31 Days of Stocking Stuffers

Scroll through for our favorite local stocking stuffers.

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Denver Master Sommelier Richard Betts has penned a scratch-and-sniff book every wine-loving (or even wine-liking) adult should own. $19.99, tatteredcover.com

Check back each day for another local gift idea!

Jewelry is a family affair at Boulder’s Frisk, where mother Donna Rubino and daughters Jessica and Amanda transform vintage jewelry into new wearables, like these Armor Arrow Earrings. $78 at girlsforfrisk.com

—Image courtesy of Frisk Jewelry

Coloradans can never have too much lip balm—especially oversized, suggestive tubes of lip lube like the ones from Balm Chicky Balm Balm, a collaboration between two friends, one in Boulder, one in Portland. Bonus: the “friend end” lets you share chapstick, but not cooties. $12, balmchicky.com

—Image courtesy of Balm Chicky

The new stainless steel beer/tea/coffee mug from Boulder’s Eco Vessel is tough enough to survive your weekend adventures—or just your daily commute (it comes with a lid in case you’re more protective of your car’s interior). $15.95, ecovessel.com
—Image courtesy of Eco Vessel

Denver’s Eco Ditty turns lunchtime into fun-time. Kids will love coloring these reusable sandwich sacks themselves, and parents will love lightening their load on the planet. $13.99, ecoditty.com
—Image courtesy Eco Ditty

No, it’s not a lump of coal. It’s a charcoal water purifier called Kishu. Drop this stick, made from oak branches, in a pitcher of water and it will filter out impurities such as lead, mercury, copper, and chlorine. $13, kishucharcoal.com

—Image courtesy of Kishu

Dress up your greens (and meats and pasta and and and) with Aspen Cornucopia’s Basil Vinaigrette and Marinade. (Psst: It’s especially tasty on grilled asparagus and Brussels sprouts.) $5.95, coloradogiftcompany.com

The power of apparel: Maitri Garden’s t-shirts all contain an uplifting message on the inside. Plus a portion of the proceeds from every shirt sale go toward Kiva, a nonprofit that works to alleviate poverty. $25, maitrigarden.com

—Image courtesy of Maitri Garden

Salus’s bath cupcakes look good enough to eat, but you’re better off dropping them in the tub for a moisturizing soak. Bonus: for every cupcake purchased Salus plants a tree through Trees for the Future. $11, shopsalus.com

—Image courtesy of Salus

Sweeten up the holidays (and maybe your secret crush?) with Denver’s Sugarwish. The digital candy-gram lets the recipient pick his or her favorite treat. From $25, sugarwish.com

—Images courtesy Sugarwish

Boulder-based Gaiam’s Hot/Cold Foot Roller—which can be warmed up or cooled down—offers your loved one relief, even on the days you’re not quite up to giving a post-work massage. $14.98, amazon.com

—Image courtesy Gaiam

Create your own piece of pretty with personalized jewelry from Boulder’s Lumi Lia. Perfect for pint-sized BFFs. From $15, lumilia.com

—Image courtesy of Lumi Lia

From gnomes to cows and carrots, Denver-based Counter Couture’s silly, super graphic tea towels will perk up any kitchen. $10, countercouturedesign.com

—Images courtesy of Counter Couture

Give your beloved golfer a chance to watch PGA stars in action at Cherry Hills Country Club. Through December 31, the 2014 BMW Championship, which will be held in September, is offering two tickets to the tournament for $150. bmwchampionshipusa.com

—Image courtesy of Cherry Hills

There’s no denying Colorado takes a toll on our skin. Offset the sun and wind and snow’s effects with Denver-based m.pulse array of skincare products—including an impressive collection for men. m-pulse.com

—Image courtesy of mPulse

Protect precious iPads in style with Boulder-based Ash & Ore’s merino wool iPad sleeve. $40, ashandore.bigcartel.com

—Image courtesy of Elizabeth Riley

Once you’ve had a taste of Susie Hojel’s Chile Crunch, it will become a permanent fixture on your fridge’s condiment shelf. The spicy mix of chile de arbol, garlic, onion, spices, and canola oil goes on just about everything: stir fry, egg dishes, and even pizza. We’re seriously considering giving our lunchtime PB&J a little kick. $10.50, chilecrunch.com

Bring the outside in with a set of Denver’s Azure Furniture Company beetle kill pine rustic coasters. $12 for a set of four, azurefurniture.com

—Image courtesy of Azure Furniture Company

Feel good while you look good with a bracelet (or ring or necklace) from Denver-based Justice Originals, which up-cycles stainless steel into unique pieces. $45, etsy.com/shop/justiceoriginal

—Image courtesy of Justice Originals

As beer capital of the USA, Coloradans have a soft spot for craft beer. So why not beer crafts? Coloradan Shawn Gascoyne-Bowman’s new Beer Crafts book teaches hops and barley fans what to do with all those leftover bottle caps, labels, and cans: Make magnets, jewelry, and even hats. The best part? You’ve got to crack a cold one before you can even get started. $13.98, amazon.com

—Image courtesy of Andrews McMeel Publishing

Part fashion accessory, part emergency equipment, Survival Straps bracelets are made from super strong paracord that can be unraveled in the event of an emergency. Recently Survival Straps worked with Vail Resorts to create an officially licensed uniquely Colorado collection. $8, survivalstraps.com

—Image courtesy of Lee VanArsdall

In chilly Colorado, you can never have enough socks. Fortunately, we’ve also got plenty of local companies to choose from, Smartwool and Point6 to name just a couple. A pair or two from each ought to help fill that stocking.

—Image courtesy of Point6

Sweeten up the season with a dark chocolate variety pack from Layfayette’s Nova Monda Cacoa & Chocolate. You can blame the missing bar on Santa. $13.99, novachocolate.com

—Image courtesy of Nova Monda

Made with natural ingredients, Telluride’s aromatic Smart by Nature soaps come free of parabens and petroleum. And the company is committed to cleaning up the globe, too: It uses paper made from stones (yes stones!) to wrap the soaps and renewable energy to heat their water. From $2.50, smartbynature.biz

—Image courtesy of Smart by Nature

Coloradans are a stateriotic bunch, if the profusion of Colorado flags on shirts, bags, hoodies, and hats is any measure. We particularly love this version from Coloradical. Wear with pride. $27, coloradicalshirts.com

—Image courtesy of Adam Sikorski

Vail-based Krimson Klover’s “A Stripe in Time” sweater is made from super fine merino wool, making it an ideal mountain base layer that packs down to next to nothing. $130, krimsonklover.com

—Image courtesy of Krimson Klover

Denver’s ReBoundBooks gives new life to old friends like Nancy Drew with its art notebooks made from recycled books, record covers, and even beer boxes. From $9, etsy.com/shop/ReBoundBooks

—Images courtesy of ReBoundBooks

Breathe in the scent of the woods with Library of Flowers’ aromatic soy wax Forest Luminary candle. $32, libraryofflowers.com

—Image courtesy of Library of Flowers

Deliver coffee and good karma to your loved ones with a bag of “Out Living It” coffee from Vail Mountain Coffee & Tea Co. and First Descents. Fifty cents from the sale of each bag will go to First Descents, a nonprofit that provides outdoor adventures for young adult cancer fighters and survivors. $9.95, firstdescents.org/store

—Image courtesy of First Descents

For the mountain lover on your list: the recently released Denver Mountain Parks, which chronicles the 100-year history of our beloved mountain parks while also serving as a beautiful guidebook and coffee table tome thanks to John Fielder’s impressive nature photography. $39.95, mountainparksfoundation.org

On the final day of our 31 Days of Stocking Stuffers we figured we’d go big. Rolled up tight, Voormi’s limited edition hoodie just stuffs down into a stocking, and it’s guaranteed to elicit big-time grins. The Pagosa Springs’ company’s impressive midlayer has a water-repellent wool outer layer and high-performance thermal layers on the inside. Perfect for the remaining four—maybe five?—months of powder hounding. $229, voormi.com

—Image courtesy of Voormi

Happy Holidays from 5280!