Technical.ly’s 2024 gift guide for Delaware

It’s officially holiday shopping season — where do you want your spending to go?

Maybe you’re trying to quit or cut back on shopping through the behemoth websites, maybe you’re looking for something unique that can’t be found in a big box store or maybe you know every dollar spent locally generates $2 to $6 of economic activity in the local economy so you shop accordingly.

We’ve picked a selection of gifts from Delaware entrepreneurs, makers and creators — from coffee to books to merch from your giftee’s favorite local events. 

Happy holidays!

2024 Swim with the Sharks participants

Not all participants in the New Castle County Chamber’s annual Swim with the Sharks pitch competition have “giftable” products, but some do.

• “Drones, Drones Everywhere!” by Ashlee Cooper and Faye Paige Edwards is a children’s book cowritten by 2024 Swim with the Sharks winner Cooper, founder of Doneversity. The book teaches kids about — you guessed it — drones.

• Color & Blow shampoo and conditioner bars
  
• Coffee Rendezbrew coffees, candles and other merchandise
  
• Crown to Sole skincare
  
• Charmed Collective’s hoodie string accessories

Wilmington Kitchen Collective entrepreneurs

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The Wilmington Kitchen Collective is for food entrepreneurs, including caterers, food truck runners and restauranteurs. It also offers kitchen space for food businesses that make and sell food items that make nice gifts.

• Graves Yard Apiary offers honey products, including hot honey, creamed honey and herbal-infused electuary honey
  
• Rhythm & Heat spice company was on last year’s list — but the product selection (and branding) has expanded so much it’s worth another rec
  
• Cherry’s Baking Company has gifts for cheesecake lovers, including a banana pudding cheesecake and a brown butter pecan cheesecake — just make sure you give at least 5 days lead time and be prepared to store it with proper refrigeration
  
• Bea Delightful Cakes offers giftable goodies, including liquor infused popcorn in flavors like bourbon pecan and Crown Royal apple.
  
• Ken-Do Spice offers spice blends like Ocean Essence and BBQ Bomb, as well as digital books on healthy eating
  
• Holsome Habits offers a variety of sea moss gel products, handmade soaps and body butters

Downtown Wilmington shopping

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Wilmington’s holiday season parking meter policy returns Nov. 29, with free meter parking from 12 noon to 6 p.m. weekdays through Jan. 2, making it easier to shop at downtown spots like these.

• Spaceboy Clothing has t-shirts printed in original local designs as well as vintage items
  
• Huxley & Hiro bookstore (if you can’t make it to the brick and mortar, you can still support the business by ordering books through its online portal)
  
• Lafate Gallery for folk art, including original painting, prints and more

Gaming

• FFG Central membership or open play time by the hour
  
• CTRL-V VR arcade in Bear offers gift cards

Cult faves

• Sleeping Bird Donuts are still flying off the shelf — if you can get your hands on some, they’d make a great gift to yourself or someone else
  
• Little Goat Roasting Co. has an online shop for gifting a variety of its coffees
  
• Noshooe on Etsy (as seen on the subreddits) sells stickers “straight outta Delaware.” New items include the Delaware melting popsicle. Classic faves like the psychedelic Happy Harry and “Delaware Exists” bumper sticker are in stock as of this writing.

Event Merch

Does one of your giftees have a favorite Delaware event, but no merch to show for it? Here are some ideas.

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• Bob Marley People’s Festival merch
  
• Ladybug Festival merch
  
• Sea Witch Festival merch

At the Hip Hop Summit at the Delaware Art Museum, Governor Carney officially declared the Oct. 26 AllHipHop Day in Delaware.

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A post shared by Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur (@chuckcreekmur)

 You can grab AllHipHop merch online

• AllHipHop merch

Support the ecosystem

• NerdIT Now holds Mega Warehouse Sales every Saturday offering everything from electronics to clothing