What local gifts are you giving this year? (Erie, Harrisburg: sale, houses)

[DowntownHarrisburg]

The Christmas season is upon us, and my favorite gifts every year are local gifts. I think a local gift carries a lot of weight and is often more appreciated than something you picked up during a Black Friday sale at Wal Mart. And if you have people far from home -- kids away at college, friends who moved out of the region, etc -- a local gift can really help nail the holiday spirit. And of course, something local is always more unique than something mass-produced and mass-marketed!

Bear in mind we're not talking about things that are mass-produced (like Hanes T-shirts made in a local factory) or unattainable for the average working-class person (like a gift certificate to the single most expensive restaurant in the state). Everything you suggest should be something that anyone can hop in their car, drive a few hours, and get. Bonus points for extremely unusual (a restaurant where the grill is fired by remnants of TMI's reactor!) and anything that makes you say "Yup - that's Pennsylvania"!

So with this in mind, what local gifts will you be giving -- or what local gifts would you recommend? Be sure to tell us WHY your gifts are special, and what city / borough / town / region they represent.

Here's my list from Harrisburg:

#1 - An assortment of Torchbearer Sauces. Torchbearer is based in Mechanicsburg (a small, rustic borough in the Harrisburg metro area), hence the locality. Their sauces run the gamut from sweet & savory to spicy & well-balanced, with the occasional "HOLY CRAP MY TONGUE NO LONGER EXISTS". More importantly, their stuff is actually really good. They are very fussy about using fresh ingredients and small batches, and you can taste the difference.



#2 - Gift certificates to Midtown Scholar (the photo above). Every town has a used bookstore, but Midtown Scholar is something special. At the very least, it offers an incredible atmosphere for readers and a utopia for amateur historians. More significantly, it is one of the anchors of midtown Harrisburg's arts & culture renaissance. The owners are very selective about which books they will take in, so you don't wind up with mountains of worn-out romance novels. There are mountains of local books, many a century or more old. My favorite part is the tucked-away alcoves featuring postcards, old letters. I once scored a handwritten letter from a surveyor on the never-built Johnstown / Bellefonte canal, circa 1827 (?). Books can be a little pricey, but a $25 gift card will ensure they find something they like.

#3 - Whole-bean coffee from St. Thomas Roasters in Linglestown and Little Amps Coffee Roasters in Harrisburg. Coffee houses are a dime a dozen, but these two actually roast their own beans in-house. That means that even if they sit around gift-wrapped for a week, they're still a few months fresher than whatever you buy at your local grocery store. Combine a bag of beans (around $12 - $15 / pound) with a shiny new French press (around $15 - $25), and you've given an instant upgrade to any coffee-lover on your list. Trust me, they WILL appreciate the difference.

#4 - Craft brews from Troegs Brewing Company and Appalachian Brewing Company. With the current microbrew renaissance, this is the best time in the world to be a beer drinker. Microbreweries are springing up like crazy all over PA (why is PA such a beer-thirsty state? ), but I think two of the best just happen to be in my back yard. Troegs and ABC both offer more than your typical beer / lager / ale selection. Troegs regularly brews limited-size scratch batches, while ABC's selection is a bit more predictable. While many distributors across the state carry a limited selection of both, nothing beats going straight to the source and choosing from the entire selection.

Finally, while it's not really a gift on its own, I like to bundle Tastykake and Grandma Utz products to friends who have recently moved out of state.

So what local gifts are you giving this year? Remember, they don't have to be unique or mind-blowing or expensive -- they just have to be local! And in the spirit of holiday giving, be sure to rep anyone who gives you a great idea.

(I wanted to open this up statewide - hopefully this post will catch the attention of the folks in the Harrisburg / Philly / NEPA / Lehigh / Pitt forums as well!)

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Oh - one more gift I forgot to mention!

#5 - A commemorative mug from the gift shop in the Centralia Holiday Inn. It's right off Interstate, the one that burned to the ground, and just beside the conference center in the financial district.

[Ohiogirl81]

When I was in Erie over Thanksgiving I went wild at the local wineries , and will give some of those bottles to folks around here who think Lake Erie wineries produce only Catawba and Niagara wines.

No one is getting the Heritage Cabernet Franc, however.

My mom likes pumpkin butter, so I'll get her a jar or two from Bauman's near Gilbertsville, which I can get at a much more nearby dairy.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

My mom likes pumpkin butter, so I'll get her a jar or two from Bauman's near Gilbertsville, which I can get at a much more nearby dairy.

Oh man, I'll have to keep an eye out for this. Do they have a factory store? I have a new car that I'm just itching to break in anyway, and that looks like it's about an hour from Harrisburg.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg

Oh man, I'll have to keep an eye out for this. Do they have a factory store? I have a new car that I'm just itching to break in anyway, and that looks like it's about an hour from Harrisburg.

The Bauman Family

Closed Sundays. The website has links to store hours, directions, retail locations, etc.