St. Louis is a creative hub, and our local makers and small businesses make holiday shopping more meaningful, memorable and fun!
Let our guide to the best St. Louis gifts help you find the perfect present for everyone on your list. Most of these one-of-a-kind items are available in stores and online.
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A Mix of Many Things
Across St. Louis, compelling boutiques offer a marvelous assortment of functional, high-quality and inspired goods. Civil Alchemy, a lifestyle company located in Webster Groves, features attractive apparel, essential housewares, gorgeous florals, skincare products, specialty foodstuffs and more, while Urban Matter, a women-owned gift shop on South Grand Boulevard, boasts delightful presents such as handmade jewelry, sustainable notebooks, contemporary planters, diverse cookbooks and beautiful hats and bags.
Down the street from Civil Alchemy, Forth and Home sources handmade pieces and vintage treasures from global makers. Art and accessories, stationery and stoneware – every item emanates beauty, hospitality and joy.
Defined by its sophisticated yet playful air, Provisions St. Louis in the Central West End also sells necessary luxuries – think embroidered floral throw pillows, artistic wooden board games, Betsey Johnson jewelry and birch trays covered in fanciful scenes where speckled koi swim among Granny Smith apples and dogs wear flaring horns full of flora and fauna on their heads.
A home away from home, Hearth & Soul offers another signature shopping experience – this time in Ladue. From framed Hermes scarves to coffee table books and feather earrings to chocolate tins, the carefully curated collection at the upscale specialty boutique will warm your heart, nourish your soul and make every gift you give feel personal.
If you’re looking for socially and environmentally conscious gifts, head to Zee Bee Market in Maplewood. At the ethical retailer, every item has a beautiful story behind it, and every story shares a common denominator: an artisan community that directly benefits from the export and sale of their products. “Zee Bee Market connects St. Louis to the international community,” owner Julio Zegarra-Ballon says, “and every purchase helps build a more just marketplace. While you’re in Maplewood, don’t miss Kakao Chocolate – my go-to place for fine, handcrafted confections for any occasion.”
For the badass on your list, Golden Gems at City Foundry STL inspires customers to live unapologetically with bold mantras that decorate everything from keychains to notebooks to T-shirts. Sisters Amanda Helman and Susan Logsdon design all the products, and they make many of them, including banners that empower readers.
“The phrases on our products are messages that we need to hear,” Logsdon explains. “They might be messages that we didn’t hear as girls, or they might be messages that we recite as women. Our products remind you to take up space and live life on your own terms.”
Adjacent to Golden Gems, Procure specializes in St. Louis-themed gifts that celebrate iconic aspects of the city. If you’re visiting family and friends for the holidays, this is the place to shop for them!
Continue to spread good vibes with crystals, rocks and fossils from STL Rocks on Cherokee Street or essential oils, herbs, incense, gemstones and tarot cards from Mystic Valley in Maplewood.
Art
It’s not easy to buy art for someone, but it’s at least fun in St. Louis.
Both Green Door Art Gallery and Soulard Art Gallery sell an array of art from resident artists. The former is the only place where you can purchase Mary Engelbreit’s original drawings, while the latter offers paintings, pottery and functional art for smaller budgets.
If glass fascinates you, head to Third Degree Glass Factory, where you can see glassblowing demonstrations while you shop. If you’re not in St. Louis, you can still shop for holiday gifts, studio ornaments, jewelry, barware, statement pieces and wall plates – all handmade locally – in Third Degree Glass Factory’s online store.
“Third Degree Glass Factory is a hot spot for holiday gifts that you can’t find anywhere else in St. Louis,” founder Douglas Auer says. “The gallery is full of both functional and decorative pieces – think glasses, bowls, vases, jewelry and wall art – made right here in the studio. Every year, artists create signature holiday ornaments featuring everything from winter scenes to farm animals, and it’s a fun tradition to gift a new one every year.”
Down Delmar Boulevard, Craft Alliance boasts one-of-a-kind, handmade pieces created on-site for other artsy individuals on your list.
Area art museums, including the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Pulitzer Arts Foundation and Saint Louis Art Museum, also stock exquisite, art-inspired gifts such as glass, jewelry, books, posters and toys.
Books & Puzzles
Books are entertaining, educational and easy to wrap – what more could you want from a gift?
When you’re searching for good reads for your family and friends, stop by one of St. Louis’ premier independent bookstores, including The Book House, Dunaway Books, Hammonds Books, Left Banks Books, The Novel Neighbor, Subterranean Books and The Webster Groves Bookshop.
“I found The Novel Neighbor weeks after Holland Saltsman opened it, and I still remember the amazing gifts that I bought that year. It will always be one of my stops for holiday shopping – I can grab quirky finds for friends, stocking stuffers for kids and a book for my mother-in-law all in the same place! The staff have reliable recommendations if you’re unsure, and the atmosphere is warm, welcoming and fun. I love that The Novel Neighbor hosts book events in the lobby of MADE Makerspace because it gives us a little piece of the shop in the Delmar Maker District.”
– Karyn Williams, marketing director, Third Degree Glass Factory
For comics, graphic novels, games and collectibles, peruse specialty bookstores such as Apotheosis Comics & Lounge and The Wizard’s Wagon.
St. Louis is also home to the world’s largest puzzle store. In Kirkwood, Puzzle Warehouse stocks everything from five-piece puzzles for kids to 12,000-piece puzzles for adults – plus, games, brain teasers and models.
Music
If you’re shopping for a music-lover, you’re in luck because St. Louis is a music city.
Both Dead Wax Records and Vintage Vinyl specialize in vinyl. In fact, after launching in 2013, Dead Wax Records moved to a larger location on Cherokee Street in 2020 to keep up with the demand for vinyl. Owner Jeremy Miller says that customers buy a wide range of records at the store, but popular vinyl albums, including Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Billy Joel’s The Stranger and The Beatles’ Abbey Road, are difficult to keep in stock. No matter what songs your loved ones sing, you’ll find a vinyl record that they’ll appreciate here.
A legendary record store in the Delmar Loop, Vintage Vinyl was ranked as one of the 10 greatest record stores in the country by USA Today. It offers a treasure trove of vinyl records for audiophiles near and far, but for a record with St. Louis flair, look for Chuck Berry’s Live From Blueberry Hill, Oliver Sain’s St. Louis Breakdown: The Best of Oliver Sain and The Welders’ Our Own Oddities 1977-81.
Fun fact: Tom “Papa” Ray, who owns Vintage Vinyl, hosts the Emmy Award-nominated Papa Ray’s Vintage Vinyl Roadshow, which spotlights the thrill and the value of discovering music in brick-and-mortar stores.
“For more than four decades, Vintage Vinyl has served the music community,” Papa Ray explains. “My knowledgeable staff and I consider ourselves ‘musical pharmacists’ who hand out ‘musical prescriptions.’ Customers come into the store knowing they’ll find the music that makes their lives better – because music is indeed the healing force.”
Clothing & Jewelry
Civic pride is the gift that keeps on giving. This holiday season, show your love for St. Louis and its sports teams with gifts from local retailers such as Hats-N-Stuff, which offers official gear from both professional and college teams; The Mash Pit by Zoey’s Attic, which has tees for every season and occasion; and Arch Apparel, which puts its own spin on sports apparel.
STL Style creates original products – from tees to totes and flags to magnets – that reflect the true character of the city that we all love, while Backing Blacks features the hottest global streetwear brands for men, women and children.
For vintage finds, peruse Cherokee Street – home to Assassin Vintage and Your Friend’s Apartment, and add the finishing touches to your St. Louis gifts with jewelry from Albarré Jewelry, Collections by Joya and The Silver Lady.
Wellness
Wellness gifts speak volumes about your care and consideration. In a world where stress often prevails, these thoughtful St. Louis gifts encourage self-care.
To start, you can’t go wrong with candles. St. Louis-based Six.Twenty Four Candle Co. offers a line of luxury candles in aromas such as mango-coconut, mahogany-teakwood, pineapple-sage and beach linen – the last two being owner Candice Pinkins’ personal favorites. It’s as simple as a click of a button to take home these hand-poured, coconut-wax, wood-wick treats.
At The Candle Fusion Studio – which has two locations in the region – you can also shop for hand-poured, soy-wax candles in unexpected yet enticing fragrances such as baked bread, candy cane, flannel, hops, Santa’s pipe and whipped cream.
For other ways to pamper your loved ones, shop Herbaria’s selection of all-natural, handcrafted soaps. From almond-aloe to saffron-gold and lavender-oatmeal to rosemary-mint, the soaps are aromatherapeutic, hypoallergenic, moisturizing and eco-friendly.
La’Crassia Wilderness, the mastermind behind Butter Love Skin, is committed to clean, nourishing skincare products, as well. And if you’re downtown on Washington Avenue, don’t miss the chance to shop at Whip It Goods. Accessible, inclusive and effective, the plant-based, cruelty-free skincare products – such as owner Ashley Morgan’s best-selling whipped body butter – promise to heal, nourish and revitalize skin.
Shine In All Shades, a particularly unique wellness gift, is an empowering coloring book that spotlights women of color with hand-drawn images created by Dominican artist and graphic designer Valeria “Val” Rodriguez. Coloring helps with mindfulness, focus and relaxation, and this exuberant coloring book can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Rodriguez also sells affirmation pillows, stickers and shirts.
Kid-Friendly
Cute and cuddly, Build-A-Bear stuffed animals will make your little ones smile. Originally conceived as a place for children to create their own teddy bear with a step-by-step process, including the iconic Heart Ceremony, Build-A-Bear Workshop is now a multigenerational, multidimensional global brand. Its line of stuffed animals has also expanded to include aquatic, farm and woodland animals as well as characters from Disney, Marvel, Harry Potter, Star Wars and Pokémon.
“After 20 years, most toy companies become multigenerational,” president and CEO Sharon Price John says. “Suddenly, the first kids that played with your toys are buying your toys for their kids. In the case of Build-A-Bear Workshop, the indelible experience of creating a lifelong furry friend remains a cherished memory for our customers, and it makes sense that they would want to expose their family, their friends, their coworkers, their clients to the same emotional experience.”
For educational and developmental toys, explore Happy Up in Clayton and Imagination Toys in Ladue. The latter sits next to Ellie Viv Boutique, where clothing, accessories and gifts for kids and tweens abound.
Little ones will also love Goodnight St. Louis and Goodnight St. Louis 2, illustrated hardcovers that explore the region’s most popular attractions, iconic landmarks, historic neighborhoods and family-friendly hangouts. In addition, Goodnight St. Louis makes a coloring book, which provides a whimsical experience where imagination is your guide and the city is your canvas.
Our St. Louis gift guide is a jumping-off point. Find more holiday shopping inspiration here.
