Unique gift ideas from South Jersey-based businesses
Small Business Saturday is great, but if you live in South Jersey there’s no reason it has to be a one-day event. Instead, you could realistically do all your holiday shopping at locally owned small businesses this year.
Here are a few of our favorite gift ideas from businesses owned by entrepreneurs in southern New Jersey, all of which you can easily purchase online right now. You can also scroll directly to each section:
Clearly, this list is by no means complete. There are thousands of small businesses in South Jersey that deserve some love. We tried to focus on businesses we are directly familiar with, some of which are clients of ours, but whose products and services we sincerely believe in. We also wanted to highlight relatively unique offerings that are made or designed in this region, not just sourced and sold here.
It’s also admittedly very Camden County-centric, given that’s where we’re located and most familiar with surrounding businesses. If you have any other favorites, especially from other counties, please let us know in the comments at the bottom, or send us a note at hi@mountwell.marketing.
Home & Garden
Locally inspired, handmade candles and accessories
These candles and soaps pay tribute to the founders’ hometown of Haddonfield and Greater Philadelphia, using quality ingredients that look and smell great.
Our recommendation: We have several favorite scents, including their newly expanded holiday collection, such as “Haddy Holidays” and “Winter on Westmont.” They also just released new modern luxe tins in addition to their classic amber jars. If you can’t decide, they have digital gift cards available you can easily email or print so your recipient can pick their own fragrance and style.
Hand-crafted, high-quality statement furniture
With a workshop based in West Deptford, they hand-craft a variety of unique furniture from quality raw materials.
Our recommendation: We absolutely love their Musubu Coffee Table, pictured above, which is made of solid black walnut with brass inlays. At $1,200, it’s better made, more unique, and less expensive than what you’d find from the national retailers like Ethan Allen and Pottery Barn. And, if you live in South Jersey, they’ll deliver your table for free.
Carefully curated and creatively arranged flowers
This Cherry Hill florist puts a unique twist on flower arrangements that keeps them modern, fun and interesting.
Our recommendation: Instead of buying flowers through a national retailer, we recommend going directly to your local florist, and Grove Floral Studio on Route 561 in Cherry Hill is definitely worth checking out. We love their custom wreaths and their “Winterscape” arrangement pictured above. If you can’t decide, but at least know your recipient’s favorite color, go with their “Designer’s Choice” option and let them surprise you with something beautiful.
The perfect winter gift for the conscious gardener
Collingswood-based native plant enthusiasts who source and sell hard-to-find, sustainable plants for South Jersey gardeners.
Our recommendation: They just released a micro-meadow mix that’s ideal for spreading in the dead of winter so that you’ll start seeing seedlings in the spring. “Thoughtfully researched and curated to value biodiversity, resilience and beauty,” it’s the perfect gift for the gardener or want-to-be-gardener in your life to have something to look forward to that they can could get joy from for years to come.
Locally made art and crafts from the cradle of the glass industry
The non-profit based in Millville, whereas the American glass industry began, has a ton of must-see items for sale online.
Our recommendation: If you’re a South Jersey-born kid like me, you might’ve taken a field trip to Wheaton Village at some point and not thought about it a lot since. If you are, you might be surprised to learn they have a robust selection of items for sale on their website shop, from handcrafted ornaments and paperweights for as little as $12, to handblown pitchers and vases for $65, up to incredible original art like the $800 sculpture above named “Creature” (which I’m seriously considering buying for my desk 😬). You can order online and get shipped to you, or pick it up for free in person.
If you can’t think of a gift, get a gift concierge
This unique service based in Haddonfield creates personalized, memorable giftboxes for your loved one, friend or colleague, sourcing products from other small businesses.
Our recommendation: During the Christmas season, you gotta go with the Luxury Custom Gift Box. You select a price point - from $150-$200. Then you tell her everything about the recipient. She’ll create a custom gift box for that person, which you can pick up and deliver or ship to the recipient.
Health & Wellness
Fun and effective fitness classes and personal training
This locally owned gym has a wide variety of group classes and personal training available, backed by exercise science but also still fun and easy to join.
Our recommendation: January is typically when gyms see a spike in new clients trying to get a jump start on their New Year Resolutions. A $100 gift card to this studio could help someone you know get started even easier by allowing them to get unlimited classes for an entire month. The group classes and personal training make it much simpler than trying to create your own workout routine, and they recently started offering body composition analysis so you can track your fitness progress a lot more accurately than just standing on a scale or looking at a mirror.
Simple, inexpensive workout equipment
Mays Landing-based athletic equipment and lifestyle apparel brand, featuring stylish jump ropes and other workout gear.
Our recommendation: This lifestyle brand from local fitness influencer Adam Robbins, who goes by @Adam.Banks.Jumps on Instagram, features a variety of gym equipment such as his signature jump rope, The Gabmit. Jumping rope is often overlooked as a fun and easy way to get a great cardio workout without having to go run for miles, and they make easy stocking stuffers.
A variety of holistic wellness all under one roof
Pilates, osteopathy, infrared sauna, detox foot baths, and much more at this unique destination in Haddonfield.
Our recommendation: Subscribe to the Opal newsletter and follow them on Instagram for details about their 12 Days of Christmas Sale, with different deals and discount codes throughout the month of December, such as 20% off gift cards, BOGO Pilates mat classes, $50 off 5 infrared sauna sessions, etc.
Clothing & Lifestyle
Awesome-looking, eco-concious all-season apparel
Founded 20 years ago by friends on Long Beach Island, this clothing brand has an incredible array of cool gear for both men and women, from summer to winter.
Our recommendation: Practically anything you buy will be well-made, fit well, and look great, so we’d recommend just checking out their 2024 gift guide to see their best sellers. You can find everything from sweaters and fleeces to T-shirts and bathing suits, many of which are made from sustainable materials, like their Oystex line of gear that uses recycled plastics.
Premium quality beach gear you can feel good about
Beach chairs made from recycled plastics with all the features you want, founded by Jersey Shore natives.
Our recommendation: A solidly made beach chair can last for years, and be useful well beyond the shoreline, from barbecues to sports. We love their collection developed in collaboration with the aforementioned Jetty, as well as their water-resistant Beachpac accessory that attaches to the side of your chair and also doubles as a waist pack. Note that they even have chair and towel customization options.
Experiences
Get a membership to South Jersey’s own Jurassic Park
This long-awaited destination celebrates South Jersey’s historic wealth of dinosaur discoveries and provides hands-on experiences for all ages.
Our recommendation: This sure-to-be-incredible center for exploration and education recently announced an opening date of March 2025, and both gift cards and memberships are also now available for purchase. Located on a fossil quarry in Mantua Township, it’s only 20 minutes south of Philadelphia near the heart of South Jersey.
Family events and fresh goods at a historic family farm
This beautiful property in Springfield Township, Burlington County, has everything from a farm market, to strawberry and apple picking, to bourbon and steak dinners.
Our recommendation: This 315-acre, picturesque property has events all year round that make it totally worth a day trip with the family. They sell gift cards on their website you can text or email a recipient, which can be used for an endless variety of things and things to do, from festivals to workshops to their farm market that sells produce, baked goods, and pasture-raised chicken and beef.
Food & Drink
Award-winning, locally grown wine
This winery based in Mullica Hill, with a tasting room in Haddonfield, has several highly regarded wines that have been 25 years in the making.
Our recommendation: The Garden State is home to a ton of fantastic wineries these days, which makes it all the more impressive that William Heritage recently cleaned up at the 2024 New Jersey Governor’s Cup competition, which recognizes the best wines in the state. They won three of the seven awards, including Best White Wine, Best Hybrid Red Wine, and Best Dessert Wine. In New Jersey, you can buy the bottles online and pick up at one of their two locations, or get a gift card to be mailed to you.
Did we miss any of your favorite gifts from South Jersey-based businesses? Please let us know in the comments.