not every small seller is set up for credit card payments, and the flexibility of a payment app can really help!

Ask people who they know that you don’t: we met some amazing local artists through a small art store in town. In my experience, small business owners are incredibly kind and generous people, and are usually more than happy to introduce you to other vendors!

Thank you for shopping locally.