The Most Comprehensive Alternative Gifting Guide You'll Ever Need
Support local & diverse businesses, different ways to shop than those big corps, and gift ideas
If you want to get gifts differently this year, I’ve put together a big big list of alternative ideas and ways to shop, including how to find and support local. It might not *actually* be the most comprehensive, but it does cover a lot!
Check out my deep dive on Kids Toys for more gifting ideas and Wishlist and Registry options to share what you want for the holidays.
Ways to Find Diverse Local & Online Businesses to Support [Updated 12/11/25]
Little Blue Cart: Shopping directory to easily find diverse-ownership (Women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, Veteran) businesses near you or online. Woman-founded and owned by Kate & Erin.
ShopRedBag: Similar to Little Blue Cart, another shopping directory to easily find diverse-ownership (Women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, Veteran) businesses near you or online. You can also shop their DEI Rollback collection, which are businesses directly impacted by corporations abandoning their DEI priorities. Added 12/8/25
Shop the Hood: Shopping directory of black-owned businesses across almost every category.
Miiriya: iPhone and Android app where you can find black-owned businesses and so much more! You can view community posts in their Hangout section, check out News from Miiriya, support or post your own mutual aid requests, and find and share employment opportunities. Miiriya feels more like tapping into and supporting your community than just another shopping app.
#WeAllGrow: #WeAllGrow has a shopping directory for Latine-owned businesses, and you can filter by Afro-Latine, LGBTQIA+, and AAPI owned subcategories.
Intentionalist: Shopping directory and map for Latine-owned businesses across the US.
Support Latino Business: Shopping directory and map for Latine-owned stores, services, and more.
Everywhere is Queer: Local directory of queer-owned shops and services. Founded by Charlie Sprinkman.
This is A List: Shopping directory of worldwide Palestinian, Arab, and Palestinian-allied businesses, which you can filter by country, how to shop (in-person or online), and category.
Al Shams Bazaar: Online marketplace for Arab & Arab-aligned makers, with a Made in Palestine collection. Al Shams donates a portion of every sale to HEAL Palestine, an on-the-ground organization supporting Palestinians through healthcare, humanitarian assistance, education and more.
Goodhood: Find Pro-Palestinian businesses near you.
Byztopia: Small business directory to find local options near you. The listings are most robust for the Pacific Northwest, but there are a few companies featured from across the country. Added 12/8/25
Buying from Native American Owned Businesses: I couldn’t find a shopping directory site for Native American owned businesses, but here are some resources to get you started. If you do know of one, let me know in the comments!
Buy Native blog with lists of tons of Native American owned businesses by category from Beyond Buckskin.
Reddit post with lists of Native American owned businesses for both the US and international.
Goodhousekeeping list of 20 Native American or Indigenous-owned businesses.
Gift Marketplace Alternatives
Local Maker Markets: Why not pick out something cool and handcrafted at a local event?
Find your local market through FairsandFestivals.net or FestivalNet.com. A follower reached out and shared the Handmade Showroom in Seattle with me as well. You can also search “maker market near [your town/city]” to find local events.
Mayhem Marketplace: If you have been looking for an Etsy alternative but still want to support small makers, check out Mayhem Marketplace! They are a seller-first platform, meaning their platform fees are low ($5-$10/mo) and they do not take a percentage of sales. If you’re a maker/seller, I’d check them out as a marketplace option.
The Details: Founded and owned by Jackie and BK
What they have: Tons of fun stuff, like these booty frog stickers, a 60 min Reiki healing, art, books, clothing, crafted items, etc. You can shop by category to browse more easily.
Available On: Web, iOS, Android
Collectively: Give gifts while giving back! Collectively partners with small businesses that make social impact a core part of their mission.
The Details: Woman founded and owned, Collectively recently launched as of this August.
Brands to shop from: Baloo Living, Earrings for Mangos, Headbands of Hope, Indego Africa, We are the Ripple
The Peach Fuzz: Wanna wear your advocacy on your sleeve but still look amazing? The Peach Fuzz has art, accessories, clothing, home decor and more that’s all bright and colorful and so so good. I’m obsessed!!
The Details: Founded by Elizabeth Hudy in 2017.
What they have: Incredible hair clips like this stand mixer, gifts under $20, stocking stuffers
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Cool Small + Diverse Businesses [Updated 12/19/25]
Marz Imperfectionz: Black woman owned and founded, Marz Imperfectionz has handmade candles, vases, and art pieces. I particularly like her Yoni candle 😁
HoneyBe Apothecary: Black woman owned and founded body care company. They are best known for their Eczema Care Body Butter, but also have regular body butter, body oil, sugar scrubs, and soaps. I personally want to try the scrubs!
Dorian Elise: Black woman owned and founded apparel company focused on creating space for & celebrating Black joy. They have an entire Holiday collection and year-round items like their Out of Office apparel and accessories.
Peace + Riot: Black woman owned and founded kind of everything store based out of Brooklyn, NY with online ordering available. Peace + Riot has kids items, kitchen items, apparel, games, books, and tons more. I recommended them originally in my Kitchen Tools video.
Rebellious Pins: Black woman owned and founded by Ambra, Rebellious Pins makes accessories that embrace the past, amplify the present, and help shape the future for the black community. I personally love the Word Search pin!
LJ Made This: If you’re looking for Hanukkah, Christmas, Solstice, and winter coziness handmade cards and prints, check out LJ Made This! You can see her designs here and order by DMing her on Instagram or emailing her at ljmadethis@gmail.com. You can also request custom pieces and if you prefer a postcard format versus a card, she can do that too! LJ is a Jewish artist that does not support Israel.
Eighth Generation: Owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe, Eighth Generation sells blankets, home goods, and accessories that are designed by Native artists, not just “native-inspired.”
Fraga Farm: Small Oregon-based goat farm that creates skin, lip care, soap & shampoo items out of their own goat milk! They only use natural ingredients and sell their products in concentrated form so you’re not paying for tons of water and they last longer. I highly recommend their Working Hands balm if you get dry hands during the winter - this is the one of only two handcare creams/balms that have actually worked for me. If you live nearby, you can stop by their Farmstead for goat cheese and other products beyond their personal care items. You can also check them out at local farmers markets.
Side note: One of the founders/owners of Fraga Farm reached out to me after Cut Off the Spigot had only been live for a month, and sent me a care package of products. She didn’t even ask for coverage in my Substack or videos, she just wanted to support what I was doing in a way she could. In those early days, it really meant the world to me to receive something like that and see that I was making enough of a impact for someone to be so gracious. For that, I am eternally grateful.
Alternative Gift Ideas
Donation to a Cause they Love: If they have a particular organization they love to support, send a donation in their name. You can use CharityWatch and CharityNavigator to check out the organization to make sure it’s a good one.
Is your gift recipient an avid PBS fan? Donate $60 or more to their local station and they get PBS Passport for free! PBS needs our support!
Fan/Fandom: Get them something they’ll love from their favorite show, movie, podcast, or whatever! If they’re a fan of Cut Off the Spigot, consider gifting them an annual paid subscription 😁
Experiences: Experience gifts are amazing! I think it can be a great way to enable someone to do something they’ve always wanted to do but maybe they wouldn’t spend the money on themselves. It’s also a great way to shop/support local.
Live performances - concerts, art shows, theater, etc.
Spa Experiences/Beauty Treatments - Massages, Reiki, acupuncture, facials, etc.
Classes - can be pottery or other art/crafting experiences, culinary classes, language classes, etc.
Exercise - yoga or pilates classes or package, rock climbing memberships, etc.
Travel - weekend getaway or something similar, a hotel night in their city as a “staycation” for parents, day trips to nearby attractions, even buying tickets to go visit them (though talk to them in advance to ensure they’re available)
Memberships - get them a membership to a local museum or attraction that they love.
Thrifting: Just because something is secondhand does not mean it’s a bad gift - depending on the recipient, they may prefer it 🙂
Refreshing Finds: If you have a lover of all things thrift in your life, check out Refreshing Find’s Stylist Wardrobe Refresh. For $150 your gift recipient will receive a personalized stylist experience where Cierra (the woman behind it all) will select 10-20 pieces for them based on their style preferences.
Habitat for Humanity Restores: Restores are thrift stores by Habitat for Humanity that usually sell furniture and building supplies, but they also have gift items like air fryers & other kitchen appliances. Check out your local Restore to see what they have available.
Goodwill Alternatives: @ModaMensch on TikTok has a great list of Goodwill alternatives by city, there’s 31 videos in her playlist so definitely covers a lot of places!
Secondhand/thrifting ideas in general: check out my article for Physical Media, there’s a comprehensive list of secondhand options. You can also find high-quality kids toys brands that are meant to last (and are still great even secondhand) in my Kids Toys article.
DIY: I think gifts made by the giver are incredible and so thoughtful. If you need supplies for whatever you’d like to make, check out my crafting article and yarn/fabric deep dive.
Make something with photos - can make custom photo tiles or other custom photo items
Knitted/crocheted/sewn items
If you have any additional gifting ideas, share them in the comments!
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Love this! Saving it to share one-one as well. May I also add Shop Red Bag (https://shopredbag.com/) and Byztopia (https://byztopia.com/) for consideration as well.
Weird that LBC has a picture of DC for WA State.