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We here at the offices of The Local Voice believe strongly in supporting local businesses – after all, we are one ourselves! And since it’s the season once again where we all prove our affection to friends and family through reciprocal displays of consumerism, we figured we would do our part to help offer friendly gift ideas which help stimulate local businesses, entrepreneurs, and the creative economy.
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Bette’s Flowers has ornaments, gifts, small home furnishings, and flowers to accommodate all your Christmas and Hannukah needs. Bette’s also features work from local ceramicist Kudzu Pottery of Fulton, Miss.
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Oxford, Miss. has long been a hotbed of local musicians, a naturally occurring oddity owing its existence to the strange confluence of academia, literature, leisurely drinking, college sports, and je ne sais quois that makes up our local culture. But don’t we all take it a little for granted, from time to time? Well, don’t let that guilt trip get the better of you quite yet. We here at The Local Voice, with help from our friends at The End of All Music, have compiled a list of some of the most notable albums released by local musicians in the past year, running the gamut of genres from blues to indie, hip-hop to metal. Why not give some Mississippi-made music to satisfy your favorite scenester, and simultaneously do a good deed by supporting the local artists who work tirelessly to improve the quality of life in your hometown?
Andrew Bryant of Water Liars- This is the Life
Bill Perry Jr. & Demetrios Brown- David V. Goliath Vol 1: The Epiphany
Drive-By Truckers- It’s Great to Be Alive
Fat Possum- Not the Same Old Blues Crap,
volumes 1 & 2
Fred McDowell & RL Burnside- album reissues
Moon Pie Curtis- Enter the Fool
Jake Fussell- Jake Fussell
Jason Isobell- Something More than Free
Mick Kolassa- Ghosts of the Riverside Hotel
NoCanDo- Limited Edition
Plume- Resting on my Laurels
Primative- New Heat EP
Tate Moore- Avalon
Tyler Keith- Alias: Kid Twist
Young Buffalo- House
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For the flower children and soul rebels on your list, Local Color has you covered 
with a variety of gifts from hand-blown glass, artisinal handbags by Vera Pa ($21), and disc golf accessories, to posters, incense, handmade art cards ($3.50), and t-shirts (around $20).
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For the budding musician in your life, or to jumpstart your dream job, come to Rebel Music for great deals on musical gifts like a Squier Stratocaster with Fender Frontman amp for $269.95, an Aria bass for $179, and Orange amps (excellently flexible for the dorm room) from $99.99- 119.99. They also have sweet deals like a Taylor 214 CE for $769, for the more pro-sumer musicians. Rebel Music has everything you need for that revolutionary punk-funk-fusion cover of “Deck the Halls” you’ve been planning.
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Rip It Up! Vintage Junk in Water Valley, Miss., is home to some of the most 
unique trinkets and curios in the area. The store’s inventory contains a constantly rotating array of treasures, and an impressive collection of mid-century items. Where else could you find a working juke box, a rare vintage James Bond lunchbox, and delightful retro appliances, accoutrements, Christmas ornaments and decorations? ‘Tis the season to get your friends’ respective fedora games on fleek.
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If you live in Oxford, or have even heard of the place, then we probably don’t have to tell you that we’re home to a highly-regarded and internationally recognized literary community. But we did think you might find this list of recommended titles to be useful. All available at Square Books, Oxford’s friendly local independent bookstore and regional institution (most were published in the past year, and all are by locally residing authors, about local topics, or both):
The Redeemers by Ace Atkins; Carta Marina: A Poem by Ann Fisher-Wirth; Let Me Be Frank With You by Richard Ford; The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly; Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll by Peter Guralnick; Return to Guntown by John Hailman; Flying Shoes by Lisa Howorth; How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon; Bright Fields: The Mastery of Marie Hull by Bruce Levingston; Kentucky Straight: Stories by Chris Offutt; A Tapestry of Red and Blue: Ole Miss Sports 1945-1970: An Oral History by Al Povall; Mississippi History: Photographs by Maude Schuyler Clay; The Last Season: A Father, a Son, and a Lifetime of College Football by Stuart Stevens; Bo: A Quarterback’s Journey Through an SEC Season by Billy Watkins; and In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White. Phew!!!
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The only thing more exciting than the complementary gift wrapping offered at Star
Package Store is their wine selection and the holiday gift boxes such as the Blue Margarita Kit and Stoli’s Vodka Package complete with lemon juicer/cocktail shaker.
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