It's now officially the holiday shopping season! For locals and visitors to Sudbury, Ontario, we've rounded up the best and most interesting gifts to check out at your favourite shops and venues around town.
To help you get started (or finished, if you’re incredibly well-organized), here are 12 locally-made items to delight everyone on your list — from the host of a holiday party, to your beloved pet.
Who wouldn’t want this limited-edition enamel pin celebrating Alex Trebek?! Initially created in 2016 to honour everyone’s favourite Sudburian, it was re-released in 2019 to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer Canada, and now it’s back once more! At 1-inch, it is slightly larger than previous versions, and just as fabulous.
Fans of this local brewery can take their hosting up a notch with a branded, premium double-wall, stainless steel vessel that holds the equivalent of two large growlers. It pours like a classic glass growler, or can be paired with a dispensing system, like this fancy stainless steel electric pump. Bonus: the recipient receives a lifetime $5 off refills at the brewery when using this growler!
Not sure what to bring to a holiday party? Grab a six-pack of the 92.7 Rock Blonde Ale from this award-winning brewery – a portion of proceeds goes toward the Sudbury Charities Foundation. Additional specialties include an Altbier, Black IPA, Wheat Ale and Sour Hibiscus Belgian.
Hot Chocolate that’s good for you? Yes, please! This adaptogenic drinking chocolate infused with herbs, reishi, chaga and pine pollen, claims to energize and transform – the perfect balm for the winter months! This shop also carries an impressive selection of giftable plants, incense, and tarot decks.
Got little ones to buy for? This is a one-stop shop for babies and kids, carrying everything from strollers and essentials to apparel, toys and games! This particular strategy game is perfect for individual play or groups, with a suggested age of 3-8. It’s perfect for developing dexterity and patience, and is made of wood from sustainably managed forests – plus it looks so cute!
In gifting a membership, you’re actually giving the recipient part-ownership to this member-owned arts and culture hub. This single-screen theatre offers an exciting program of around 800 public screenings a year, including new independent films from Canada and beyond, as well as classics like The Wizard of Oz, and special events like the Saturday Morning All-You-Can-Eat Cereal Cartoon.
These sets, beautifully handcrafted in Sudbury by Brch Ceramics Studio, are both functional and display-worthy. The pitchers hold 16 oz of coffee and they are dishwasher and microwave-safe. At this gift shop, you can easily knock several people off your list, because their range of products runs from hand-dyed merino yarn to tangerine-flavoured cotton candy.
This company – started by a couple from Sudbury in 2018 – produces small-batch pup treats in four different dog-approved flavours: pumpkin, peanut butter, blueberry and beef liver. With two different treat sizes to choose from, they’re appropriate for small and large doggos, and the ingredients are wholesome and simple, for instance, the ingredient list for the beef liver treat is: beef liver. Can't go wrong with that.
Who doesn’t love a two-in-one gift?! The grandparents' annual membership gives unlimited access to Science North and Dynamic Earth for two grandparents, accompanied by up to two grandkids aged 17 and under. Additional perks include discounts on merchandise, unlimited free parking at both locations, and discounts on other local attractions!
While technically a clothing store, this shop also carries face and body products and home goods – including a drool-worthy selection of these easy-peasy baking mixes. With simple ingredients (like red spring wheat from Quebec), these mixes quickly turn into bakery-quality treats, and can even be made vegan.
In addition to 35-foot climbing walls and an extensive bouldering section, this spot offers a variety of yoga classes – prenatal, kids, aerial, hot power flow, and more! Each punch on the pass is good for a full day of unlimited yoga and climbing, and with five auto-belayers, folks who want to, can climb independently.
These local, Indigenous-made bonbons are works of art that look almost (ALMOST) too good to eat! Chef Tammy Maki’s chocolate creations feature traditional ingredients ranging from elderberry and hickory to alder catkin. While they make for impressive host gifts or stocking stuffers, these delicious delicacies are also the perfect gift for the folks on your list you might not know too well – think teachers, neighbours or the letter carrier.
Need more ideas? Check out our previous gift guides for more local gems!
