Savor shopping in Clark County & gifts of season

Your Christmas tree may not be up yet, but these six Clark County stores are already brimming with gifts, decorations, clothing, books, toys and cards. They’ll remind you why in-person shopping is so much fun. It’s a chance to touch fabrics, smell candles, hear the tinkling of shop-door bells and enjoy the warmth of personal attention. These retail boutiques will inspire you with artful displays, locally made products and a touch of holiday magic, creating a retail experience that helps you savor the season.

Ridgefield Mercantile

418 Pioneer St., Ridgefield; 360-841-5300; open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

This antique marketplace in a 100-year-old building is a holiday wonderland with 5,000 square feet and 28 vendors. Spaces are beautifully arranged so that customers leave with decorating inspiration as well as vintage treasures. Co-owner Kate Sacamano says she’s proud to work with such creative vendors.

On the vintage end, there’s furniture, home decor and tableware, like the huge display of Fiestaware downstairs. The store is awash in vintage ornaments, wreaths and trees plus seasonal knickknacks like deer figurines. The store also carries new items from local makers, like Earth Elements eco-friendly coconut oil and soy wax candles ($42-$50) and RX Missionary vegan chocolate truffles in raspberry, Meyer lemon and cinnamon chipotle ($10-$20). Pick up Portland-made McTavish shortbread ($4.50) and find stocking stuffers or hostess gifts like the $5 hot toddy mixes that can be enjoyed plain or with tipple.

Make your porch festive with a natural wreath ($15-$35) or a birdhouse made by Ridgefield resident Heather Maul. Dress your table with dried flowers from La Center’s Milk and Honey Flower Farms. Warm up with puffy vests and coats ($52-$90), bomber jackets ($98) and sherpa jackets ($88) from La Center-based Jojo and Coco. For men, co-owner Suzy Rylander has thoughtfully stocked the made-in-Vancouver RainBro Crafts beard oil ($15), bath bombs ($5) or candles ($20) in scents like Lumberjack, Ridgefield Rain and Pacific Ocean. Snag a Swiss Link wool plaid blanket ($52) to stay cozy on camping trips. Have your gifts wrapped on site or ask staff to create a custom gift basket.

Pacificly You

602 E. Main St., Battle Ground; 360-984-0314; open 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, open until 8 p.m. on Wednesday and First Friday.

This store puts an emphasis on the Northwest lifestyle with décor, clothing, candles and body care. Many items have the clean lines and soft colors of Scandinavian design because owner Heidi Cichosz briefly lived in Norway and got a taste for hygge, or coziness from simple pleasures. Don’t miss the shelves full of imported goods, like Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish candies and chocolates ($4-$12, $1.50 a bag for bin candy) and Bilar car-shaped sweets ($6 per bag). Pacificly You also stocks accoutrements for another Scandinavian pastime: the home sauna. Find ladles, buckets, pillows, sauna scents and thermometers ($10-$120).

Look for hyperlocal items like Battle Ground stickers ($3.25), hoodies with a Battle Ground street map ($68) and Clark County-made pottery ($18 to $38). Cast a holiday glow with Pacificly You’s hand-poured soy woodwick candles in fragrances like Pacific Woods, Winter Morning, Holiday Sage and Cinnamon Bayberry ($18 to $22). To give your own house a little holiday hygge, find throw pillows ($18-$53), wood bead garlands ($24), fuzzy mushrooms ($9) and papier-mache houses that come aglow when LED candles are tucked inside ($44-$64). For cooks, there are Jacobsen salt products or Kate McDermott’s “Art of the Pie,” with tips for perfect pies ($35). For tiny tots, find Elvira knitwear in snuggly earth tones ($10-$40) designed by Battle Ground resident Kara Elvira. For fashionable grown-ups, find a tasteful and reasonably priced collection of gently used women’s clothing and shoes.

Periwinkle’s Toy Shoppe

326 N.E. Cedar St., Camas; 360-954-5795; open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

This store offers an old-fashioned toy shop experience where even adults can enjoy finding toys that encourage creativity and resourcefulness. Though your eyes may be drawn to Ooly art supplies, Schleich figurines and Brio train sets, look up to see the store’s purple dragon mascot hanging overhead.

You’ll also find stuffed animals by Vancouver company Slumberkins. Pick a yeti, unicorn, narwhal, yak, dragon, sloth, otter, shark, fox or bear for $48; each comes with a storybook and affirmation card.

For heirloom toys that stand the test of time, co-owner Heather Kesmodel recommends toy mice by Danish company Maileg. Baby mice come in matchboxes and mommy and daddy mice come in cigar boxes — or choose a mousy chef, butler, superhero, fairy or princess with tiny accessories ($16 and up).

Baby gifts include Manhattan rattles and teethers ($11 and up), SmartMax 3D magnetic animals ($25 and up) and Angel Dear bamboo-fiber baby clothes in holiday prints ($22-$34).

For kids 8 to 14, grab a 3D wooden puzzle from Ukrainian company Ugears and build a carousel, treasure box, marble run, hexapod or dragon ($12 to $62). For little builders, get Magnetiles ($47-$138) or a Playmobil set featuring wildlife, fairies and cars — or find nostalgic sets for adults, like the Knight Rider car or the Enterprise from Star Trek ($20 and up).

Bookish

335 N.E. Fifth Ave, Camas; 503-329-8449; open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

If your ideal Christmas includes time for family reading, then Bookish will satisfy all your bookworms. The store caters to children and teens but also carries about 150 titles for adults, like “Dinners with Ruth” by Nina Totenberg and “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

For budding kitchenistas, find Rick and Morty cookbooks, pirate cookbooks and Harry Potter cookbooks ($9.99 to $29.99). For the littlest readers, find board books like the “Poke-A-Dot” series with noise-making squishable dots for little fingers ($3.99). For bedtime stories, owner Melissa Peake likes “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” ($18.99) retold by Mac Barnett and lavishly illustrated by John Klassen.

For readers age 8 to 12, there’s Katherine Applegate’s bestselling “Odder” or “The One and Only Ivan” about the real-life friendship between a gorilla and an elephant ($16.99). Also find C.C. Harrington’s “Wildoak” about a girl who turns into a leopard ($18.99). Middle school readers may like a new book from a popular series, like “Dragon Girls,” “Warriors,” “Wings of Fire” and “Percy Jackson” ($5.99 and up). For teens, Bookish has a room full of graphic novels, like the “Sweet Valley High” series ($13.99 per book), “Magic Treehouse” ($12.99) or “Kingdom of Wrenly” ($9.99).

Browse the array of small-press and die-cut cards ($4 to $7). Stuff stockings with notepads, pens, puzzles, Mad Libs, word games, sticker books and peppermint sticks. Give the gift of a birthday party where kids have the run of the store; the cost includes crafts, books and goodie bags for every child.

Persnickety

1911 Main St., Suite A, Vancouver; 530-481-5997; open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Persnickety is a lively blend of old and new that, as its name implies, will satisfy the most particular shoppers. Find vintage furniture, art and decor plus new items with an irreverent sense of humor and a nod to nostalgia; owner Kate Harris said she stocks new products from women-owned companies whose wares can’t be found on Amazon.

Browse racks of vintage clothing, including sweaters for ugly sweater contests and mittens, scarves, hats and legwarmers. For old-time Christmas décor, check out the 7-foot aluminum tree ($700), blow molds ($20 and up), ornaments and wrapping paper. Get a boxed set of new Christmas cards ($17) or vintage cards at assorted prices. Light your space with tinned candles ($14) or beeswax candles in traditional or owl shapes ($18 to $29). Pick up vintage earrings ($8-$18) or adorn your wrist with a Bakelite bracelet ($6 and up). Set the mood for your party with old holiday records ($6) and gnome-and-mushroom cocktail glasses from Counter Couture ($10 to $14). Clean up with Twisted Ware’s cheeky dishtowels ($14) or an eco-friendly Three Bluebirds dishcloth ($6.50). If you’ve got holiday stress, relax with botanical fragrances from Portland’s Running Late Apothecary ($20 and up) or Orange Thyme bath bombs and soap in soothing scents ($3.50 to $7).

Saturday is a good time to visit because Vancouver vendor Shipyard Millie will host a pop-up shop from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. showcasing new, vintage-style clothing.

Kindred Homestead Supply

606 Main St., Vancouver; 360-719-2745; open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, closed on Black Friday.

This beguilingly bright and airy store sells sustainable living products with items that cater to many interests. Owner Alex Luna said she has brought in “things that are gifty but more experience-based,” like the collaborative board game WildCraft about native plants and herbs ($37, or find other games at Kindred’s free game, puzzle and book swap at 10 a.m. Dec. 3). Look for embroidery kits ($25-$40) or try needle felting ($18-$32). Discover the Japanese art of imperfect repair with kintsugi or “golden joinery” kits ($25). Make beeswax candles ($12-$15 per kit) or grab some of Kindred’s ready-made beeswax candles to illuminate your holiday table.

Speaking of feasts, cooks might find inspiration from “The Zero Waste Chef” ($25) or “The New Homemade Kitchen” ($35) with directions for fermenting, canning and preserving. Foragers might like the “Fungarium” book of mushrooms ($35) and bakers will appreciate a proofing bowl ($20 to $26). Noodle lovers may like a ceramic ramen bowl ($24) with six wooden chopsticks ($16).

For green thumbs, find watering cans ($45-$75) or a plant-watering spike ($29) and “The New Plant Parent” ($27.50) with indoor gardening advice. For stitch-happy friends, pick up “Visible Mending” ($22.99) with tips on repairing clothes artistically or let them know about Kindred’s mending circle from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 7. Gifts for anyone include eco-conscious body products or unisex recycled fabric robes ($98-$118). Pick a plantable card with seeds embedded in the paper. If you can’t decide what to get, give a gift certificate to one of Kindred’s workshops; see the website to learn more.