Find All Your Holiday Gifts on the Outer Banks

It’s the question of the season: Have you finished your holiday shopping? Why, no, I have not, and I’m not stressing about it either. I know that everything I need to buy can be found right here on the Outer Banks. I have been stocking up on lots of goodies at the local art and vendor markets for the last couple of weeks, and I am looking forward to a few days of local shopping starting this weekend. I’ve got a plan that takes me from Corolla to Manteo, and I’m excited to pop into the local shops, chat with the owners and hit up some favorite coffee shops and eateries along the way.

Shopping locally means supporting people who live here – both the owners and the employees, who will in turn spend their money on the Outer Banks. Over the next couple of weeks (and actually all year round) let’s all get out there and shop local. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Photo: Historic Corolla Village is welcoming shoppers with special events and visits from Santa on Friday and Saturday nights.

Shopping Pockets

If you don’t want to spend all day driving and jumping in and out of your car, go somewhere where can park the car and do all your shopping on foot.

Downtown Manteo

Downtown Manteo is the perfect place for parking the car and hitting up several different shops, from a bookstore to boutiques to art galleries to a pet boutique to food shops and a distillery. Manteo even has a men’s store now, Untucked.

Over the next two weekends, the merchants of Downtown Manteo are making Manteo shopping extra fun. Here’s what you can expect. Follow Meet Me in Manteo for more details.

All month long: Great Manteo Elf Hunt by Downtown Books

Dec. 14 and 21: Tillett Sisters Caroling and Photos with Santa

Dec. 14:  Pet Photos with Santa at Poodles and Bob 1 to 4 p.m.

Dec. 14: Holiday Market at the Waterfront Trellis 4-7 p.m. Lighted Holiday Flotilla 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 21: Kids’ Mantinee Drop & Shop at The Pioneer Theater (pre-register)

Dec. 21: Trolley Tours 5 to 8 p.m.

Duck

Duck has numerous little pockets of shopping, all within walking of each other (though you may want to move the car from north to south if it’s cold). From the Waterfront Shops on the north end of town Scarborough Faire and Scarborough Lane on the south and everything in between, Duck shopping offers a wealth of goods and gifts for all ages.

Corolla

Corolla shopping includes Timbuck II Shopping Village, with about 20 stores. There’s also Monteray Plaza, Corolla Light Shopping Center and Historic Corolla Village. The village is a quaint shopping area with a bookstore and a couple of boutiques and shops. On Friday and Saturday evenings from 5 to 8 p.m. through the rest of December, Corolla Village is hosting Corolla Christmas Village with lots of twinkling lights in the trees, music, visits from Santa and treats like hot cocoa and cookies.

There are hundreds of other stores and shops along the Outer Banks, many of them tucked into small shopping centers. The full list of Outer Banks shops can be found here, and you can sort by the type of shopping you want to do.

If you’re not sure what you want to get your friends and family for holiday gifts, here are some ideas.

Books

There are seven independent bookstores on the Outer Banks, all women-owned. Island Bookstore in Corolla, Duck and Kitty Hawk, Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Books in Duck, Downtown Books in Manteo, Buxton Village Books in Buxton and Books to Be Red in Ocracoke are perfect places to find books and journals or, in some cases, games, toys and art supplies for everyone on your list.

Photo: A few of the locally written books available at local bookstores this year.

Art

Art galleries abound on the Outer Banks, and most of them are packed with artworks made my local artists, which means you can support a gallery owner and an artist with one purchase. Dare Arts in Manteo is a collective gallery with all local art in a huge variety of media. Then there are special places like Absolutely Outer Banks in Kitty Hawk, Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts and Yarn in Buxton, Silver Bonsai Gallery in Manteo and Village Craftsmen in Ocracoke – and so many more. 

Jewelry

Jewelry is always a favorite gift. For locally made fine jewelry, you have to stop in Silver Bonsai Gallery, makers of Modern Heirloom jewelry, and Jewelry by Gail in Nags Head. You can also find locally made jewelry at local boutiques and national brand jewelry at gift shops The Cotton Gin and Gulf Stream Gifts and many more. See a full list here.

Toys

Here on the Outer Banks we have big box stores with all the major brands of toys, but we also have smaller locally owned toy stores carrying favorite toy lines. Kitty Hawk Kites, with locations from Corolla to Ocracoke, stocks a huge variety of toys for all ages. Toyrific in Duck is one of the only dedicated toy stores on the Outer Banks, and Rock-A-Bye Baby in Nags Head has the best selection of baby toys we’ve seen. Don’t overlook Sam & Winston in Manteo for kids’ toys you won’t find anywhere else.

Photo: TRiO Restaurant and Market is one of the great places to get gourmet foods and beverages.

Gourmet Foods and Beverages

Consumables are really the best gift for adults. If you’re looking for exceptionally tasty food and drink to share with friends and family, you’ll find locally owned gourmet food shops in every town. A new place to try in Manteo is Something or Other Treats & More. Of course, TRiO Restaurant & Market in Kitty Hawk is known for all things gourmet and a huge selection of beverages. If you’re loved ones love tea, you can’t go wrong with Moonraker Tea Shop in Ocracoke or Abbi’s Tea & Things in Nags Head. See a list of local stores for beer, wine and beverages here.

Sports & Outdoorsy Gifts

Got a surfer, skater, fisherman, hunter, kiteboarder, camper or birder to buy for? You can find gifts and gear galore for outdoorsy types at locally owned Outer Banks outfitters. We have so many surf shops – all of them locally owned and operated, like Ride the Wind, Cavalier Surf Shop, Hatteras Island Boardsports and Outer Banks Boarding Company. We have windsurfing and kiteboarding shops like OceanAir Sports and Kitty Hawk Kites. Of course we have an abundance of tackle shops, like TWs Bait and Tackle and OBX Bait and Tackle and more, which you can find here.

Restaurant Gift Certificates

Everybody eats, so everyone loves to get a restaurant gift certificate. We have a list of the hundreds of restaurants on the Outer Banks, sortable by location and style of food they serve, to give you ideas of where to buy yours.

Photo: A hang gliding experience would make a great holiday gift – something to look forward to in the spring, summer or fall.

Experiences

Sometimes the best gift is not a thing, but a promise to do something fun. How about a hang gliding, surfing or kiteboarding lesson? A skydiving jump or airplane ride? How about art classes or a summer shrimping, crabbing or fishing trip? A horse tour or dolphin tour would be a good experience, as would a season pass to H2OBX Waterpark. Spa experiences and massages would be popular. I personally think a gift card or season pass for the VusicOBX concert series would be an amazing gift. Scroll through our list of fun Outer Banks Things to Do, and let your imagination run wild on the gift ideas.

Charity Donations

A donation to a local nonprofit or charity is always a great gift. You can see a list of Outer Banks nonprofit organizations here, any of which would welcome a donation.

Happy shopping! Keep it local!