The Grit City is full of out-of-the-box options when it comes to gift giving. Sure, fill your stockings with the usual necessities–socks, underwear, toothbrushes, and scrunchies–but don’t forget to tuck something unique in there that will utterly stun the gift receiver and fill them with excitement.
We’ve gathered some great options from around Tacoma and the South Sound. Most of these locations have a gift card option, which is an easy addition to a stocking. Check them out in person and you’ll likely find other merchandise you can’t pass up.
For the Kids
Chock full of toys you won’t find at big, box stores. Find gifts for all ages that inspire imaginative play and learning. Offering curbside pick-up for efficient holiday shopping.
With a mission “to provide quality toys that support the emotional, physical, and intellectual growth of our neighborhood’s children,” it’s no wonder this store has been delighting children for decades. Offering free local delivery through most of Tacoma.
Support a young, local entrepreneur on a mission to share his love of LEGO®s. Eric started this store when he was only 10 years old! Inspire your brick lover and next generation of Legoprenuer (yes, we made that up!). Business hours are limited, but worth the effort to shop in store.
This is like Willy Wonka’s for creative kids. But where there would be everlasting gobstoppers, there are everlasting bins filled with recycled items ready for hours of tinkering and creative play. Fill a bag with goodies or purchase a gift card to come back with your child and experience their wide eyed wonder in the shop.
Besides being a great place for a bike tune up, this local bike shop offers an incredible Earn-a-Bike program where kids learn bike repair and maintenance and get to take home the bike they serviced. What an amazing gift for a curious kid! Stop in for a gift certificate or go big with the Earn-a-Bike program.
For the Teens
Support their need for a few minutes of down time after school to hang with friends before they hit their homework.
Let them choose between a hands-down delicious Bahn Mi sandwich or a classic bubble tea with a gift card.
Let your skater “SIP IT. GRIP IT. RIP IT.” with a gift card to The Method full service skateshop and café in downtown Tacoma. This is a great way to support local and support your teen’s interests at the same time.
Have a teen who appreciates graphic art? Pick up a few comics to slide into your teen’s stocking. Stargazer carries both new and vintage comics, so you’re sure to find something to suit your teen’s artistic taste.
East Kitchen offers cooking classes that emphasize Southeast Asian, Chinese, and Korean cuisine. Classes here offer an incredible opportunity to learn new cooking skills, gain appreciation of new foods, and learn “fearless cooking.” Read the story of owner, Julia Bang, and you’ll be just as excited as we are about what she is cooking up in the South Sound. This is the gift for the foodie teen in your life.
Not just for kids! We’d be remiss if we didn’t remind you to check them out for your teen, too!
For Your Furry Friends
The knowledgeable, pet loving staff can help you pick out some tasty treats and a snack for Fido. Find something for even the most neurotic canine friend from their great selection.
If you’ve walked your dog through the Proctor neighborhood, there’s a good chance the leash got just a little tighter as you passed by here. Our canine friends know the smell of good treats when they smell them! Find toys for both the dogs and the cats in your life here.
For Garden & Nature Lovers
This is the place to find gifts for that one friend or family member with the binoculars and the bird journal in hand. If you know someone who can’t stop talking about the latest species they found in their garden, check this place out.
Seed packets and garden tools are perfect for stuffing those stockings. Garden Sphere has a great selection of seeds, plants, and even baby chicks (though we don’t recommend those as stocking stuffers!). They offer garden consulting, personalized landscape design, and even complimentary potting when you buy a pot and plant in their store.
Find locally made pots, indoor plants, and seasonal gifts for your indoor plant aficionado. Top that stocking off with a small planter overflowing with String of Hearts or a Button Fern.
For Fitness Gurus & Adventure Seekers
Give a Bike Tune-up
Pick up a gift certificate for a bike tune-up at one of Tacoma’s many great bike shops. Old Town Bicycle, Tacoma Bike, and 2nd Cycle all offer tune-up service.
Give a New Experience
Sometimes even the most avid fitness guru needs to mix up their routine. Give them a new fitness experience! Edgeworks Climbing and Fitness offers several pass options and climbing classes that would be a perfect gift for an adventurous friend or family member.
Give New-to-You Outdoor Gear
Brand new gear isn’t always the best option and it certainly isn’t always the best value. Playback Sports is a consignment store with a huge selection of items from a myriad of sports and fitness endeavors. Your fitness guru can get more bang for their buck by consigning lightly used gear and finding what they need at Playback Sports.
Give them Comfy Feet
Fleet Feet offers a specialized fit process that utilizes 3D scanning technology to help hone in on a truly comfortable fit for your running shoes. They are also stocked with compression socks, fitness gear, and all sorts of goodies to fill a stocking.
Biblio and Audiophiles
Vinyl, band t-shirts, and books, oh my! High Voltage has something for the book lover and music lover alike. Pick up some merch and a gift card!
With 4500 square feet of new and used books, your bibliophile is sure to find a gem at Kings Books. Go the extra mile and offer to sign up for a book club with your book loving friend or family member.
With a vision to create “a community space that could offer events and products that affirm the members of [a] diverse neighborhood,” Parable has become a hub of the McKinley neighborhood. Pick up a good read for each of the stockings you have to fill!
For Coffee & Tea Lovers
No stocking stuffer list would be complete without the addition of tea and coffee options! We’ve gathered several great options for you. A pound of coffee quickly fills a stocking and brings the smiles.
2716 N 21st Street, Tacoma, WA 98406
1554 Market St #101, Tacoma, WA 98402
2201 6th Ave., Tacoma, WA 98403
2601 N Proctor St., Tacoma, WA 98407
1003 S 11th St., Tacoma, WA 98405
301 A Puyallup Ave., Tacoma, WA 98421
2512 S Holgate St., Tacoma, WA 98402
