Your Etsy gift guide (localized) 🎁

Win the holidays with gifts from these 608 Etsy sellers

This cast iron skillet is a statement gift your loved one will use for a long time.
| Photo via Etsy

Pop quiz, Madison. What’s better than shopping local? For 100 points: Shopping local from the comfort of your own home. Not only is it one of the best ways to support the local economy, but locally-crafted gifts tend to wow during the holidays (a big win in our book).

To kickstart your holiday shopping, we’ve rounded up 16 products we love from local Etsy shops — some of which hold the coveted Star Seller badge that’s given to sellers who consistently earn 5-star reviews, ship orders on time, and provide great customer service, aka less holiday stress for you.

Psst — Some of these items may sell out quickly due to limited quantities. Click on the link to the Etsy seller’s page to find something similar.

The cat lover in your life is sure to cherish this humorous t-shirt.

🎁 Under $25

Custom peanut butter spoon ($20+) | This is the perfect stocking stuffer for the foodie in your life. | EOJ Studios

Cat yoga shirt ($14.27+) | Perfect for the cat lover, this funny shirt features cats doing yoga poses. | Enoch Design US — Star Seller ⭐️

Include a custom message or charm with this leather bracelet.

🎁 $25-$50

“Indoorsy” crewneck sweatshirt ($32.99+) | This quirky sweatshirt is perfect for homebodies. | Pure Pop Shop — Star Seller ⭐️

Wood business card holder ($50) | For the friend that’s always losing their business cards. Need we say more? | Inelastic Goods

Leather personalized charm bracelet ($38) | This trendy bracelet can be made with three color options and can be personalized with a custom message or charm. | Daintily Designs

For the loved one that can never have too much holiday decor.

🎁 $50-$100+

USA cast iron skillet ($145) | Unique kitchenware is always a great gift in our books. This USA-shaped cast iron skillet is perfect for the chef in your life. | American Skillet Co.

Bottle brush rainbow trees ($79+) | These rainbow-hued Christmas trees are perfect for your festively trendy friend. | Your Hearts Content

Riveted steel fire pit with grill grate ($195) | It may be winter, but when has that ever stopped a Wisconsinite from firing up the grill? This fire pit would be a great addition to any outdoor space or tailgate. | Nomadic Grill — Star Seller ⭐️

MORE GIFTS HERE

Click here to have your event featured.

Today, Dec. 2

Frandu’s Death Party | Friday, Dec. 2 | Bartell Theatre, 113 Mifflin St., Madison | $15+ | Enjoy the morbidly funny local comedian Frandu Smith while supporting the Domestic Abuse Intervention Services. 🎭
Friday Family Films - “The Polar Express” | Friday, Dec. 2 | 5:30 p.m. | Goodman South Madison Library, 2222 S Park St., Madison | Free | Round up the family for a viewing of this holiday classic.

Saturday, Dec. 3

Light the Green in Middleton | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 5-7 p.m. | Stone Horse Green, 7508 Hubbard Ave., Middleton | Free | Witness the lighting of Stone Horse Green featuring Santa, Mrs. Claus, Mayor Gurdip Brar, and a local trombone ensemble. 🎄

Sunday, Dec. 4

The Crafty Fair | Sunday, Dec. 4 | 9 a.m.-2 p.m. | Goodman Community Center, 214 Waubesa St., Madison | Free | Get some holiday shopping done for those artsy-fartsy folks in your life at this local craft fair. 🎨

We have a calendar filled with events and activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

100+ MORE EVENTS

This billion-dollar startup wants to help you retire

SmartAsset’s no-cost tool makes it easy to find vetted financial advisors who serve your area. | Photo provided by SmartAsset

This Princeton grad’s startup raised $161 million to help people plan for retirement. 👀

If you’re one of the whopping 110 million Americans over age 50 — or a wise Millennial looking to get ahead — SmartAsset’s no-cost tool makes it easy to find vetted financial advisors serving our local area.

In just a few minutes, you can get matched with up to three financial advisors, each legally bound to work in your best interest. Now that’s service.*

TRY THE FREE TOOL

Weather

48º | Mostly cloudy | 17% chance of rain
The 11th annual Mendota Freeze Contest is now open. The Clean Lakes Alliance is asking Madisonians to guess the official ice-on date for Lake Mendota. The winner gets a $1,000 Lands End gift card. 🧊

Community

$7.8 million has been approved by Dane County to go towards affordable housing. Over 550 units across six development projects in the Madison area will be available. Each project will have units reserved for those on Dane County Homeless Services Consortium’s ‘community by-name list'. (Madison.com)

Civic

The Madison City Council will be facing some changes next Spring with all 20 seats up for grabs. Check out the full list of who’s staying and who’s leaving in each district. ⚖️ (Cap Times)

Feel Good

Donations from the community on Giving Tuesday generated around $147,000 for NBC15’s Share Your Holidays campaign. This money will go towards helping those facing food insecurity in south central Wisconsin. 💰 (NBC 15)

Shop

Your holiday music just got better. 1byoneaudio sells high quality and easy-to-use turntables equipped with incredible sound quality and hi-fi speakers, plus some that connect to Bluetooth headphones. Think: a great gift for the record lover in your life (or even an early present for yourself). 🎶*

Content marked with an * is brought to you by our advertising partners and helps make this newsletter free.

Let’s get cookin’ 🍳

608 Recipe Swap

Connect with your community through festive food. | Graphic by 608today team via Canva Pro

We want you to share your recipes. 🫵

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or just the PTO days, the holiday season is a time for friends, family, and food.

We fancy ourselves a hyper-local newsletter, and what better way to bring a community together than with food? We want to eat our way through the holiday season with all of you.

Do you have:
🥂 A New Year’s Eve party punch?
🥣 A family favorite dip?
🍰 Your mom’s dessert that never disappoints?
🍳 A go-to breakfast for a crowd?

Send us an email with your favorite holiday recipe (bonus points if you have a photo) and feel free to include a few sentences about how the recipe ties into your family and/or the holidays.

We’ll be sharing these recipes throughout the next month in this section of the newsletter. We can’t wait to start building our community cookbook.

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Ally.

Editor’s pick: I took a trip to the Regent Market Co-op this week. Check out our Instagram for a peek inside this adorable local market.

Missed our last newsletter? We learned about one of Madison’s Sister Cities.

Connect with us.

Editorial: Ally Geiger, Dayten Rose, Josh Kranzberg, Emily Shea | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Ana Gibson | Advertise with us.

Content marked with an * was created in partnership with 6AM City’s advertising partners. Paid content helps keep this newsletter free. 6AM City may also receive a commission on purchases made through affiliate links in this newsletter.

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