Portland, OR

  1. Home
  2. Cities & Towns
  3. Portland, OR

Top 4 Ideas for Buying Gifts Locally

By Nancy Levenson, About.com

With so many perfectly cool places to shop in Portland, the season for giving is also the season to support local shops. Start your shopping with our homegrown gift guide.

1. Earth-friendly

Recycled and other earth-conscious gifts are sure to please the eco-friendly people in your life, like your uncle who spends his summer saving rain forests. And we’re not talking junk here. Gifts with recycled materials, such as the sculptures made from found items at Twist, will be treasured. Explore the places in town to shop for gifts with recycled materials.

2. Bookish

Mystery. Science fiction. Biography. Travel. Chick lit. Powell’s City of Books sells every type of book imaginable, so you could potentially buy gifts for everyone on your list here. See the hot gifts Powell’s recommends.

3. Bike-obsessed

They might be hard to wrap, but wouldn’t it be fun to wheel a brand-new bike (complete with a giant red ribbon) out of the garage as a surprise for someone this season? Bikers love to accessorize, too. Check out the stuff they crave at Bike Gallery.

4. Geeked out

There’s no denying it: iPods are hot. And now that they come can play videos as well as music and photos, everyone wants (at least) one. Dress up the iPod with a colorful case or a pair of home speakers, and you’ve got yourself a gift worth drooling over. Browse the iPods and other Apple goodies at MacForce. And get advice from the Oregonian on other wired gift ideas.

Explore Portland, OR

More from About.com

Portland, OR

  1. Home
  2. Cities & Towns
  3. Portland, OR
  4. Shopping
  5. Portland Gift Guide

©2008 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.