Six Hyper-Local Holiday Gift Ideas and Who to Give Them to

Holiday gift guides are a little like people who post screenshots of their quips and savage rejoinders from Twitter onto their Facebook page: Mildly interesting but generally forgettable.

However, like tourists quoting Good Will Hunting while having a beer in L Street Tavern, they’re a guaranteed arrival. So if you’re going to spend your eyeballs and limited time getting gifting ideas from one, here’s a fine example loaded with cheery booty from a handful of local businesses. Think of it as a way to put your money in the hands of your proverbial neighbors instead of Jeff Bezos.

He’s got plenty.

For The Mollusk Maestro

East Boston Oysters “EBO Experience”

Essentially it’s the gift package you or another fan of killer locally sourced oysters (Chatham) would want landing at the steps of your upcoming holiday or NYE parties. The package includes oysters, the best sauce on earth and an East Boston Oysters-branded wood-handle proper oyster shucking knife. Choose between either 36 or 100 oysters as part of the package, and have them delivered anywhere. No, you can’t just put “in my belly” as the address. We think. $100-$175, available here.

Arlington Police Department

For Anyone Constantly Misplacing Keys

Loyal Supply Co.’s gold embossed leather key holster

Maybe you know someone who is always saying “where the hell did I put my keys”, or have so many they walk with a constant jingling as their own personal soundtrack. Whatever the reason, gorgeous Somerville design and crafts shop Loyal Supply Co., has created a handsome gold-embossed branded sheath (with leather dyed, molded, and stamped in Cambridge) to tame the key-ring mange of whoever you deem worthy of such a nifty trinket. $32, available at their Union Square shop or here

Facebook/Long Grain

For The Oenophile In The Making

Urban Grape’s “Drink Progressively: The Book”

For anyone that’s ever shopped at the South End husband-and-wife-helmed Urban Grape wine and spirits shop, or been schooled on the ins and outs of wine from the passionate knowledge of owners TJ and Hadley Douglass, landing their just-released wine book will be a plum local get from the giving season. Besides the innovative new way of approaching wine and food pairings, they even teamed up with a Nantucket chef to create 20 recipes to work out wine and food pairing at home. Unless someone hates wine, food, Nantucket, or all of those, hard to go wrong with this one. $27, available at the Urban Grape or here

Rebecca Greenway

For The Mix Master

Drunk and Told, by Frederic Yarm

In 2012, local drink slinger and cocktail historian Frederic Yarm came out with Drink and Tell: A Boston Cocktail Book, and in 2017 he released the follow up Drunk and Told, with 850 cocktail recipes from over 100 bars and restaurants in the Hub. Also, essays and ruminations on the hospitality industry, cocktail trends, and even shoutouts to legends of the Boston drink scene. $19.95, available at The Boston Shaker

For The Techie/Gamer/Team Outing

MindtrekVR experience in Woburn

Chances are you may have seen something about the nation’s largest indoor free-roaming virtual reality multi-player compound just off the highway in Woburn. And for anyone that is even remotely curious about virtual reality, to the most seasoned at-home VR nerd, both will be blown away after walking around with a backpack-computer and big honkin’ gun to cart around while wasting zombies or exploring the singularity in a truly immersive experience. $49 per person, reservations and tickets/gift cards here. BostInno readers can get 10% off any group purchase by entering “BostInno10” when purchasing before 1/31/2018.

Rebecca Greenway

For The Hunter/Urban Wanderer

Ball and Buck Roger Knit Hat

Boston’s favorite rugged-meets-stylish bastion of American Made outdoorsy threads and goods, Ball and Buck, uses quality USA spun blazing orange Ragg wool to make this handsome head cover. It’s bright enough to maybe ward off any unwanted sport-hunter headshots while strolling in the woods (orange = “please don’t kill me I’m not a deer thanks”), and it’s just as good for daily commutes, weekend outings, and whatever else one wears tight-knit hats on their head for, really. $38, available at their Boston location or here.

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