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10 Unique Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas from Local Small Businesses

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Natali Carrera
Natali Carrera is a devoted coffee addict who also loves her teenage son, her husband of 18 years and shopping small & local. She is the founder & CEO of parent support non-profit Success Together, Inc. and has been a freelance content creator for FresYes.com for 7 years. Natali is a lifelong Fresno resident, unrelenting cheerleader and Fresno State grad.
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Love supporting local business? Want to treat your sweetie this February? We’ve got you covered! Check out our list of ten unique, fun and surprising gift ideas all from local small shops. Click the business name for more information about each, to make a purchase and/or visit their website or social media pages. Happy shopping!

  1. Custom Breakable Chocolate Hearts & Gourmet Dipped Berries from Arrangements by Bianca – available for pick up. Breakable candy hearts come with a little hammer for smashing and enjoying!
Breakable hearts and dipped berries by Bianca (photo credit: Arrangements by Bianca)

2. A Pop Gift in a balloon from Pop Knotch – filled with things your recipient loves!

Pop Knotch is the Valley’s first Pop Balloon Custom Gift Shop (photo credit: Pop Knotch)

3. A beautiful (and functional!) piece of handmade pottery from CNG Pottery

CNG Pottery offers a variety of stunning, handmade items (Photo credit: CNG Pottery)

4. Snag a Lil Sweetie’s Sugar Shoppe Heart Attack Cookie Tray for your sweetheart!

The “Heart Attack” (Photo credit: Lil Sweetie’s Sugar Shoppe)

5. Valentine’s Statement Earrings from The Magical Teacher, Carlanda Miller

Layered Tassel Earrings from the Valentine’s Day Collection (Photo credit: The Magical Teacher)

6. A custom fantasy balloon bouquet from The Balloon Boutique by Alex (perfect for those who love to ‘Gram their gifts and have a photo shoot, too)

Valentine’s Balloon Bouquet (Photo credit: The Balloon Boutique by Alex)

7. For the more minimalist lover of jewelry, a pair of hammered gold heart earrings from Make Pie

Heart Earrings by Alana Little of Make Pie (Photo credit: Make Pie)

8. For the plant lover, a beautiful plant in a handmade pot (with free local delivery!) from Plant Made Lab.

A Monstera Deliciosa from Plant Made Lab (Photo credit: Plant Made Lab)

9. Commission a custom portrait of you and your love from Art by Elowyn.

Sample of digital water color portrait by Art by Elowyn
(Design and Photo property of Art by Elowyn)

10. For the animal lovers, adopt-an-animal from the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, and maybe snag an annual membership to go visit your favorite adopted friend, too!

You’ll receive a plush of your animal to gift as well! (Image credit: Fresno Chaffee Zoo)

Author’s Note: This list is not sponsored. All items were chosen to provide readers with an array of choices for gifting, and in the interest of supporting Fresno-Clovis area small businesses.

Stock up for National Popcorn Day at Grandpa’s Popcorn and Sweets

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JoAnn Hallum
Houseplant killing optimist- freelance writer -kid herder
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Nestled in a shopping center on First and Nees in Fresno is a little shop waiting to blow your mind. Locally owned, it’s full of gourmet popcorn of every flavor imaginable, from Butter Rum to Caramel Cheese to Dill Pickle. With over 60 flavors to choose from, Grandpa’s Popcorn & Sweets is the popcorn epicenter of the Valley.

Grandpa's Popcorn and Sweets

Decisions, decisions!

Treats for your gluten-free sweet

When you visit, you’ll realize there’s more than just popcorn at Grandpa’s. Sweet treats are on display, and cupcakes of various flavors and sizes make you question if you’re there for popcorn or for cupcakes. The answer? Both, of course.

Grandpa’s Popcorn also boasts a cotton candy tree where you can “pick” your favorite flavors of cotton candy. For those with a spicy bent, here’s where you can buy a chocolate-dipped jalapeño. It’s a sweet lover’s paradise, but it’s also a safe place for people who have food allergies. The store is peanut free, tree nut free, and latex free. The popcorn is gluten free as well.

Grandpa's Popcorn and Sweets

Cupcakes at Grandpa’s Popcorn & Sweets. This would also make a great breakfast choice IMO. Photo by Grandpa’s Popcorn & Sweets.

Sample to your heart’s content

Since the popcorn flavors range from sweet to savory (and both), it can be difficult to decide what to get. Luckily the wall is lined with sample containers full of every flavor of popcorn. If you’ve always wanted to try caramel apple popcorn but you’re not sure you want to commit to a bag, just give the knob a turn and take a sample. Sample at your own risk though—you’ll probably end up taking home more than one flavor once you’ve tried a few.

Perhaps the best part of this popcorn paradise is that it’s family owned. The logo is a caricature of owner Daniel Campbell’s grandfather, Fred. They’re actually part of a Midwestern popcorn empire started by Fred’s brother 50 years ago. Luckily for us, they’ve brought their popcorn know-how to Fresno.

Grandpa's Popcorn and Sweets

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting SO MUCH popcorn

New flavor for National Popcorn Day

On Friday, Jan. 19, Grandpa’s will be celebrating National Popcorn Day by introducing a new mystery flavor. They’ll be passing out free sample bags of this flavor while supplies last.

And, if you’re needing to stock up on your favorite popcorn, you can buy three bags and get the fourth free. There are other exciting things taking place, like a raffle for a 3.5 gallon tin of popcorn. If you’re looking for a way to make Friday pop, this is your best bet.

Grandpa's Popcorn and Sweets

Photo from Grandpa’s Popcorn & Sweets Facebook

Where to find Grandpa’s

If you want to check out Grandpa’s Popcorn & Sweets, they’re located at 673 E. Nees Ave. near Save Mart. You can follow their National Popcorn Day event page on Facebook here. Even if you can’t make it to the store, you can order your favorite popcorn flavors on their website here. You can even order through Uber Eats if you want popcorn delivered to your door. Whatever you do, take time to check out Fresno’s POP-ular popcorn destination—you won’t regret it.

Have you been to Grandpa’s Popcorn & Sweets? Let me know what your favorite flavor is in the comments. And you get bonus points if you’ve actually tried the chocolate-dipped jalapeño.