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ess than a week to go til Christmas. If you still have some gifts to buy, here’s a simple idea.

Shop here in town. Shop in Oriental.

Sailboat pillows for sale at Nautical Wheelers, on the porch of the Old Hotel at Broad and Hodges. Less than a year old, the store has been making a point to carry work by NC artists. In this case, the pillows are crafted in Hickory, and are made from fabric left over from furniture manufacturing.

It’s less wear and tear on you. You can give a gift from really close to home. And, it helps our little town’s economy.

Bird made of gourd at Village Gallery.

Shopping in the stores and shops right here in our midst helps keep them going. We won’t bring up the pie-charts to show how this all works microeconomically. Instead, this is just a gentle holiday reminder to put your money where your village is.

It’s only fair. Throughout the year, the businesses here are often asked by the various non-profit organizations if they’ll support them and give an item or two for a fundraising event. And they do. If the homegrown businesses come through for the community, doesn’t it follow that we go to them to shop?

More NC-made pillows at Nautical Wheelers, fashioned from fabric left over from furniture production. Nautical Wheelers has also been selling a lot of the brightly colored doormats — shown here at bottom of photo. They too are made from re-purposed material: bits left over when flipflops are manufactured.

In what remains of this holiday shopping season, look close to home for those gifts. Venture in to a shop here in town that you haven’t visited in a while. Visit the art galleries in Oriental, and see what the artists are up to and are selling. Go to the restaurants and buy a gift certificate or two. Check out the Farmers’ Market on Saturday for gifts that are as locally made as can be. You can even find some gifts at the History Museum.

Give A Taste of Oriental

The porch of the Bean. You can’t give a seat on the porch but the next best thing may be a gift certificate.

For the coffee drinker on your list, The Bean is selling gift bags. Can’t remember if they like their coffee cream -no-sugar or skinny-latte? There’s always a Bean gift certificate.

Behind the counter at The Bean.

Over at other end of town — and newly annexed in this year — is the Silos Restaurant. Keri and Doug DeLisle are selling gift certificates in whatever amount you’d like. And at the Silos Pantry you can also find some specialty food to give. Same at The Village Food Emporium which is selling all sorts of delicacies and gift certificates.

Marine Consignment of Oriental is a great place to look at boat bits — a small museum of changed boat plans — and Cindy Ellis says they have gift certificates for sale.

You don’t have to guess about prop size. Get a friend a gift certificate at Marine Consignment of Oriental.

Many businesses, even ones you might not expect, will sell a gift certificate. For instance: help a friend with their boat without having to breath in boat dust; Deaton’s Yacht Service can make a gift certificate for you, as can Body Balance yoga studio.

Painting and jewelry among the artists’ work for sale at Village Gallery.

Village Gallery’s artists have also been ramping up with lots of selections for the holidays, as have Gil and Laura at Hodges Street Studio. And if you’re just not sure exactly what art to buy, both places will sell gift certificates.

Some smaller canvases at Village Gallery.

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At the Oriental History Museum, the gift department has been growing. In addition to the coffee mugs, trivetsand the shard necklaces, you can buy a copy of the new booklet about Oriental. Also for sale is a CD of classical music inspired by the Pamlico Sound.

A new booklet outlining Oriental’s history is going for $7 at Oriental’s History Museum. Also for sale, a new CD of classical music inspired by the Pamlico Sound. The museum also has a 36 foot boat for sale — it was given by a donor and the sale will benefit the museum.

GIfts Outside the Box – No Wrapping Necessary

You can also give a bit of Oriental’s Old Theater – for instance, tickets to some of the upcoming shows that the Pamlico Musical Society and others are presenting this winter and spring.

One gift that stands little risk of being re-gifted: the Ambulance Fund is selling the highly reflective number curbside plaques that help EMT’s find houses in a hurry.

At Village Hardware, an array of fishing doo-dads. (They also can be pressed in to service as tree ornaments..)

Posted Sunday December 19, 2010 by Melinda Penkava