West Michigan’s 2022 holiday season is upon us! Time for food, friends, and – although resisted, strange, and unknown to most small business owners – time off from work. We’re big believers in work-life balance here at GreenCup Digital; as small business owners ourselves, we understand how tricky it can be to take a day away from customers, orders, and the ever-present pressure of perfecting your seasonal digital marketing. That’s why we’ve curated a holiday gift guide filled with inspiring, easy ways to improve work-life balance, get away from the desk, and discover new adventures, hobbies, and relaxation opportunities.
Outdoor Excitement
First up in our 2022 holiday gift guide, we invite you to improve the work-life balance of your gift recipients with unique adventures in the great outdoors! West Michigan is a world-renowned location for recreational adventures. From pristine shorelines and bustling cityscapes to weekend sporting events and relaxing among nature, Grand Rapids offers outdoor excitement for everyone on your list.
Gold, Griffins, and Whitecaps – Consistently ranked in the Top 10 Minor League Markets by Sports Business Journal, Grand Rapids hosts some of the best sporting events in West Michigan all year long. Catch a basketball (Gold), hockey (Griffins), or baseball (Whitecaps) game while enjoying award-winning spectator accommodations.
Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park – West Michigan’s most popular outdoor relaxation destination, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park offers world-renowned landscapes, indoor and outdoor displays, and galleries built to impress visitors of all ages.
Rosa Parks Circle Ice Rink – Aside from being the best place to catch a free dance class or art exhibit in Grand Rapids during the warm-weather months, Rosa Parks circle hosts thousands of ice skating enthusiasts every year. Bundle up and grab your favorite skating buddy to take advantage of this cherished holiday tradition before the season is over.
Paddle North – Give the gift of watersport adventures with a new paddleboard, kayak, or wetsuit from Paddle North. Their recently-opened Grand Rapids storefront offers a wide array of lake-lover gear to help break away from the computer, connect with nature, and get out on the water.
Segway Tours of Grand Rapids – Take in the city and stunning Grand Rapids architectural landscape with a professionally guided segway tour. Attractions include the 6th Street Dam, Calder Sculpture, and a wide array of shops, cafes, and eateries.
Relaxation, Expression, and Education
Stave off the cold and invite the imagination indoors with gifts that are sure to leave a lasting impression. Our next holiday gift guide ideas focus on opportunities to capture warmth year-round with air-purifying plants, art experiences, museum adventures, and online classes in nearly every subject imaginable. Welcome the winter season to the office, desk, or home library with gifts designed to relax, rejuvenate, and grow.
The Plant Parlor – Spruce up your coworker’s workspace with a gorgeous indoor plant from The Plant Parlor. From a stunning variety of potted plant options to horticulture workshops and Mimosa Saturday events, this Grand Rapids small business offers fresh greenery that brings life to any space year-round.
Brush Studio – Gather a group of family, friends, or coworkers and celebrate the season with a fun, beginner-friendly art lesson. Brush Studio offers private and public group painting classes with a variety of seasonal options and specials, including heartwarming holiday scenes, movie and trivia painting nights, and plaster art workshops.
Grand Rapids Community College – Share the gift of learning and growth with an online class at Grand Rapids Community College. Course subjects range from craft brewing and foreign language studies to photography and interior design – with quite literally everything in between!
Oh, Hello Co. – Bring the power of handmade humor to the workplace with a unique office gift from Oh, Hello Co., one of Grand Rapids’ most well-loved shops. Offering planners, stickers, magnets, and notebooks within a vast collection of fun-loving home goods, Oh, Hello Co. features locally-made wares and goodies that will delight the heart and organize the mind.
Happy Hour
Help your gift recipients escape the pressures of a jam-packed work week with an ice-cold brew, locally-sourced meal, or craft cocktail. West Michigan offers a plethora of holiday gift guide happy hour options, each with their own set of unique events, offerings, and seasonal specials. Lose the office chair and pull up a stool at some of GreenCup Digital’s favorite happy hour locales.
Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill – Featuring fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and a tavern that’s existed since the mid-1900s, The Garage Bar is home to West Michigan’s Best Bloody Mary Bar and hand-smashed french fries made daily. Build your own fresh-ground burgers or enjoy hand-clipped-and-battered chicken filets in one of Grand Rapids’ most historical locations.
Butcher’s Union – Specializing in meat and whiskey, Butcher’s Union offers visitors an astounding selection of beef, fish, and seasonal plates with ingredients sourced directly from local farms. Sample one of their hundreds of whiskey options or enjoy a craft beer with friends in a unique environment featuring both indoor and outdoor seating.
Mojo’s Piano Bar – Looking for live entertainment that is sure to capture the attention of everyone on your holiday shopping list? Look no further than Mojo’s Piano Bar, Grand Rapids’ best dueling piano bar and nightclub. Menu options include specialty cocktails, martinis, local craft beer, and wine.
SpeakEZ Lounge – Inspired by 1933 speakeasy culture, SpeakEZ Lounge provides specialty cocktails and a delectable food menu filled with sandwiches, salads, and entrees to fit any palate. They are the proud winners of Revue Magazine’s “Best of the West” Best Brunch in Grand Rapids for 5 years in a row and have been delighting patrons for over 10 years.
Grand Rapids Beer Tours – Enjoy personalized, guided tours and behind-the-scenes views of some of the area’s top local breweries with Grand Rapids Beer Tours. Events include Festivus Light Tours, Beer City Experience Tours, and New Year’s Eve Tours – hotel pick-up and beers included!
Pay it Forward
Leave consumerism at the door and spend your gift-giving dollars on community-building by donating to West Michigan nonprofit organizations. This year’s holiday gift guide expands on GreenCup Digital’s 2020 Local Holiday Gift Guide’s charitable ideas, with nonprofit causes ranging from protecting parks and fighting against poverty to supporting women and cancer survivors.
Friends of Grand Rapids Parks – Protectors of the area’s most stunning outdoor habitats, recreation sites, and playgrounds, Friends of Grand Rapids Parks provides education, volunteer task forces, and funding to preserve West Michigan’s green spaces. Programs include Adopt-a-Park, Neighborhood Forester, Green Your Block, Outdoor Adventures, and Youth Education.
Treetops Collective – Dedicated to investing in New American women leaders and assisting women who’ve experienced displacement and refugeeism, Treetops Collective combines listening, wholeness, radical welcome, cross-cultural connection, celebration, creativity, and redemptive influence to inspire change, bring about beauty, and help make West Michigan a true home. Donate to their program, join the collective, or shop one of their ethical, hand-crafted collections to bring joy to more than one family this holiday season.
Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids – Offering free emotional support for kids, adults, families, and friends undergoing any type of cancer journey, Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids is an affiliate of the Cancer Support Community and provides local resources for community members throughout West Michigan. Programs include cancer support, grief support, social activities, youth programs, and education opportunities, each based out of their iconic red-doored clubhouse.
Women’s Resource Center – Focused on providing education, career development, and financial stability tools for unemployed and underemployed women throughout the West Michigan area, Women’s Resource Center offers guidance, support groups, classes, interview apparel, scholarships, and career-based workshops to help empower women to become economically self-sufficient.
Heart of West Michigan United Way – West Michigan’s leader in providing funding and grants for close to 50 nonprofit organizations, Heart of West Michigan assists Kent County residents with food, housing, education, mental health services, job training, employment, and more. They’ve invested close to $2M in local families and continue to prioritize family stability, security, and education for residents throughout the Grand Rapids area.
Try Something New
As we said in our GreenCup Digital 2021 Local Holiday Gift Guide, nothing beats the gift (or memory-making abilities!) of an incredible experience. Keep the winter blues at bay by inviting friends and family to try something new this holiday season. The final segment of our 2022 holiday gift guide includes creative Grand Rapids adventures designed to push comfort zones and inspire new interests.
Grand Rapids Crime Tours – Take a walking tour through some of Grand Rapids’ most heinous historical crime scenes with Grand Rapids Crime Tours. Professional guides put a comedic spin on local urban legends, history, and crime while expertly guiding visitors on a 2-hour trek through some of the most interesting spots in the city.
Sable Candle Co. – Choose your vessel, choose your scents, mix, and pour your very own candle in Sable Candle Co.’s open candlemaking studio. Visitors are invited to stop by anytime during business hours to create a candle with the shop’s expert candle makers.
The Great Escape Room – Visit the #1 voted escape room in the country at The Great Escape Room Grand Rapids. Featuring four themed rooms, two scavenger hunt rooms, and a portable escape room for private parties, The Great Escape Room tests your code-breaking and problem-solving abilities through unique mysteries like a deadly virus, bunker lockdown, hotel seance, and mountain-top murder.
The Local Epicurean – Take a private cooking class at the Local Epicurean, a Grand Rapids eatery focused on wild food for urban people. Class options include learning how to cook a Roman Breakfast, Asian Scissor Noodles, Handmade Pasta, Fog Smoked Risotto, and Calabria Rack of Lamb with the chance to dine on what you’ve created after completing each class.
FlannelJax’s – Harness your inner lumberjack by grabbing a group of friends and heading to FlannelJax’s for some axe-throwing. Aside from offering a safe, secure environment to unleash your Jason Momoa skills, FlannelJax’s partners with One Tree Planted and donates one tree for every group that visits their Grand Rapids location.
Still looking for the perfect gift for your favorite entrepreneur? We’ve got you covered with one last small business owner holiday gift guide idea to share. Invest in a digital marketing package from GreenCup Digital to improve work-life balance while simultaneously taking advantage of seasonal shopping stats and holiday marketing opportunities. Our digital marketing elves magically return time to every small business owner’s schedule by taking social media, website design and management, content development, and search engine optimization (SEO) off the daily to-do list. Ensure the holiday season is spent checking ovens instead of inboxes by connecting with GreenCup Digital today.
