We are gearing up for Christmas in Bowling Green! Home to many great, locally-owned stores, BGKY is a great shopping destination if you're looking for a fun, weekend road trip to stock up on unique items.
You could even curate the ultimate Bowling Green-themed gift basket to inspire travel when the time is right! Many of our popular hotels offer gift cards, so give the gift of a future trip to Bowling Green with a basket including hotel and restaurant gift cards, locally-made items, and attractions passes to let them know how much you love them. If you're ready to kick it into overdrive, we've got you covered here with our #MyBGKY Experiences Gift Guide!
While definitely not an exhaustive list, here are some of our favorite things to gift this year... with love from Bowling Green!
Bowling Green Pillows and Tea Towels
From holiday decorations to fine gifts for family or colleagues, Barbara Stewart Interiors overlooking downtown Fountain Square Park is filled with Christmas cheer. This wonderful gift shop offers everything from whimsical baby clothes to beautiful, engravable items. Barbara Stewart Interiors even has a Bowling Green section on its online store, and you can have gifts shipped directly to you or your loved ones. Local items include a pillow that says "There's No Place Like Bowling Green, Kentucky" and tea towels that say "Small Town, Big Heart Bowling Green, Ky."
Salt Cave and Yoga Sessions
Help someone on your gift list relax with a present from Be Happy Yoga and Salt Cave in Bowling Green. Be Happy offers gift certificates for yoga classes, salt cave sessions, and massage therapy. Its gift shop also offers a variety of Himalayan salt blocks to cook with and salt lamps to create a soothing environment at your home or office.
BGKY handcrafted candles
Whether you’re shopping for your kids’ teachers or your sister-in-law, candles make a perfect present. Candle Makers on the Square has dozens of wonderful candles for sale — and you can even bring your own container for Candle Makers to pour a candle in. This gift shop also features scented lotions, soaps, locally-made jewelry, photography, and more.
Bowling Green in a Box... of Chocolates
Find some of the sweetest treats in town at Cocomo Confections. This family-owned candy shop offers hand-made truffles in a variety of flavors, delicious cakes by the slice or whole and so many other goodies you won't know what to try first. A must try is their famous strawberry cake, one small bite is all you need to understand the hype around this local favorite!
Outdoor Gear for a BG Adventure
Locally-owned Nat’s Outdoor Sports has been a Bowling Green staple for four decades. One of the best Christmas presents for kids is a new bike, and while they've been hard to come by during the pandemic, the crew at Nat’s can help you find the perfect one. Nat’s also has a great collection of camping gear, kayaks, apparel for the whole family, running shoes, and hiking boots. The store features beautiful jewelry and sweet-smelling lotions, as well. You can even shop online!
Handcrafted Pieces from Local Artists
Another favorite shopping destination overlooking Fountain Square Park, The Pots Place Gallery & Studio offers unique pieces made by eight area potters. Kentucky artisans and fair-trade crafts from around the world are also featured in the studio. One of your artistic friends might enjoy getting a pottery lesson from the artists there, and you can even take a yoga class in the studio above the gallery. Many of the artists featured call Bowling Green home, so you can feel great about supporting a local, independent artisan.
You can also head to local potter Mitchell Rickman's studio — Rickman Pottery — for hand-crafted mugs, honey dippers, pitchers, and other tableware. With a variety of pottery available for shipping on his Etsy shop, he even takes custom orders if you have a post-Christmas or specialty gift item in mind. His studio is open by appointment or chance, so we recommend calling ahead if you want to see his awesome pottery in person.
Riley's Infamous Tea Cookies
Riley's Bakery has been serving up delicious baked goods and sandwiches for more than seven decades, but it's the shop's tea cookies that keep visitors buzzing. Send loved ones cookies iced in their favorite colors or in seasonal schemes. If you really want to make someone's day, send him or her "The Comfort Box" featuring 2 Dozen Tea Cookies, 6 Mini Hungarian Coffee Cakes, 6 Brownies, 6 Cinnamon Twists, and 6 Caramel Pecan Mini Rolls.
Hand-Selected Holiday Attire
Find the latest women's fashions at Steel Mill & Co. Founded by women, for women, Steel Mill & Co. is a lifestyle boutique offering a hand-picked selection of fashion apparel and home goods, as well as personal styling services.
BG also has some more notable clothing stores for all your trendy needs, try Back Down South for some perfectly southern style, Dove and Olive Boutique for classy casual with some glam thrown in, and Kenzie Parker Boutique for a perfect mix of both with a bit of home goods thrown in there too!
Sweet Tea, Blue Moon of KY and Mammoth Cave Bourbon
These are just three of the wine and spirit varieties you can sip on when visiting one of our two wineries or single distillery in Warren County. Bluegrass Vineyard, Reid's Livery Winery and Balance Distilling Company. Stop by in-person to sample at each individual tasting room, find them at local farmer's markets, or Bluegrass even ships online!
Drive a C8 Corvette on Track
Don't forget many of our attractions, including Lost River Cave, the Historic RailPark & Train Museum, and the National Corvette Museum, have fabulous gift shops, as well. Oh, and if someone on your list has been really nice this year, may we suggest the ULTIMATE BG EXPERIENCE by way of a Corvette Touring Lap gift certificate from the Motorsports Park where they can schedule track time in one of the MSP's brand new Corvettes!
We also have a Gift Shop in our Visitors Center, and you can find everything from t-shirts to Hestia ornaments — the perfect presents to show BGKY pride or to send warm BGKY holiday wishes to friends afar.
Hopefully, this inspires you to send lots of love from Bowling Green this year, order a few new things from your favorite destination, or plan a trip to shop in person! Want to stay in the know about all things BGKY? Be sure to sign-up for our monthly e-newsletter!
