We’re in the golden age of local goods. No matter the occasion – Christmas, Hannukah. Kwanzaa, a birthday, a Thursday – there’s a local gift for everyone on your list.
Price Check!
Prices were accurate at press time, but are subject to change. Verify with each vendor.
FOOD & DRINK
Tastes Better from Scratch
$34.99
Phoenix food blogger Lauren Allen’s debut cookbook was written with home cooks in mind – there are images of all 116 recipes, plus QR codes to videos showing how to make them. Dishes like sheet-pan sausage and veggies are easy and delish.
Ruze Cake House
$6-$15+
Don’t let Santa bogart the cookies. Whimsical, hand-decorated sugar cookies from this mother- and daughter-run Scottsdale bakery make for sweet stocking stuffers, host gifts and Hanukkah prezzies.
Tequila Corrido
$229.99
Not sure which tequila to get your agave-loving friend? Surprise them with this trio of the classic styles – blanco, reposado and añejo – distilled in Jalisco by this Scottsdale company.
Teaspressa
$30
Shark Tank alum Allison DeVane’s LUXE sugar cubes are hand-crafted from 100 percent cane sugar and infused with flavors like matcha, strawberry and peach. Mixology cubes let you create a craft beverage experience with the drop of a glitzy cube into a glass of Champagne, wine, a cocktail or a mocktail.
teaspressa.com
Experience
Shea Cheese Classes
$45-$75
Cheese mongers Jenny Zink and Izaak Myers will help you sort your Manchego from your mimolette – and figure out how to pair them with beverages – in their casual but informative classes, which cover topics ranging from grazing boards to unusual pairings, like Halloween candy. Classes are held at the shop on 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard, at the plant store next door or at local restaurants and breweries.
Postino Wine Cult
$120-$220
Join for the wine – four hand-picked bottles each quarter – and stay for the perks in the legendary WineCafé’s club. Not only will your giftee get vino, they’ll get monthly “hookups” (something to eat, drink or experience), 20 percent off bottles to go, access to small-batch wines and more exclusive goodies. An annual membership runs $220, while a two-quarter membership is $120.
Frank Lloyd Wright Store
$26-$34
Delight the design buff in your life with drinking vessels inspired by the revered architect’s buildings and drawings, from Old Fashioned glasses to coffee tumblers.
More Than a Meal: The Joy Bus Community of Chefs
$25
A decade into her mission to deliver healthy meals to homebound cancer patients, The Joy Bus founder Jennifer Caraway penned this cookbook, which boasts recipes from Valley luminaries including Tracy Dempsey, Charleen Badman, Stephen Jones and Gio Osso.
FASHION & JEWELRY
MADE art boutique
$28
“Local” is artist Cindy Dach’s guiding principle in stocking her Downtown Phoenix boutique. This Desert Vibes Wanderlust T-shirt is 100 percent cotton and 100 percent Southwest cool.
Jayded Jewelry
$10-$28
Jewelry maker Janet Yorgason offers trendy permanent jewelry, but we’re besotted with the handmade polymer clay earrings that started her enterprise. Flowers, saguaros, footballs, pumpkins – they’re all adorable and lightweight.
Branded Bills
$29-$50
In 2015, friends Josh Tabaj, Dave Dickert, Tim Welch and Sam Coil used a knife and a branding iron to create a leather patch for baseball hats. They’ve expanded to custom hats and apparel as well as flannels, hoodies, T-shirts, tanks and polos, all made to order in their Mesa headquarters.
Zoko by The Diaspora Collective
$65-$75
If you’ve been to Best New Restaurant honoree LATHA (see page TK), you’ve seen Soko, the on-site market of African goods curated by owner Evelia Davis’s The Diaspora Collective. Raucously colorful maxi dresses and jumpsuits handmade in Ghana are dopamine dressing at its finest.
thediasporacollective.com
Experience
Sunshine Craft Co. Shibori Indigo Dye Workshop
$45-$75
Arts and crafts maven Amy Guerrero offers scads of cool workshops at her bright and airy studio in Phoenix’s Melrose District, from printmaking to macrame. For a textile enthusiast, there’s no better gift than her shibori indigo dye workshop, which offers instruction on how to bind and color fabric – tote bags, kitchen towels, bandanas or bamboo socks – using a traditional Japanese dyeing technique.
ART & HOME
Royse Contemporary
$1,250-$1,600
Nicole Royse exclusively sells work by local artists at her Old Town Scottsdale gallery. Gift oil paintings by Cam DeCaussin (“It’s Too Late to Change Your Mind,” $1,600) or Casey Wakefield (“Visions of Fields,” $1,250) to the art lover in your life.
Experience
Herberger Theater Center Season Tickets
$110-$172
There’s nothing like live theater to stir the senses. Give your favorite patron of the performing arts a season ticket subscription to this vaunted venue – or single tickets ($40-$80). Ticket subscriptions include early access to seats at the best prices, discounts, free ticket exchanges and exclusive behind-the-scenes experiences.
Frances x Vim & Vigor
$45-$60
Celebrate the prettiest of Arizona’s famed Five Cs with this copper candle from frequent Best of the Valley winner Frances. Desert designs by local artists and scents vary from year to year.
Entertaining is My Love Language
$39.95
Paradise Valley party planner Dawna Pitts draws on her global background – she lived in South Korea and Australia before settling down in Arizona – for this guide to hosting and entertaining. You’ll find recipes for pavlovas and mandu (Korean dumplings) alongside table-setting tips and party-planning timelines.
Copenhagen
$95-$109
Inspired by 1950s Danish designs, this Phoenix company’s Bjorn Wiinblad Eva line – bowl, vase and plant pot – features cheery colors and whimsical lines creating a sweet expression on a woman’s face.
copenhagenliving.com
SPORTS & OUTDOORS
Iconic Arizona x AZ Board Source
$330-$350
Gilbert apparel company Iconic Arizona partnered with PHOENIX gift guide favorite AZ Board Source on these beautifully illustrated cornhole boards, which are made to order and take three to four weeks for production.
Camelback Culture
$25-$50
Phoenix brand Camelback Culture offers original and custom graphic apparel inspired by the city’s signature peak. The popular Super Camelback design is a nod to the “super” feeling of conquering Camelback, and is available on T-shirts, tanks, hoodies and hats.
Golf Manos
$27
A trio of Chandler dads who love golf started this brand, which offers stylish, custom golf gloves made to withstand the Arizona heat. Bonus: A dollar from each glove sold goes to local nonprofits. Extra bonus: Enter the code PHOENIXMAG at online checkout and receive free shipping within the U.S.
Noggin Boss
$120
Does your NFL-obsessed pal have Cheesehead envy? Gift them a comically oversize hat, à la the Green Bay Packers’ signature headwear, with the Arizona Cardinals logo. Cardhead? Birdhead?
Experience
Extreme Arizona Can-Am Rentals
$360-$515
If your recipient is into sports of the motor variety, you’ll wow them with an off-road adventure through this Cave Creek outfitter. Choose from a two-seater Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo UTV rental (four hours, $360; eight hours, $515) or a four-seater Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo Max UTV rental (four hours, $375; eight hours, $535). Rentals include helmets, goggles and a chest of waters, plus a trail system with unparalleled views.
SELF-CARE
TreCeuticals
$199
Retired BFFs Sharon Skaar and Erin Dodd dreamed up this pharmaceutical-grade, CBD-infused skincare line in 2019 and have since been written up in Vogue, Allure and Forbes. The TreHydration Essential Kit is a good starter pack.
Kaya Holistic
$25-$250
This CenPho shop offers botanical, eco-friendly wellness, home, and bath and body products. Create your own gift bundle or choose from curated ones like this Rose Bundle, which includes body powder and oil, dark chocolate, a candle and a clay mask.
Experience
Tierra Luna Spa + Sol Garden at Arizona Biltmore
$95
Treat your stressed-out spouse or sibling to the Sun Worshiper Mud & Alchemy Experience at this luxe resort spa. They’ll be painted with Sonoran muds and sacred chakra oils and left to relax in the aptly named Sol Garden before washing off the baked-on earth with an outdoor rain shower and scrubber plucked from the on-site loofah wall. Optional add-on: a consultation with the resort’s astrologer.
Mane Attraction Salon x Light + Bark Candle Co.
$32
Phoenix’s Mane Attraction Salon and Scottsdale candle maker Light + Bark Candle Co. collaborated on this earthy candle, which smells of sage, smoke and palo santo. A percentage of sales goes to local animal rescues.
Timeless x Ashley Macias
$30
Scottsdale vape company Timeless keeps things local with its Artist Legacy series featuring Valley artists, like this flip case combo featuring the work of Phoenix muralist Ashley Macias.
PETS
Wingfield Made
$45-$450+
Commission a portrait of a favorite pet – in thread. Frances Wingfield embroiders lovely animal likenesses onto embroidery hoops (outlines start at $45, full-color portraits start at $450).
For more information, send a direct message via Instagram to @wingfieldmade or email wingfieldmade@gmail.com.
Santa Barbara Design Studio
$8
For the dog mom who loves bringing her fur baby to brunch, there’s no better gift than these collapsible water bowls emblazoned with sassy sayings from this Phoenix-based, California-influenced lifestyle brand.
PetSmart
$39.99
Let your kitty relax in style with this Whisker City Scratch & Cradle catnip lounger from the Phoenix-based pet products emporium.
Experience
Bark & Bubbles Boutique + Blowdry Bar Canine Massage
$35+
For the dog who has everything, we present: canine massage. It sounds indulgent – and it is – but it is also a therapeutic tool to reduce soreness and fatigue, relieve muscle tension and increase range of motion in our four-legged friends. Choose from 30-, 45- or 60-minute sessions. Pricing starts at $35 and varies by the dog’s size and weight. Book with a certified therapist at 480-790-1472 or at woof@barkandbubbles.com.
Boot Scootin’ Crochet
$75-$100+
For dogs who wouldn’t be caught dead in mass-produced tutus and sweaters, Tempe designer Tori Rahn crochets classic, patchwork, mosaic and custom jackets, bandanas and berets. Every piece is made to order to fit pooches from Yorkies and chihuahuas to doodles and pit bulls.
BABIES & KIDS
Tubba & Friends The Big Music Jamboree
$15
Gilbert DJ Michael Ivery wrote this picture book to launch his children’s entertainment brand this year. Little ones will be delighted by Tubba Bear’s musical journey, which celebrates friendship, adventure and creativity.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
$19.99-$37
Faith-focused families will appreciate Rebecca Even’s The Twelve Days of Christmas project, which includes a song, a book and a printable DIY ornament kit. Purchase the entire Digital Bundle of Joy at offers.12daysofchristmas.gift/12-days-offer or just the ornament kit in digital format (to print at home) at artsycatholicgirl.etsy.com.
livethetwelvedays.com
Experience
Spilled Batter Cooking Classes
$50+
For the pint-size Ina Gartens and Bobby Flays in your life, we recommend this Scottsdale cooking school founded by former schoolteacher Sally Houx, who was raised by two chefs. Kids learn basic cooking skills and how to make two or three items from scratch in each class. You can outfit your junior chef in a personalized apron for an additional $10.
spilledbatter.com/classes
Lily + Llama
$175-$345
Having a baby can be stressful. Help out the expecting parents in your life with one of four pre-packed hospital bag bundles by Phoenix entrepreneur Michelle Conarty, who also donates bags to Valley families in need through Phoenix charities.
lilyandllama.com
Cowtown Skateboards
$109.95+
The Valley’s premier skate shop offers complete decks for budding ’boarders and seasoned skaters. The middle- and high-schoolers on your list will be stoked to receive any of these.
cowtownskateboards.com
