From artisan chocolates to expertly designed maps, here are Pennsylvania-made gifts to make your holidays extra special.
It’s time to plan your holiday shopping, but let’s skip the big-box store and instead turn to Pennsylvania small businesses that make the commonwealth unique. Pennsylvania has a long legacy of talented makers, from heritage crafts in Pennsylvania Dutch Country and distilling in Western Pennsylvania to specialty foods found throughout the state. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite Pennsylvania-made gifts to help you find something special for everyone on your list.
For the foodie
These gifts are for those who love flavor, whether sweet or savory.
Specialty chocolates and treats
If your gift recipient has a sweet tooth, look no further than the many quality confectioners and bakers across the state. Shane Confectionery in Philadelphia isn’t just the oldest continuously operating candy shop in the country, with a candy shop that has sold sweet treats at the Old City site since 1863—it’s also home to delicious, ethically made chocolate. Consider gifting a beautiful assortment of Shane confections, boasting cordials, truffles, and caramels covered in chocolate made in-house.
Bedford Candies is another candy and chocolate purveyor with a long history. Founded in Bedford in 1929, the candy shop is known for its artisanal chocolates and popcorn.
And vegan sweets lovers would love gifts from Bethlehem’s Vegan Treats, a nationally recognized all-vegan dessert shop that sells gourmet cakes, cookies, brownies, donuts, and other baked goods.
Local spice blends and condiments
Help your favorite home chef level up their cooking with some Pennsylvania-made accoutrements, like fancy salt and seasoning blends or extra tasty hot sauce.
In Pittsburgh, Steel City Salt Company offers a wide variety of creative salt, rub, and spice blends, like pierogi salt and the Strip District chicken and waffles seasoning blend. You can buy the blends individually or snag a gift set of five best sellers, which includes the signature Black and Gold Blend, Creole blackening blend, dill pickle salt, Peruvian Inca blend, and Steeltown garlic and herb.
You might also check out Mifflinburg-based Summer Kitchen Spice Company, with its bourbon molasses rub and Blitz blend (inspired by barbecue chicken fundraisers), or Mechanicsburg-based Revolutionary Hot Sauce, a gastropub and crafter of several unique and fiery hot sauces.
For the drinks enthusiast
Help your gift recipient create the perfect cocktail or relax after a long day.
Pennsylvania rye whiskey
The commonwealth is home to several distilleries offering locally made spirits. For a spirit with extra special regional relevance, might we recommend whiskey made in the Pennsylvania style—with rye?
Excuse the brief history lesson, but Western Pennsylvania was the birthplace of rye whiskey—different from the sweeter bourbon, which is made primarily of corn. The taxation of the drink—or really, the taxation of farmers’ most important, shelf-stable commodity—is what inspired the Whiskey Rebellion of the 1790s that you might recall from history class.
Many local distilleries honor that history with heritage recipes that point back to the era.
Liberty Pole Spirits in Washington is a family-owned distillery focused on whiskey, particularly rye whiskey. Its “old Monongahela full proof rye whiskey” is made in the old style, with a high rye content.
In Westmoreland County’s Scottsdale, West Overton Village is not only a museum dedicated to American whiskey making, but also a distillery that makes its own rye whiskey.
Local beer
Craft breweries can be found all across the state, and their beers make some of the best consumable gifts you can give this holiday season. You might just help your recipient find a new favorite.
Lycoming County’s Williamsport’s New Trail Brewing Co. makes lagers and IPAs inspired by the forests and trails of north-central Pennsylvania. Its popular Broken Heels brew is perfect for IPA fans—or go for the Double Broken Heels if you want even more malt and more hops.
Or, for a selection of brews, pick up an expedition pack, released annually with four new beers made in collaboration with four breweries across the region. In 2026, New Trail created the expedition pack with Industrial Arts Brewing Company, Golden Age Beer Co. in Pittsburgh, Pizza Boy Brewing Co. in Enola, and Dewey Beer Company. It includes two different hazy IPAs, a traditional lager, and an imperial coffee stout.
For the history and antiques buff
Pennsylvania’s front-row seat to American history means that local makers can leverage centuries-long traditions while nodding to historical events that happened here.
Wooden keepsakes
History buffs, especially those with an interest in the Civil War, will be delighted with a gift from Gettysburg Sentinels, which creates keepsakes made with reclaimed wood from trees that stood on the Gettysburg battlefield, including wood from “Witness Trees”—trees that saw the Battle of Gettysburg itself.
The company’s shadow boxes feature wood from Witness Trees, and some include a bullet from the battlefield or another commemorative object. Other Gettysburg Sentinels items include letter openers, pens, and more. You can purchase Gettysburg Sentinels products online or at Gettysburg Goods, a retail store in downtown Gettysburg filled with locally made gifts.
Heritage quilts
A handmade quilt is a gift that pairs practical warmth with a piece of traditional craftsmanship. Pennsylvania quilters have long crafted intricate quilts passed down through generations, and that tradition is still strong, especially in Lancaster County. These quilts are often inspired by styles associated with Amish and Mennonite communities and feature distinctive patterns and rich colors.
You can find handmade quilts in Lancaster County shops such as The Old Country Store in Intercourse, Log Cabin Quilt Shop in Bird-in-Hand, and Smucker’s Quilts in New Holland. Other Pa. shops, like Mary Lee’s Fabric Shop in Mifflin County and Quarry Hill Quilts and Cedar Chests in Cumberland County, also sell beautifully crafted heirloom quilts.
Craft tiles
Doylestown’s Moravian Pottery and Tile Works produces ceramic tiles using Bucks County clay and the traditional methods Henry Chapman Mercer used when he founded the Tile Works in 1898. Today, the working history museum shop sells tiles based on Mercer’s original designs as well as distinctive holiday ornaments.
The artistic tiles make for small, unique gifts that can be hung on the wall or displayed on shelves or mantles.
For the homebody
These gifts are perfect for people who love creating a calming space and relaxing at home.
Locally made pottery
Wilz Pottery, based out of the Lehigh Valley’s Macungie, crafts Pennsylvania redware using red earthenware clay and the traditional methods of Pennsylvania German potters. The bowls and plates are practical—and also works of art. Many designs draw on German folk art and are created by hand with rolling pins, molds, and cookie cutters. You can purchase pieces at several holiday markets in the area or online.
You can find more handmade pottery across the state at local maker markets and in online shops. For example, Erie’s Allen Stoneware creates functional pottery inspired by Lake Erie and Presque Isle, while Keystone Pottery in rural McKean County makes beautiful mugs, perfect for filling with hot coffee or tea, as well as other kitchen items.
Specialty candles
Gift a soothing scent with a locally made candle. Each candle from Boujie Candle Company is poured by hand in Pike County’s Milford. The clean burning candles are advertised as “affordable luxury” and come in numerous scents that evoke a certain feeling, like “escape” and “Sunday vibes.”
Philadelphia Candle Co. sells hand-poured candles inspired by Philadelphia neighborhoods, and Moonrise Candle Co. pours soy candles at a newly opened shop in New Cumberland.
For the nature lover
These gifts are perfect for people who love the great outdoors—both admiring it and getting out into it.
Wearing the wild
Given Pennsylvania’s beautiful natural lands and abundant wildlife, it’s no surprise that countless makers draw inspiration from the state’s outdoors.
Jabebo in Centre County’s Bellefonte is one such studio, as it crafts nature-inspired earrings made from recycled cereal boxes. Bird enthusiasts may fall in love with Jabebo’s series featuring songbirds, raptors, waterbirds, and other birds. Many pairs of earrings are beautifully mismatched with two takes on the bird in question.
Relish, based in Erie, is a jewelry and home decor shop focused on items made with beach glass, inspired by the owner’s beach glass collecting on the shores of Lake Erie. You can pick up necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, and other accessories all made with beautifully smooth and frosted beach glass.
Maps for exploring the commonwealth
Based in Central Pennsylvania, Purple Lizard Maps publishes durable, waterproof, and highly detailed maps on your favorite outdoor areas. Crafted by a cartographer and filled with hidden gems, these maps are a quality and functional gift for hikers, bikers, campers, and explorers in general. Because Purple Lizard got its start in Pennsylvania, you’ll find maps of numerous locations across the state, but the company has also expanded with maps of parts of Appalachia, the mid-Atlantic, and even Puerto Rico.
While you can grab individual maps—including a statewide outdoor recreation map—you can also buy discounted “map packs,” such as all of the Pennsylvania State Forest maps and all Central Pennsylvania maps.
