Black Radish Creamery’s fruit preserves are just one of many great ideas for Ohio-based holiday gifts.
You won’t need to go dashing through the snow to do your Christmas shopping. We’ve searched the state for unique Ohio gifts to please everyone on your list.
Abundance Soaps, Liberty Center
Tricounty Rural Electric Cooperative member Karin McGilvery handmakes 50 different bar and liquid soaps using food-grade oils and organic herbs that she grows on her micro farm. Although Lavender Bud is her best seller, McGilvery’s Peppermint Stick, Eggnog, and Sugar Cookies soaps are perfect stocking stuffers.
Black Radish Creamery’s Fruit Preserves & Cheeses, Granville and Columbus
Owners John and Anne Reese, members of The Energy Cooperative, use original recipes to create exquisite preserves and artisanal cheeses at Black Radish’s commercial kitchen in Granville. They have a shop inside Columbus’s North Market, where favorites include cheese curds and Billionaire preserves made with Ohio strawberries and rhubarb.
Brezel, Columbus and Cincinnati
Brittany and Timothy Baum produce pretzels with a twist — Bavarian-style snacks that are hand-rolled, preservative-free, and made fresh daily at their Brēzel shops in Columbus’s North Market and Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Choose from 50 varieties, including Jalapeño Cheddar or Cranberry Spice.
Gina DeSantis Ceramics Classes and Workshops, Lakewood
Along with producing artfully designed tableware and decorative items, DeSantis conducts pottery classes and workshops at her Cleveland-area studio. Hands-on options range from parent-child wheel throwing to clay date nights, and gift cards are available.
H. Gerstner & Sons Wood Chests and Cases, Dayton
Harry Gerstner started making heirloom-worthy tool chests in 1906. Four generations later, his descendants specialize not only in hardwood chests but also in cabinets, attaché cases, and jewelry chests. With hand-rubbed finishes and tongue-and-groove joinery, Gerstner products are unsurpassed for quality and craftsmanship.
Honeyrun Farm Candles, Williamsport
Beekeepers and South Central Power Company members Jayne and Isaac Barnes produce and sell honey, soaps, and candles at their Pickaway County farm. Made of beeswax with cotton wicks, their molded floating star candles and pretty pine cone and pine tree-shaped candles burn naturally merry and bright.
Maverick Chocolate Company, Cincinnati
From organic cocoa beans to whimsically wrapped bars, Paul and Marlene Picton handcraft luscious chocolates at their Findlay Market shop. Mix naughty and nice with Maverick’s Gingerbread White Chocolate bars and bourbon-infused Prohibition Dark Milk Chocolate bars.
Quailcrest Farm’s Holiday Offerings, Wooster
Serviced by the Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative, Quailcrest is a “magical place in the country” where members of the Bruch family delight customers with their farm’s gorgeous gardens and exceptional selection of plants. Quailcrest offers gift certificates that cover anything in the greenhouse; seasonal wreath and centerpiece workshops; or Christmas lunches of homemade soup and herbed bread.
Rue Farms Rustic Potato Chips, Springfield
Rue Farms owners Jeanne and Matt Rue use only local, non-GMO russet potatoes for their kettle-cooked potato chips. The delicious result is golden brown chips that are more crunchy than crispy and come in palate-pleasing flavors like Dill Herb, Back Woods BBQ, and Apple Cider Vinegar.
Silver Bridge Coffee Company, Gallipolis
Her company’s name may give a nod to a historic local bridge, but Lorraine Walker brings coffee beans from around the world to her Gallipolis roasting facility. Smooth-tasting Buckeye Breakfast Buzz, Pumpkin Spice Blend, or Snow Angel, a Yuletide offering with hints of coconut, caramel, hazelnut, and vanilla, fit nicely in any coffee-lover’s stocking.
T. Michael Studios Serveware, Canal Winchester
Timothy Michael Kelly transforms slate reclaimed from barns and historic building into rustically beautiful trays and hot plates for serving bread, displaying fruit, holding hot casseroles, and protecting surfaces. Bonus: Kelly engraves each piece with the date of the structure where the slate was originally used.
The Bom Chocolates, Cleveland
Owner Carolina Martin crafts hand-dipped chocolate truffles using liquors (for adults) and fruit juices (for kids). The Bom’s Peppermint Schnapps truffles fly off the shelves at Christmas, and Martin’s truffle-making parties make for fun — and effortless — holiday get-togethers. Just bring friends and your favorite spirit.
The Jones Market’s Baby-Friendly Jewelry, Westerville
Candis Jones makes baby-safe necklaces and bracelets from soft jersey and wooden beads. Non-toxic and lead-free, her jewelry is comfy, lightweight, and lovely enough to wear long after the teething-and-tugging stage is over.
Apparel from The Yarn Barn, Somerville
Owners Robbie and Carrie Davis, members of Butler Rural Electric Cooperative, operate an alpaca ranch that includes a fiber mill and farm store featuring premium yarns and clothing designed, knit, crocheted, or woven in-house. Customers love the fingerless mittens, cozy hats, scarves, and socks.
Twins Feather Trees, Cincinnati
Twin sisters Karen Shields and Sharen Bauer pay homage to their German heritage with simple, elegant feather trees that are ideal displays for treasured Christmas ornaments. Made of dyed goose feathers or cotton batting, the handcrafted trees range from 18 inches to 7 feet tall, and pre-lighted styles are available.
University of Dayton’s Erma Bombeck Items
Dayton Witty words from America’s funniest mom and famous UD alumna Erma Bombeck emblazon coffee mugs and other items at the campus bookstore. Designed in cooperation with UD’s Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, the bookstore’s exclusive Erma Bombeck line is chock-full of easy gifts such as coffee cups, wineglasses, and notecards.
