That thing breathing down your neck is Dec. 14, Amazon’s deadline this year for free shipping on orders from non-Prime accounts to have them delivered by Christmas Eve. On the other hand, shopping local for holiday gifts, in addition to its other economic and cultural benefits, eliminates Amazon shipping anxiety. Plus, gifts with a sense of place can be especially thoughtful. With all that in mind, below are “very Huntsville” holiday gift ideas, for budgets small to blockbuster.

Coffee

Kaffeeklatsch roasts its coffee beans with a machine that’s almost a hundred years old. Roasting produces a complex aroma that wafts in the air downtown. That aroma has Pied Piper-ed many a first-time customer into Kaffeeklatsch since it opened in 1977. Located at 103 Jefferson St. N., the ‘Klatsch gets its beans from places like Indonesia, Columbia and Kenya. Half-pound bags of beans are around $10 and 1-pound bags are about $20. More info at kaffeeklatsch.com.

Music

For its 1971 self-titled debut, the Huntsville band Felt mixed prog and hippie rock with fantastic results. Felt never broke big. But original vinyl pressings of its cult-favorite debut now can go for thousands of dollars. Right now, small but mighty Black Rose Records, 7914 Memorial Parkway SW, has a copy of a sealed 2013-ish reissue for $75.

For a recent release, consider the debut EP by talented local indie-rock trio Dweeby, available at both Black Rose and Vertical House Records, which is at arts center Lowe Mill, 2211 Seminole Drive. CD copies go for around 10 bucks.

Both Vertical House and Black Rose stock an array of HSV-centric releases, both new and used. Those can range from used copies of folk-rock band Ratchell’s 1971 debut album to recently released 1984 recordings by local punk legends Dead Pigeons to a vintage disco compilation by defunct Huntsville club Patricks (no apostrophe).

Chocolates

This year, a USA Today poll named Huntsville’s Pizzelle’s Confections the best chocolate shop in the U.S. They deserve the props. Pizzelle’s bonbons, which often have an exterior that looks like modern art, include the Nutty by Nature (peanut butter, peanut praline ganache, marshmallow, dark chocolate shell) and El Machete (ganache, cayenne pepper, Ceylon cinnamon, coffee liqueur, vanilla bean, dark chocolate shell). Located at 2500 Clinton Ave. W. at Campus No. 805, Pizzelle does boxes of bonbons starting at $14.20 for a four piece to $82.20 for a 24-piece. More info at pizzellesconfections.com.

Books

Snail on the Wall, 816 Wellman Ave. and online at snailonthewall.com, is a charming/cozy indie bookstore that opened this year in Five Points. Its shelves include a section dedicated to local authors like Robert Bailey. A local attorney, Bailey has sold more than a million books, many of which are Southern legal thrillers that will appeal to John Grisham fans. Copies of his most recent title, 2023′s “Rich Waters,” are around $17. Bailey’s books have been published in Japan and he has readers in Australia and elsewhere abroad. In 2022, he told me he thinks the appeal to those readers is a sense of escape. “They’re getting to visit some place they’ve never been to before,” Bailey said.

Outdoors

Besides fam, friends and cats, Monte Sano State Park is my favorite thing about my hometown. More than 2,000 acres of easy access misty mountain hopping, including some 20 miles of hiking trails and 14 miles of biking trails. Admission to Monte Sano is $5 per adult. Two bucks for seniors and kids 4 to 11, and vets/active military get in free. If you love nature though, the move is an annual pass: $100 adults, $150 family, $50 seniors. More at alapark.com.

Vintage clothes

Huntsville is home to several vintage clothing stores, including Cherries, at 2801 Governors Drive SW. Its stock ranges from a $50 T-shirt from bygone minor league baseball team Huntsville Stars to a $250 circa-1970s jacket from bygone J.O. Johnson High School. More at etsy.com/shop/CherriesCollection.

Guitars

Danny Davis spent about 30 years as a NASA engineer, working on projects ranging from propulsion systems to a space telescope. For the past decade or so, Davis puts that science into making world-class acoustic guitars, which have found their way to the likes of the Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson and local heroes like Dave Anderson and Mike Roberts. Danny Davis Guitars’ current stock includes a honey-toned triple-aught parlor guitar, similar to Robinson’s, which goes for $3,800.

Space Camp

The most Huntsville gift ever? Space Camp, obviously. Past attendees include Elon Musk, future astronauts like Samantha Christoforetti and the offspring of celebs including Tom Hanks and Bruce Springsteen. Tuition for a week of astronaut-inspired training starts at $1,800. More info at rocketcenter.com/SpaceCamp.