‘Tis the season for holiday cheer and what better a time to give someone you love a piece of New Orleans? Moreover, what better a time to gift and give back to the community by buying local? One of the best things about the Crescent City is its abundance of independent local retailers and pop-up shops. We really know how to keep it in the family, and that is what this season is all about.

Don't forget to grab your copy of our December issue out now!

With local retailers, art galleries and crafts markets on just about every corner, one thing we can say for sure about New Orleans is that it is actually easier to shop local here than many other places. Friendly shop owners, neighbors working counters, family-owned businesses, artists you know creating marvels to cherish… these are some of our favorite things.

In the locavore spirit, OffBeat staff have compiled a quick and easy list of New Orleans-centric gifts perfect for a New Orleanian or loving visitor here. All items are available in our web store at OffBeat.com/store anytime, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And if you order by 10 a.m. on Monday, December 23, and if the shipping address is in metro New Orleans, your gifts can still arrive in time for Christmas. Or, feel free to stop by our office at 421 Frenchmen Street anytime 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Monday, December 23 to pick-up some authentic OffBeat collectible gifts from our archive in person!

But perhaps one of the best gifts to send someone outside New Orleans that you know would love a piece of our music, food and culture right at their doorstep each month is an annual subscription to OffBeat Magazine. One of those gifts that is truly affordable and keeps on giving – they’ll think of you year-round! A great gift for New Year’s too.  Click here to order a print subscription online.

Happy Holidays from all of us! Peruse our OffBeat locavore gift guide below and find something perfect for that NOLA lover. Thank you for buying local!

OFFBEAT LOCAVORE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2013:

The Gravy ($30)

The Gravy: In the Kitchen with New Orleans Musicians by OffBeat Food Editor, Elsa Hahne – $30 [hard cover book]

The Gravy: In the Kitchen with New Orleans Musicians, a new book by Elsa Hahne (You Are Where You Eat, OffBeat Art Director, photographer and writer) collects the creme de la creme from her popular, long-running OffBeat series The Gravy: In The Kitchen With… featuring interviews and recipes from Louisiana musicians. Highlights from The Gravy: In the Kitchen with New Orleans Musiciansinclude recipes, photos and interviews with Dr. John, Charmaine Neville, John Boutté, Big Al Carson, Susan Cowsill, Theresa Andersson, Antoinette K-Doe, Wanda Rouzan and many more.  (Also available at most local book stores in New Orleans)  Click here to order. Autographed copies available, please Email: [email protected]. *Free shipping!

You Are WHERE You Eat ($35)

You Are Where You Eat by OffBeat Food Editor, Elsa Hahne – $35 [hard cover book]

Collect Hahne’s first book while it’s still available! Eating and cooking well are not just industries but ways of life for all New Orleans. Writer and photographer Elsa Hahne (Art Director at OffBeat) has visited the kitchens of 33 of New Orleans’s home cooks and raconteurs and has served up an expansive smorgasbord inspired by this vibrant city’s love affair with food. Almost every cultural group that has made its mark on New Orleans is represented in these pages: Creole, African American, Native American, German, Cajun, Italian, Irish, Greek, Hungarian, Croatian, Cuban, Honduran, Mexican, Indian, Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, and more. Among the eighty-five recipes are not only such classic New Orleans dishes as red beans and rice, catfish court bouillon, crawfish bisque, file gumbo, grillades, and daube glace,  but also more recent arrivals to local tables: yakamein, pork tamales, crawfish samosas, and Vietnamese spring rolls. Click here to order. Autographed copies available, please Email: elsahahne@offbeatcom. *Free shipping!

FOnk Dat! ($25)

FOnk Dat! T-Shirt designed by OffBeat Magazine and New Orleans’ own Fleurty Girl – $25 [limited edition!]

Two New Orleans originals, OffBeat and Fleurty Girl have teamed up to bring you a stylish combination of funk and y’attitude. Whether you’re strutting in a second line, strolling around the Big Easy, or cheering on the Saints, let ‘em know where you stand with our back and gold FOnk Dat tee. Available in unisex and female sizes. Printed on American Apparel’s tri-blend, short sleeve track shirt. Black tee with gold and white screenprint. Click here to order online. (Also available at all Fleurty Girl brick and mortar shop locations)

NoLa Dining Deck ($20)

New Orleans Dining Deck 2013 – 2014 by City Dining Cards – $20 [super value gift!]

Support locally owned restaurants and bars with City Dining Cards. Now in its 3rd Edition, the new format of Dining Deck offers [50] $10-Off dining cards to top New Orleans eateries in one handy, portable deck of dining cards. Taste a wide array of the Crescent City’s best restaurants with this fun deck of cards! It’s the perfect way to experience new and renowned eateries around New Orleans at affordable prices. Visit product link for list of participating restaurants.

PERFECT gift for that foodie you know! Or, purchase a deck and split up the 50 cards into singles or trios of small gifts for co-workers, neighbors and friends that love to experience new NOLA eateries – great Secret Santa idea. Each card has a value of $10. Each deck comes with 50 cards. And no one has to know how cheap you got the deck! Sshhh… we won’t tell. Click here to order online. (Also available at OffBeat’s office)

NoLa Drink Deck ($20)

New Orleans Drink Deck 2013 – 2014 by City Dining Cards – $20  [super value gift!]

Support locally owned restaurants and bars with City Dining & Drinking Cards. Now in its 3rd Edition, the new format of Drink Deck offers 50 Buy-One, Get-One Free drinks to top New Orleans watering holes in one handy, portable deck of drinking cards. Sample cocktails and beers all around town in a unique (and affordable!) pub crawl. Visit product link for list of participating bars.

*City Dining Cards is a pro-local marketing company that’s passionate about food and drink, supporting locally owned bars and restaurants, and the local community as a whole. 5% of City Dining Cards proceeds go toward the efforts of the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation; with the mission of providing greater access to culinary education, community outreach and hospitality industry financial assistance for our children.

PERFECT gift for that foodie you know! The City Drink Deck is also a great group gift idea – purchase a deck and then give out single cards as little gifts to family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Each card has a value of $10. Use 2-3 of the cards in the deck and you’ve already made the cost of the deck back! Click here to order online. (Also available at OffBeat’s office)

Mr. Okra - In Your Pocket! ($10)

Mr. Okra – In Your Pocket! by Emanation – $10 [collector’s item!]

Keep New Orleans’ most famous singing street vendor “in your pocket” all the time!

Anyone who’s lived in New Orleans knows Mr. Okra. Chances are you’ve been stirred to the curb of your street plenty of times by the sweet sound of Mr. Okra’s fresh fruits and veggies chant. Sampled in rock songs and featured in films, Mr. Okra is one of New Orleans’ quirkiest and most beloved celebrities. Okra travels throughout the city in an artfully painted truck, blasting out of his speaker a melodic list of produce for sale. Next time you see him at Jazz Fest or traversing the streets of the Ninth Ward, dig his signature sales pitch – then holler back, courtesy of Mr. Okra In Your Pocket. NOTE: Mr. Okra makes a royalty on each product sold.

Fantastic stocking stuffer, Secret Santa or white elephant!  Click here to order online.

THE LAST OF THE GREAT NEW ORLEANS SINGING STREET VENDORS.

WATCH THE OFFICIAL MR. OKRA IN YOUR POCKET COMMERCIAL, FEATURING MR. OKRA HIMSELF, HERE!

NOJF 1997: James Booker ($85)

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Official 1997 Commemorative Poster feat. James Booker – $85 [limited edition collectors item!]

Jazz Fest 1997 Commemorative poster featuring illustration of New Orleans piano great James Booker by New Orleans visual artist Lolet Boutté. This collectible poster is no longer in print and limited in stock. All copies are numbered. Collect this gem now while you still can! (Also available at OffBeat’s office) Click here to order.

NOJF 1999: Allen Toussaint ($50)

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Official 1999 Commemorative Poster feat. Allen Toussaint – $50 [limited edition collectors item!]

Jazz Feat 1999 Commemorative poster featuring illustration of New Orleans pianist and award-winning songwriter Allen Toussaint by New Orleans visual artist Andersen. The collectible poster is no longer in print and limited in stock. All copies are numbered and signed by both Allen Toussaint and Mark Andersen! (Also available at OffBeat’s office) Click here to order.

OffBeat Jazz Fest Bible 2013 ($60 pack)

Official OffBeat Magazine 2013 Jazz Fest Bible Cover Illustration Posters by New Orleans artist Karen Ocker – $60 for both [limited edition]

OffBeat Jazz Fest Bible 2013 cover illustration combo pack includes Limited Edition 12″ X 18″ lithographs of Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and Walter “Wolfman” Washington [2] numbered and signed by artist Karen Ocker. This pair of cover illustration lithographs is limited to 100 copies each – collect them while you can!  Click here to order online.

Each poster is also available individually at $35 each. Monk Boudreaux or Walter “Wolfman” Washington. Click here to select your poster choice and order online.

Best of the Beat Awards Show Tickets ($30)

Best of the Beat 2o13 New Orleans Music Awards Show Tickets – $30 each now through January 1! [$35 after Jan. 1]

Give the gift of New Orleans live local music! Nothing beats the gift of the authentic experience of hearing live New Orleans music in person. Celebrate our Best of the Beat 2013 nominees and see who takes home the prize for the best New Orleans musicians or 2013 at OffBeat’s annual Best of the Beat Awards on Saturday, January 18, 2014 at Generations Hall.

Live music by more than seven Best of the Beat – nominated bands, complimentary food from more than 20 of New Orleans’ favorite restaurants and more! Get your groove on and rub elbows with New Orleans’ Best of the Beat. Tickets are $10-off online now though January 1. Click here to view the list of this year’s nominees and see who’s playing at this year’s event. Click here to order tickets online.

Guardians of the Groove Longsleeve ($30)

WWOZ “Guardians of the Groove” longsleeve T-shirt with official logo – $30 [new!]

Support our friends at New Orleans’ #1 local radio station, WWOZ FM, and become an official Guardian of the Groove in their online Swamp Shop. This new longsleeve tee, perfect for NOLA winters, is now available in men’s, women’s and unizex sizes. Click here to order.