In the spirit of The Charleston Gazette’s “Shop Local” initiative, today we’re going to mention one dozen local businesses where you can find great Christmas gifts or purchase gift certificates so you can keep all that money in the community while slapping a smile upside the holiday face of your loved ones.

First up, we have Dutch Streetwear and Skate Shop, the transmogrified reincartnation of The Salvage Yard. At their new location on D Street in South Charleston, Dutch has expanded beyond their original Kar Kulture appearal, accessories, and jewelry scope and is now also a full service skateboard shop, even dabbling in vintage bicycles. Stop in for a unique gift or a cool looking gift certificate.

Gift certificates are also available at The Purple Moon and Modern By Design. The Purple Moon features cool Atomic and Industrial Age furnishings, plus jewelry and art. Modern By Design focuses on furniture and furnishings for the stylishly hip. If you have time, browse both stores for that special gift or if you’re a lazy bum, purchase a gift certificate.

Downtown funkiness continues at Collage on Quarrier Street and Stray Dog Antiques on Hale Street. Both shops offer distinct artistic and occasionally offbeat gift items and I’m pretty sure gift certificates can be extracted from both of them.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Taylor Books, the Charleston institution, a bookstore, cafe, and art gallery, all in one. Again, gift certificates are available or you can physically walk into the store, put some thought into it, and pick out a cool gift by yourself. Why make the gift recipient do all the work?

Art Emporium offers a wide variety of cool artistic items at a wide variety of prices. Plus, they’re also one of the best frame shops in town. If you find a cool print somewhere else, this is the place to bring it to be framed so it’ll make you look like a really classy person. This is also where you can find the 2013 calendar by Clayton Spangler, a photographer and a fine artist, mighty fine.

If your loved one enjoys eating, you can’t go wrong with any of the East End’s trifecta of NOM, the Bluegrass Kitchen, Tricky Fish, and Frütcake. All of these are great places to eat, with wonderful locally sourced food and you can get nifty gift cards for each location.

Old school music fans know Budget Tapes and Records like the back of their hand. This Kanawha City institution is celebrating forty years of tickling the fancy of consumers with music, smoking accessories, and fancy tickling devices. You can drop in and choose from a selection of current hits, local music, classic vinyl, or other cool stuff. Or you can just be a slacker and get a gift certificate.

If you have a special person on your list who is perhaps of the nerdish persuasion, then you can head back to D Street for Lost Legion Games and Comics: The Rifleman, where you can choose from a full line of gaming supplies, comic books, and graphic novels. Or you can buy a gift certificate which your loved one will either use to purchase something cool or they will send it off to be graded and slabbed and keep it in mint condition forever.