6 Travel-Inspired Gifts from North Carolina

With Fraser firs rising on its mountain landscapes, North Carolina naturally brings the winter holidays to mind. Here are six items you can order to make someone’s Hanukkah, Solstice, Festivus, Christmas, Kwanzaa or other December holiday more delightful as you look forward to 2021 travels in North Carolina.

Moravian cookies: The Moravians brought this descendant of the German Lebkuchen cookie with them when they settled in central North Carolina in the mid-1700s, and the tradition continues. Winston-Salem boasts the Historic Moravian Cookie Trail with a trio of bakeries that turn out the whisper-thin spice cookies. Choices include traditional sugar, ginger, lemon, chocolate and other varieties that go well with holiday fare. Add fresh-from-the-oven flair with a Moravian sugar cake mix from Winkler Bakery.

Bright Black Candles: Light the wooden wick to inhale more than fragrance. The family-owned candle company in Durham uses scent as a medium and candles as a platform for sharing positive narratives about Blackness. The candles have been in short supply since Juneteenth, when Beyonce listed Bright Black on the Black Parade Route, but a Nov. 1 reopening will signal a return to normal ordering times. brightblackcandles.com

Farm to Feet socks: Worn for warmth and with pride, the Mount Airy company turns out a variety of socks using 100 percent American-made and -sourced materials. A gift of trail socks can be put to good use while hiking at one of North Carolina’s naturally wonderful state parks and recreation areas. The company also makes sculpted reusable face masks. www.farmtofeet.com

Sea salt: A dip in the ocean might be months away, but handcrafted sea salt will tide the gift recipient over until then. Flaky salts made by Hatteras Saltworks and Sea Love Sea Salt make the perfect finishing touch to a dish, and they come with flavor options, including lemon pepper and lavender at Hatteras and citrus and sriracha at Sea Love.

Bean-to-bar chocolate: A person might have everything yet still need more chocolate bars, bonbons, nibs and chips. Go on a mail-order shopping spree with Asheville’s French Broad Chocolates (check out the Summit Brownies and bonbon collections). Add hot chocolate mix or cocoa tea to your selection from  Raleigh’s Videri Chocolate Factory. Embark on adventure with Sassafras-Cinnamon, Dulce de Leche-Cardamom or Pistachio Ghost confections from Raleigh’s Escazú Chocolates, and choose among the bars from Winston-Salem’s Brasstown Chocolates.

A good book: Travel to North Carolina by way of a good story, memorable characters and a strong sense of place with one of these novels published in 2020. Diane Chamberlain’s “Big Lies in a Small Town” revisits the Jim Crow South in the remarkably pretty city of Edenton, while Nicholas Sparks’ “The Return” romances readers in New Bern, his city of residence. Jill McCorkle sets “Hieroglyphics” in Southern Pines, where her characters sort through fragments of history (including a deadly train wreck) for meaning. And Appalachian literature adds a lyrical new voice with Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle’s “Even As We Breathe,” which confronts the social and cultural divides of a posh Asheville resort and nearby Cherokee.

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