Gift Guide 2023: Last-minute shopping

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

It would be disingenuous to describe last-minute holiday shopping as an “art” — it’s too frantic for that. Rather, the 11th-hour scramble is better understood as a series of raids that sacrifice strategy for short-term success. Think piracy (and indeed, there is also often a fair amount of booze involved with this kind of full-contact consumerism). 

Yet, a great many of us do it. While a Statista survey found that nearly 90% of respondents planned to celebrate the Christmas holiday, another poll — reported by People magazine, just to be clear — found that two in five people admitted to waiting until as late in the game as Christmas Eve to do at least some of their shopping.

That’s just brutal (though I confess to having done exactly that more than a few times). But even if you’re hitting the shops in the final days leading up to the Main Event, that still qualifies as “last-minute,” and so here we are. 

To assist in getting you across the finish-line even as the race is ending, below are a handful of suggestions that we hope will provide some solutions if not inspiration. If you’ve already thought of them, good for you. If not, we can assure you that they will be a hit under the tree or in the stocking(s).

Evans Brothers Coffee Holiday Blend

If you’re of a certain age, you might remember those coffee commercials in which some good-looking relative makes an unexpected return home for the holidays, enters the house without notice and brews a pot of coffee — the smell of which wakes everyone up and they all go downstairs to be dazzled by their presence and love them for their coffee-providing skills. 

You can be that person, or at least facilitate that experience, with the gift of a bag (or two) of Evans Brothers’ Holiday Blend beans. 

The seasonal offering is a medium roast with tasting notes of “marshmallow, pomegranate, fudge and baking spices,” and originates via a direct relationship with countries of origin including Guatemala, Kenya and Ethiopia. 

The Holiday Blend retails from $18. Order it online at evansbrotherscoffee.com or at the shop, located at 524 Church St., in Sandpoint. Visit evansbrotherscoffee.com/shop-2/holiday-blend-cheer-and-joy for more info.

Litehouse Specialty Foods

Whether you’re a longtime local or newcomer — or have either or both on your holiday list — few things beat the gift of local specialty foods. Litehouse is one of the pillar employers of the area, and the pioneering purveyor of local delicacies and accouterments. 

Litehouse’s storefront at 125 S. Second Ave., in Sandpoint, offers a smorgasbord featuring everything from cheeses to jams; dressings, dips and spreads; to all things huckleberry, ranging from pancake and hot cocoa mix to syrup and, well, you name it.

Whether it’s stocking stuffers or full gift items, you’ll find something — or some things — to fit the bill and, extra bonus, be buying local. Check out some of the options at litehouse-specialty-food-store.business.site, or, better yet, swing by the shop.

Museum Guild

There are a lot of places that sell “Sandpoint” things, but only one of them has the gravitas and authenticity of being associated with the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum.

The Museum Guild storefront at 300 N. First Ave. (next door to the Panida Theater) opened in the spring of 2022 and has since established itself as a source of what’s been described as “bespoke museum merchandise.”

That’s right, you can buy a little piece of local history from rotating selections of boutique-quality vintage clothes to locally made products to history- and culture-related books penned by area authors. 

Speaking for myself, I’ve perused the little shop more than a few times — looking both for gifts for others and myself — and rarely come away empty handed. 

Every purchase has the added benefit of helping support a vital local institution. And if you don’t know about the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum, go to bonnercountyhistory.org and get learned up. Then head downtown to the Museum Guild and get stocked up on one-of-a-kind gifts.

Sandpoint Cinemas Gift Cards

Though we live in an age where everything is streamed online, there remains no substitute for watching a movie in a real-life theater. 

We’re lucky to have the Panida for our jewelbox theater, but we also have Sandpoint Cinemas for all the first-run flicks. 

Located at 300 Bonner Mall Way, in Ponderay, Sandpoint Cinemas plays on six screens and features full concessions, high-quality seating and top-notch audio-visual technology for stellar theatrical experiences. For real, there are no bad seats in the house. 

For a gift that literally can’t fail, consider giving your favorite cinephile(s) an online pass to catch the movie(s) of their choosing. Go to sandpointcinemas.com/giftcards and enter the email address to which the gift should be sent and the dollar amount to be given. Recipients will then be able to hit the theater whenever they want and have the option to check their balance online at the Sandpoint Cinema website. It’s that easy. 

Vanderford’s 

As with all the other entries in this guide, there is nothing particularly “last-minute” about Vanderford’s Books & Office Products, located at 201 Cedar St., in downtown Sandpoint. It’s just that when you’re racing around and the clock is ticking, you don’t have time to waste time. Vanderford’s will all but certainly have something for anyone who likes books, puzzles, fun little toys, art supplies, maps… the list goes on (and you could write down that list with any number of high-quality pads of paper and pens at the store).

Speaking from experience, Vanderford’s has long been my go-to (whether I’m in a hurry or not) for new books, classics and kids books, but also stationary and other gifts for both creative and utilitarian work. I’ll tell you to go to bookshop.org/shop/vanderfords for more info, but you’re in a rush, so maybe just head to the store and get that gift list handled.