Here Are 7 Awesome Last-Minute Gifts Made In Florida

FLORIDA — Florida is a state known for Mickey Mouse, powder-sand beaches, crystal clear waters, bikini-clad sunbathers and "Hamburgers in Paradise."

It hardly evokes images of freshly fallen snow, horse-drawn sleighs and youngsters building snowmen.

The last time any significant amount of snow fell in Florida was in 1977. If not for artificial snow machines, most kids in Florida would never have the experience of throwing a snowball.

Nevertheless, Floridians have their own decidedly unconventional holiday traditions —surfboarding Santas, parades of boats strewn with Christmas lights, and swimsuit-clad revelers blaring Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" from boom boxes on the beach.

And when it comes to gifts, Florida abounds in artists, entrepreneurs and products that are unique to the Sunshine State. So, if you're searching for last-minute gifts, here's some suggestions:

Naples Soap Company

A former nurse, Naples resident Deanna Wallin struggled when eczema and psoriasis most of her life.

"I tried everything to relieve my symptoms, including products recommended by dermatologists," she said. "When my daughter was born, I quickly realized that she, too, had eczema."

Wallin began researching traditional bath and beauty products in search of a remedy.

"I was shocked at just how many chemicals were in everyday bath and beauty products," she said. "I started experimenting with natural and organic products like shea butter, cocoa butter and olive oil. Soon after, I saw real improvements. My skin was healthier, clearer and less irritated," she said.

Today, Wallin is the CEO of the Naples Soap Company. She offers a variety of products ranging from holiday soaps for $9 to gift sets from $30 to $125 dollars. Click here to place an order. Use code 20WELCOME for 20 percent off your first online purchase.

Florida Orange

Florida is known for its fresh, juicy vitamin C-enriched citrus, and Florida Orange has parlayed the state's abundance of orchards into a gift-giving enterprise.

Every holiday season, Florida Orange, which is certified by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, does a booming business, sending navel, mandarin, temple and Valencia oranges, ruby red grapefruit and tangerines around the world. Citrus lovers can send fruit packed in boxes or choose custom gourmet fruit baskets that also include homemade fudge squares, chocolate coconut patties, citrus fruit candies, and orange, honeybell, pineapple and orange coconut marmalade.

A favorite is the Fancy Gator Basket that sells for $35.99. It includes a solid chocolate Florida gator relaxing on an island of citrus juice candies and pecan log roll slices, and fudge slices with pecans, peanuts, coconut, orange, mint and peanut butter flavors arranged in a wicker tray.

Click here to see all the selections and place an order.

Book By Author Craig Pittman

Every year, Patch includes books by a Florida author 0n its list of gift-giving ideas, and you won't find a writer who epitomizes the Sunshine State more than Florida native Craig Pittman.

The Pensacola-born journalist now calls St. Petersburg home where he covered environmental issues for the Tampa Bay Times from 1998 to 2020, winning the Waldo Proffitt Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism in Florida four times and the top investigative reporting award from the Society of Environmental Journalists twice.

He now writes a weekly environmental issues column for the Florida Phoenix and freelances for a number of publications including the Washington Post, Scientific American, National Geographic and Flamingo magazine.

When he isn't busy writing, Pittman spends his spare time ... well, writing. His passion for Florida's endangered wildlife and vanishing natural environment have been the subject of a number of his books, including "Paving Paradise," c0-authored with Matthew Waite in 2009, "Manatee Insanity" (2010), named one of 21 essential books for Floridians by the Florida Humanities Council, and the "The Scent of Scandal" in 2012.

His 2016 book, "Oh, Florida! How America's Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country," made the New York Times Best Seller list in 2016. It was followed by "Cat Tale: The Wild Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther," published in 2020 and now available in paperback.

In his latest book,"The State You're In: Florida Men, Florida Women, and Other Wildlife," released on Sept. 14, Pittman diverges from his usual pennings and takes a more humorous look at his home state, describing some of Florida’s oddest wildlife and quirkiest people.

It includes a love story involving the most tattooed woman in the world, a deep dive into the state’s professional mermaid industry, and an investigation of a battle between residents of a nudist resort and the U.S. Postal Service.

All of Pittman's books can be ordered through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books & Books.

But if you order them from Tombolo Books, 2153 1st Ave. S in St. Petersburg, you can request that Pittman autograph them.

"I live about 10 minutes from the store and they message me whenever they need me to drop by and sign books," said Pittman in his customary folksy manner.

Queen Of Shell Art

Her friends know her as Shannon Webster but her fans call her the Queen of Shell Art, which also happens to be the name of her Deland-based business.

When this artist isn't exhibiting at arts and crafts shows around the state, she sells her shell-inspired creations on her Etsy site, queenofshellart.

Among them are framed shell mosaics and keepsake boxes reminiscent of those made by 18th- and 19th-century sailors on long sea voyages, typically called sailor's valentines.

She also produces a variety of elaborate shell-inspired jewelry.

Ybor City Cigars

For cigar lovers, the Ybor City Development Corporation highly recommends a gift of hand-rolled cigars, made the same way they were produced 100 years ago when Ybor City was called the Cigar Capital of the World.

While hand-rolled cigars are no longer the city's major industry, many of the original cigar factories continue to flourish. In fact, cigars are one of the most requested items by troops overseas. So, for the last 10 years, the Ybor City Development Corporation and its member cigar factories have participated in "Cigars for Soldiers," a joint effort with the nonprofit, Support Our Troops, to send cigars to troops.

Traditional Ybor City cigars can be purchased from these makers:

• La Faraona Cigars
• Tabanero Cigars
• Gonzalez Habano Cigar Corp.
• J.C. Newman Cigar Company
• King Corona Cigars
• La Herencia de Cuba Cigar Factory
• Long Ash Cigars
• Metropolitan Cigars
• Nicahabana Cigars
• Tampa Sweethearts Cigar Company
• Ybor Cigars Plus
• Tampero Cigars

Tarpon Springs Distillery

Outside Greece, you won't find better ouzo than Papou's Ouzo, produced by the Tarpon Springs Distillery.

Inspired by Greece but with a Florida flair, Papou's Ouzo is infused with the flavors of anise and fennel with a hint of orange nose. When served over ice, it releases its aroma and turns milk white.

Papou's Ouzo is among a variety of spirits produced at the Tarpon Springs Distillery, located in the former Stephen Katzaras Sponge Company at 605 N. Pinellas Ave.

Katzaras emigrated to Tarpon Springs at age 17 from Symi, Greece, eventually opening his sponge company in 1945 and operating it for 60 years with his family. Between sponge-hunting excursions in the traditional scaphandro dive suits with the distinctive copper helmets, Katzaras made ouzo and moonshine at his sponge company.

Barry and Lisa Butler purchased the sponge company when the Katzaras family sold it in 2013. There, they produce artisanal spirits from scratch, including a version of the moonshine and ouzo that Katzaras once made behind a burlap curtain in the warehouse where his still, nicknamed Amazing Grace, remains in use.

Papou’s Ouzo is named after Stephen Katzaras, who was known as Papou or “grandfather” to his family and customers.

If you're not an ouzo fan, the Butler' also produce Gramling Woods Oaked Moonshine,conditioned w ith oak to bring out vanilla and caramel notes and a smoky nose. It tastes like a bourbon, but it's made from smooth-as-silk moonshine.

Anclote Gin is named for the Anclote River, home harbor to the sponging industry in Tarpon Springs. It's a silky smooth distilled gin made with premium malted grains, juniper, coriander, black peppercorns, and the zest of lemons, limes and grapefruits.

Anclote David Douglas Gin is a distilled gin named for the botanist who discovered the Douglas fir. It starts with a mash of rye, pecan-smoked barley and sweet corn, and adds juniper, Douglas fir needles, rosemary and coriander.

Anclote Hot and Dirty Gin is distilled with juniper, coriander, green olives and a proprietary blend of peppers including Florida bird peppers. It's basically a dirty martini in a bottle, shaken or stirred.

Claresso, a unique spirit distilled from a grain mash with sugar and espresso, comes from the Spanish word "claro" which means clear, and espresso. Unlike all the other coffee spirits on the market, the flavor is distilled in, not infused

All of the award-winning spirits are produced from scratch right on the premises, using malted grains grown from heritage seeds or gin botanicals grown in the Butlers' garden.