15 Small Businesses BuzzFeed Employees Are Shopping For The Holiday Season

Candles, real plant ornaments, and loads more. 🎁😍

Hey! While we’re doing our best to make sure the products we feature will arrive in time for Christmas, shipping times are especially tricky this year and can vary depending on where you live, which product you purchase, and more. Shop early and be sure to double check the retailers’ websites for shipping information to ensure that your gift will arrive in time for the 25th!

1. Paige's Candle Co. — Treat yourself to a room that smells like lavender or cactus fruit or whiskey. (JK about whiskey. It's actually called Whiskey Neat with notes of vanilla bean, white oak, cherries, tonka, and birchbark. Had you at vanilla didn't I? 😏)

Paige's Candle Co.

Btw, this is a Black woman-owned business. The candles are vegan and shipped with biodegradable materials (you love to see it 🌍!). You should also know that orders placed by Dec. 15 will arrive before Christmas if that's when you need 'em.

Get the lavender candle from Paige's Candle Co. for $15+ (available in three sizes).

2. Bookshop — for an online book-shopping experience that will not only donate a percentage of your purchase toward helping local bookstores thrive in business but will also allow you to select which bookstores near your town gets the money.

BuzzFeed / Marquaysa Battle

Bookshop donates 10% of your purchase to local bookstores. You even get to choose which bookstore, as long as they have a curated shop on the site. Yes, even if you buy books in the Bookshop marketplace that aren't from *that* shop. There are over 920 mom-and-pop bookstores on the platform and so far, the brand has distributed about $7.4 million back to those stores and more than 1,000 others, helping many of them stay afloat during the pandemic. You'll also be happy to know that of its top 10 selling stores, just one (Indiebound, also a collective of small stores) isn't BIPOC-owned. Woot!

BTW, the book shown here is Michael Arceneaux's I Don't Want To Die Poor and it's SO GOOD! It's a supremely well-written series of essays on the financial, emotional, physical, and social impact of student loans on a millennial who's also Black and queer. The entire book is witty and fun without cropping a single thing out of the very ugly picture that is the student loan debt crisis. While the book informs in a bunch of ways, it was definitely the "Float On" chapter for me, where Arceneaux reckons with multi-generational coping mechanisms. POW-ER-FUL.

Get the book from Bookshop for $15.64+ (originally $17+; available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook forms) OR browse a bunch of different titles on the site.

3. Hija de tu Madre — a lifestyle brand owned by and dedicated to Latinx women with apparel, jewelry, desk accessories, beauty products and more.

Hija de tu Madre

Get the Muy Busy planner for $49.99 (available for pre-order).

4. KIN Apparel — for satin-lined hoodies, jackets, and visors to keep your hair protected AND your style on point.

Instagram / KINApparel / Giphy / Via instagram.com, KIN Apparel / Via instagram.com

Kin Apparel is a Black woman-owned brand by natural hair influencer, Philomina Kane. Her hoodie line is inspired by her passion for natural haircare, her Ghanian culture, and even more specifically, her grandmother.

Get the hoodies on the left from KIN Apparel's latest fall collection for $74.99 (available in 19 styles and sizes S–4XL) OR the style on the right for $54.99 (available in eight styles and sizes S–4XL).

5. Love Thy Beast for very stylish pet clothes and accessories for dogs and cats. It'll be quite ~ruff~ trying to decide between all the stylish hoodies, beds, leashes, and poop bag holders, but I trust you'll get your ~paws~ on the perfect gifts to shower your baby with.

Critter

BTW, this shop is a woman-owned brand based in New York.

Get the fleece hoodie from Love Thy Beast for $46 (available in XS-XXL).

6. Hippy Feet — because it's the most wonderful time of the year to get cozy (and quite stylish!) socks but also because the brand's main mission is to provide jobs and secure housing for people experiencing homelessness, including the youth.

Hippy Feet

The brand is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has provided about 2,200 hours of employment for homeless youth ages 16 to 24. Over 130 young folks experiencing homelessness have been helped — and counting! A note from the brand's Instagram:

"On any given night in our home state of Minnesota, there are 6,000 people under the age of 24 experiencing homelessness. It’s our mission to provide these young people with the support they need to get back on their feet and become self-sufficient."

Get the paisley socks (one of their top sellers) from Hippy Feet for $18 (available in men's sizes S and L), the plaid knee-high socks for $18 (available in women's sizes S and L).

7. BLK + GRN Market — an all-natural marketplace filled with products, all by Black artisans. You'll find everything from skincare to books to children's toys to cleaning items AND MORE. It'll be the perf place to intro yourself to several Black-owned brands at once.

BLK+GRN

BLK+GRN is also Black woman-owned brand and based in New York.

Get the Natural Annie Christmas Tree soy candle from BLK+GRN for $24, the Rooted Woman nail polish remover for $10, or a gift card for $10+.

8. Sounds NYC — a boutique with straight-up gorgeous (albeit practical) designs for life, work, and home.

Sounds NYC

IRL, its Brooklyn storefront also operates as a cafè and gift shop, where folks can come for a little joe, to be surrounded by beautiful things (MOOD FOREVER, btw), and maybe participate in some of the workshops. The shop and its activities are temporarily closed RN, but you can still browse their gorgeous gifts online and fill up your space with whatever catches your eye.

Get the Bodega Puzzle for $48 or the mug for $60.

9. Little Otsu — a shop filled with paper goods and other office supplies. Really, it's a writer's toy store. One time for the people who still put respect on good pens, pencils, stationery, and oh, actual factual physical writing. Perf spot for swagging out your WFH desk or your reading nook.

Little Otsu

Little Otsu is a small business located in Portland, Oregon, and co-owned by an Asian American woman.

Get the Stabilo pens from Little Otsu for $8.50+ (available in multiple quantities, sizes, and styles) and the Papelote notebook strap for $8 (available in nine colors).

10. Tiny Showcase — a shop that'll make an art collector out of you yet with an online gallery of mini and intentionally affordable pieces by a diverse range of artists. Whether you're a novice or connoisseur and whatever your vibe is —there's a piece for you in this gallery.

Leiyana Simone / Tiny Showcase, Keith Greiman / Tiny Showcase

Heads up: Tiny Showcase has a quantity policy, meaning you can only buy two of each print. The purpose is to avoid wholesale transactions and maintain the integrity of an online curated gallery. If you add a bunch of the same piece to your cart, your money'll just be refunded but no need for that right? Just respect the vibes. We stand with their mission to keep Tiny Showcase tiny. 😘🎨

Get the Brown Girls piece by Leiyana Simone from Tiny Showcase for $35 or the Speedy Motorcycle by Keith Greiman for $20.

11. Karen Jai Home — for the home décor sophisties who love a luxury situation in their living quarters.

Karen Jai Home is a Black woman-owned business based in Dallas, Texas.

Get the 11-piece barware set for $78 (available in four colors) or the pillow cover for $48+ (available in two sizes and with or without a pillow).

12. ECOVIBE — plant parents, this one's definitely for you! This is the spot for a gazillion plants (OK, maybe fewer than that) but also other great home goods like candles, cards, gift wrap, and more.

Ecovibe

ECOVIBE is a Black-owned business based in Portland, Oregon.

Get the Guzmania plant from ECOVIBE for $16 or the ornament seed kit (spread the plant love!) for $8 (to plant options available).

13. Planting With P — yes, more plants! Because the BuzzFeed staff just may be the biggest family of plant parents ever and WE ARE UNASHAMED. WE WILL NEVER CHANGE.

Planting With P

Planting With P is Black woman-owned and Brooklyn-based! Btw, I can't NOT let you know that this brand also offers a subscription box so you can geek out on green things every single month. Go ahead. Give into the obsession.

Get the poinsettia for $20+ (available in sizes small, medium, and large), a custom floral arrangement for $50 (available wrapped or with glass vases in sizes small or large), OR the subscription box for $30.

14. Maya's Cookies — They're vegan, soft, and very ~tasty~. Heads up: You'll get same-day eating, OK? That means you'll get the box and eat it all on the same day it arrives. That's how good they are. We don't make the rules. 🍪🎁

Maya's Cookies

I won't hold out on you, friends. I tried nearly every flavor. Two boxes' worth. They weren't just tasty to me; they were tasty to all six people in the house, with only one of us being an actual vegan. Maya's Cookies is Black woman-owned too, btw.

Get the chocolate chip s'mores box for $25 (comes with six cookies) or the sampler box from Maya's Cookies for $25 (includes one birthday cake, snickerdoodle, marble fudge, chocolate chip, chocolate chip s'mores, and funfetti cookie per box) .

15. Otherwild — A shop that collabs with and showcases products from creatives including home goods, accessories, apparel, and beauty/skincare grabs.

Otherwild

The brand is queer-owned and its IRL shop is actually a gathering, workshop, and event space. Otherwild also has an Anotherwild Fund, which is a grant for folks who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) who are also LGBTQIA+. Applicants must be involved in one of the following categories: retail/store curation, herbalism, natural/ethical personal care products, candle-making, perfumery, incense, apparel and accessory design, textile design, ceramics, low/zero waste goods, or tarot and occult.

Get the throw blanket from Otherwild for $180 or the zero-waste bamboo and cotton eating kit for $22.

Want to shop small more often? Mood! Check out 30 Products From Small Businesses You'll Prob Use Over And Over Again!

Looking for the perfect gift for any occasion? Check out all of BuzzFeed’s gift guides!

BuzzFeed