Some local favorites:
Bakeries/Desserts (ready to eat xmas day snacks/desserts, GCs):
Ollia Macarons & Tea - best macarons in the city and run by a cute couple who give back and support the community a lot. They also sell quality teas and items from other local businesses
Sucre Patisserie & Cafe - hazelnut & chocolate croissants, almond croissants, and pretty much all their other pastries. Pick up some frozen "BIY" pastries to throw in the oven on xmas morning for an easy, no fuss, delicious brunch.
Butterblock - the breggfast (croissant formed like a danish with cheese, ham, and egg), pandan coconut croissant, earl grey chocolate cookies. Per Sucre, they offer "BIY" pastries for xmas oven smells and fresh goods.
Black Sheep - different style of croissant, but their fruit billings are delicious. Blueberry or the Pear & Vanilla are good choices. If you're lucky, they have the pistachio cherry tart available.
La Boulangerie - the Kouign Amann is excellent here. Original or blueberry filling.
Village Ice Cream - pints to go with or be your xmas dessert. GCs for the ice cream lover in your life.
Made by Marcus - ditto from above.
Pie Junkie - amazing pies! Their sweet pies and their savory options are delicious. Butter chicken, jamaican hand patty, or the Steak Stout & Gruyere are delicious options. Key Lime, Banana Toffee, or their fruit pies warmed up with a few scoops of MBM or Village vanilla ice creams make for an amazing dessert
Retailers:
Kristen's Consignment - owned and run by a good friend of mine. She is one of the best people on Earth and spends a lot of time giving back to the local community in all sorts of ways. Pick up a GC for the lady in your life who is ok with not 'brand new' clothing/accessories. It's a good way to support the local economy and also help the environment
Camp - a little on the hipster side, but also some outdoor friendly apparel and some cute enamelware for the adventure enthusiast in your life. They do local delivery or you can pick up locally from the Livery in Inglewood.
Pages - I think this one has been mentioned already, but a great bookshop in Kensington; you can pre-order for pick up as well.
Monkeyshines - Marda Loop bookstore; they also carry some Canadian made toys and such
Games People Play - mostly puzzles and games, but some good gift choices for the kids or adults
Livingstone & Cavell - they are closing Jan 1 for retirement so you can probably get some good deals
Steeling Home - gift shop with various items both home, holidays, and pretty much all you can think of. Even kids stuff
Analog Coffee - best local coffee shop IMHO, love buying their beans and grinding/making coffee at home.
Monogram - another great local run coffee shop with ethically sourced beans. Both these guys and Analog also have other types of accessories and gifts for the coffee snob in your life.
For groceries, I try to shop as much as possible at both Blush Lane and Sunterra. Realize this is not always possible for everyone due to cost, but I like both businesses and how they are run. Sunterra also always gives away some sort of free meal/item during the holidays to the surrounding communities whether you shop there or not which I have always thought was a nice touch.
Was going to list a number of restaurants, but I think everyone has their own favorites (happy to provide recs if you want them) - with the lockdown and dinners scaled down, if you want a break from cooking, it's great to pre-order a meal from your fave place. Or GCs for the foodie in your life!
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