I'm thinking about what to get my friends and family for Christmas, and the thought occurred to me that we might share some ideas here. Keep in mind that embedding links in the comboxes will more often than not get your post hung up in the spam filter, and it rarely lets me know that that's happened. On this list, only recommend products or services that you've tried, and can vouch for. I won't be strict about this, but let's try to keep this list more or less faithful to the crunchy-con aesthetic, choosing things produced on a small-is-beautiful scale.
We recently tried some homemade soaps from Camp Topisaw, an itty-bitty manufacturer down in rural southern Mississippi. The Varnados are a crunchy Orthodox Christian family, and I can attest that their soaps are first rate (we haven't lit the candle yet).
If you have a coffee lover on your list, you really can't do better than something from Porto Rico, a small, locally-owned roaster in New York City. The prices are good, the shipping is reliable, and I've never found better-tasting coffee anywhere. I like things on the robust side, and find French Roast Colombian hits the sweet spot.
I can't say often enough how much I enjoy Mars Hill Audio Journal, the bimonthly series of audio interviews conducted by Ken Myers. They are absolutely indispensable for thinking Christians who want to understand more deeply the relationships among faith, reason and culture in postmodernity. I get mine via MP3 download, but you can also get them on CD. Along those lines, why not consider a subscription to Touchstone magazine, the monthly journal written by and for small-o orthodox Christians (that is, traditionalist Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox)?
I'm sure I'll add more in the days to come. Please, join in.
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How about Mystic Monk Coffee? (www.mysticmonkcofee.com) It's good stuff.
Re: the Fish as a Christian symbol: In Greek, "Fish" is ichthus, which is an acrostic for "Jesus Christ God's Son, Savior" -- Iesous Christos Theou Uios Soter"
What Would Jesus Buy? http://www.wwjbmovie.com
What would Jesus buy? Nothing. But He might give you some really good wine. Orthodox or people interested in Orthodoxy might want to check out a quarterly journal called "Road To Emmaus". Good stuff in there.
There is a store in the Buffalo, New York area where I live called Ten Thousand Villages, and they sell fairly traded items from around the world. I do not know if this store exists in other cities/states, but if it does I highly recommend it. Their gifts are unique, fairly priced, and help support individuals and communities in impoverished areas of the world. I have bought unique jewelry, great smelling and good for sensitive skin soaps, and coffee. My church has volunteers come to our community room once a month after Mass to sell their wares. One week our Deacon told us that he visited a Mexican village where coffee that is sold at Ten Thousand Villages is grown. A girl from that village was able to afford college due to the profits they make and that are given back to the community. She was the first person ever from their village to do so. Buying presents doesn't need to be merely a materialistic, consumerist act, and supporting stores like these help make it a more positive, thoughtful one.
sigaliris: Thanks for the recommendation. I just ordered a pile of candles from Honeyflow Farm. They are for my wife. She is originally from Michigan and in fact, much of her family lives fairly close to this farm.
Another recommendation: The St. James Calendar of the Christian Year from the publisher of Touchstone. Details at fsj.org. It has all the major feasts/fasts from East and West as well as all the important saints days. Also, beautiful biblical prints for each month.
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