While big gifts are great (obviously), it doesn’t hurt to put some thought and care into choosing stocking stuffers. Rather than mindlessly filling up your family and friend’s stockings as they hang by the fire with care, pick up a few mini-sized items that you know they’ll cherish just as much as any gift under the tree.
This adorable beauty shop is located in High Street, just off of 124 Street. It’s the best-stocked independent cosmetics and beauty store in the city, with a plethora of items for skin and hair care, plus grooming, makeup and more. Their hand creams, soaps, bath bombs, lip glosses and nail polishes make perfect stocking stuffers. It’s also a great place to find unique products you won’t see elsewhere. They carry high-end brands, including Bumble & Bumble, Lollia, Deborah Lippmann, Marvis, Skyn and Butter.
Located on Whyte Avenue, this huge store boasts a stunning collection of salts, spices, dry rubs, baking products, powders, pastes and extracts. It’s seriously a chef/baker’s dream come true – everything you’ve ever needed for your kitchen, plus a ton of things you’ve never heard of, but now have to try. For stocking stuffers, stick with a mix of classics, like cinnamon sticks and hot cocoa powders and add in a few intriguing items, such as lavender vanilla sugar and red alder smoked sea salt.
This is another quirky store, located on Whyte Avenue, that carries an eclectic mix of items, ranging from paintings and funky flower lamps to jewellery and candles. It’s a terrific place to pick up a few stocking stuffers for friends or family who appreciate a little eccentricity in their lives – and homes.
This is, without a doubt, one of my favourite places in Edmonton to buy gifts for others (and myself, of course). While I tend to stick to bigger bottles of the flavoured extra virgin olive oils and vinegars for myself, the smaller bottles are the best size for gifts. You can buy them separately or choose a mix of six oils and vinegars to put in a starter pack box. This ensures that the recipient can try a variety, introducing them to new tastes! The store also sells a ton of sea salts, including the luxurious fleur de sel.
This local chocolatier produces some of the most delicious chocolate I’ve ever tasted. And, the bars are the ideal size for stocking stuffers – you could even give an assortment of flavours, since the prices are reasonable. And, many of their chocolate bars are gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free, making them the perfect gift for your relative with allergies or food sensitivities. Plus, they often do seasonal flavours. While Violet Chocolate Company doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar store of their own, their bars are available at multiple stores around the city.
This cute Whyte Avenue shop is a great spot to pick up some fun accessories to add to your favourite cousin’s stocking. They sell a variety of beautiful, unique jewellery, as well as cute mugs, bags, scarves, toques and mitts. The store also has a fantastic selection of travel accessories, including bags, travel pillows, passport holders and luggage tags – all ideal gifts for your pal who has a big trip planned for the new year.