The time has come to make your list and check in twice...and that means shopping for holiday gifts for all your loved ones. Luckily for all of us who call Omaha our “homaha”, there are tons of independent small businesses that make unique gifting a breeze. Read on for ten of our team’s favorite small shops in Omaha and beyond.

Courtesy of Chocolat Abeille

Sweet Favorite: Chocolat Abeille

This Old Market chocolate shop offers almost too pretty to eat morsels along with locally-sourced honey and other specialties. Their top seller lately? The internet famous hot cocoa bombs, which can be picked up locally or shipped nationwide. Stop into Chocolat Abeille for all of your elevated sweets needs!

Courtesy of Made in Omaha

All Local

Especially this year, it can make a huge difference to a community to spend money at locally-owned, independent businesses. When it comes to filling your home with holiday spirit and decor, there’s no better option in Omaha than North Downtown’s Prairie in Bloom Marketplace. To learn more about decorating tips and trends, we tapped owners Mark Kanitz and Lukas Rix. Read on for Prairie in Bloom’s pro suggestions for decking the halls.  

Courtesy of Prairie in Bloom 

Keep it Classic

Good quality faux greenery never goes out of style. Whether it’s a simple spray or Garland piece, you’ll always be able to layer new trends into simple, timeless greens. They make a rich base layer to start from for any seasonal decor vignettes, according to Kanitz and

A wood-burning fire crackling in the living room. The first batch of chili stewing in the crockpot. Pumpkins brightening up the porch.

It’s the most magical time of the year, as the fall foliage unfolds and cooler temperatures wash over the Great Plains. But how do you embrace the season with your own home decor scheme?

For some quick and easy ways to slide into fall, check out what two local designers had to say.

Brand new to Omaha is designer Nikki Njeri Klugh, CEO and Principal Designer of her own company. She shares that with shorter days and hibernation season approaching, it’s important to pay special attention to how your home can help keep you in a sunny, happy mood. That can be especially true in a sometimes harsh climate like the

As the temperatures begin to dip and the leaves begin to change, it’s prime time to explore Omaha’s thriving local coffee scene. With tons of cool shops sprinkled all over the city, from downtown to North O to out west and beyond, there are almost too many options out there. Check out some of our team’s favorite fall offerings from local Omaha coffee shops, sure to add a pep to your step on autumn mornings.

Stir Coffee Bar

The newest shop to open in the area, Legacy’s Stir Coffee Bar is a female-founded triumph in West Omaha. Their signature autumnal drink is the extra smooth S'mores Latte. Ingredients include espresso, milk of your choice, chocolate syrup, hickory wood smoked honey, and marshmallows. There are even graham crackers included,

Omaha currently has approximately 3600 homes that are deemed unsafe to live in; Of these, approximately 775 are on the list to be demolished. This has been a big problem in many ways. In demolition projects, as little as 40 percent of materials are salvaged. This leaves most of the wood, metal and other items wasted; filling up local landfills.

Jason Gillbreath, owner of Reclaimed Enterprises, has come up with inventive ways to save much of these homes in what is being called upcycling. The deconstructing process consists of carefully removing nails from walls, prying up flooring, pulling old sinks and counters and anything else salvageable from old, abandoned homes. All of these items will be re-purposed in various ways. New jobs, less waste and