PRESENTS TO BE PRESENT
Want to find the best gifts for all your family and friends? Check out our Visalia Holiday Gift Guide! We are pleased to share our carefully curated suggestions for the best holiday gifts for everyone on your list. This gift buying guide with our top-ten best buys will steer you to shops, products and experiences that represent the best of Visalia.
This year give “presents to be present” – present in the moment and present for friends and family and even present for ourselves - and get the holidays all wrapped up with a bow.
EAT
Good food nourishes the body and the soul. Gather around the table and share conversation with family and friends. With two distinct restaurant districts in Visalia, there are lots of restaurant options. Here are the best gift ideas for food lovers:
Make reservations for a cooking lesson at The Vintage Press Recipe Club. Each month, Chef David demonstrates the “how-to” of some of their most popular lunch and dinner dishes at special Recipe Club events. Guests enjoy an interactive discussion then a share in a delightful meal with wine.
Head down to The Basement Wine and Aperitif Bar at Bistro di Bufala for specialty cocktails to celebrate life’s big - and little – moments. Dine upstairs on Italian comfort food with a fresh-from-the-farm vibe.
Specialty cookware and food items can be found at Pacific Treasures, Letter and Grain, Common Goods + Vintage. Each store has friendly staff that will help you select just the right items for the foodie on your list.
Get a taste of Visalia delivered monthly to anyone around the country with a subscription box from The Sisters Market or Naturally Nuts. Juicy ripe citrus, fresh-roasted nuts and other goodies are a perfect gift.
When you are not sure what to give, give Downtown Visalians Gift Checks. Gift checks are valid at most downtown merchants, from restaurants to boutiques.
PLAY
Unique experiences always fit and never go out of style. Give the gift of the great outdoors, the wonder of imagination, the excitement of exploration, or a one-of-the-kind experience.
If you have little kiddos on your list, buy a membership to Imagine U Children’s Museum providing unlimited fun all year long at exhibits like the “U-Fix It Garage” and the “Imaginarium.”
Sign up for a wreath-making class or shop for a special item for the home at Olives & Home or a “Sip and Shop” at Sugar’s Succulents and spend time together laughing and creating.
Put on your holiday sweaters and load up the car and tour the City's top holiday lights displays. This year Visalia hosted a contest to discover which residents had the best lights. The Interactive Holiday Lights Map make it easy to find all the best places. You can also find and print a PDF copy on our website.
The perfect gift for a golf-lover is . . . more golf! Valley Oaks Golf Course has three classic 9-hole layouts that can be played in different 18-hole rotations, providing great golf at a great value.
STAY
For the ultimate gift plan a vacation getaway to Visalia and create memories that will last a lifetime. The best hotel in Visalia is the one that best suits you! Choose from a variety of stay options.
6 Visalia hotels are Certified Autism Centers and are ideal when traveling with adventurers with autism.
BUDGET FRIENDLY GIFT GUIDE
An annual pass to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks is the gift that keeps on giving and is a perfect family-friendly gift. It is a great value – two national parks for one $35 fee. The vehicle pass is valid for an entire year and passes can be purchased online. Don't forget to get a National Park Passport to collect stamps from your visit.
History lovers will enjoy receiving a book written by local historian and author Terry Ommen. His books, like “Wild Tulare County: Outlaws, Rogues and Rebels” are filled with stories of Visalia’s early days as a wild west outpost. Then, take a self-guided (and free) walking tour through downtown Visalia and see where it all took place. Visalia: Then and Now historic walking tour maps are available online or in the Visit Visalia office at no cost.
Whether you shop in person or online, when you gift your loved-ones unique one-of-a-kind finds with Visalia roots, you are investing in the heart and soul of the community. Enjoy this holiday season.
