Gift giving is an art, and for some people, it can be a difficult one. While it’s hard to go wrong with floral soaps, gingerbread candles, pocketknives and dishware this Christmas season, we all have those people in our lives who deserve only the best, but are simply not cut from that, well, “normal” cloth. 

These are the people who herald Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) as one of the best holiday films and sincerely appreciate the aesthetic qualities of Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). 

These are the people whose favorite part of A Christmas Carol is all of the ghosts and who burn cinnamon incense to set the holiday mood before a pine scented candle. 

For those in your life who dearly miss Halloween, here are some of the best local artists and businesses that will provide the most unusual Christmas presents. 

Bewitched Oddities (25 East 8th Ave.) is a soon-to-be new shop in town, set to open in early December. It is packed full of tried and true curiosities. Located in the heart of downtown Eugene, this gothic, witchy abode carries a variety of sustainably sourced taxidermy, wet specimens (think dead goats, kangaroos or leeches preserved in a jar), bugs and bones (such as monkey and bobcat skulls), as well as gorgeous jewelry, vintage items, lots of tarot cards and plenty of other oddities suitable for all ages.

Kalina Mills has been an artist for five years, mostly making domes and other decorative pieces of art that incorporate nature, such as colorful dried flowers, butterflies and the like. You may have seen her at various events and markets, or maybe you’ve participated in her packed Instagram live sales. 

Mills will not only sell her own pieces, but she’s consigned and credited many other of her artist friends around the country as well. “If you want something like this, usually you have to go online. I wanted to make one stop where you can find it all,” she says. Because of that, she’ll soon host art classes for pinning bugs and making domes, and plans on bringing in artists who specialize in taxidermy and wet specimens to also teach classes.

A local artist whose items you can find in Bewitched Oddities (and elsewhere) is Sisters Curiosities (@sisterscuriosities). Using antique frames and vintage glass domes, these sisters make displays out of ethically sourced animal skulls, foliage, butterflies, insects and moss. Trinity Blade, one of the two sisters, says their art is “showcasing how beautiful nature is, but also showing the intimate connection between life and death, while adding some whimsical fantasy aspects.” 

Bree Bidwell (@halfbaked_creations) is also an oddity dome artist, and she got her start through taking Mills’ classes. Now she’s Halfbaked Creations, and while many of her entomological sculptures are whimsical and bright, she’s no stranger to darker art, or pieces inspired by television and film. “It’s just kind of whatever vibe I’m feeling for that day,” she says.

If you’re looking for something that’s probably a little more artificial, let me direct you to Mr. Fever of Fever’d Imagination (541-905-2152). If you’ve been to the Piccadilly Flea Market, surely you’ve seen the bug guy. Michael Hitt, otherwise known as Mr. Fever, uses beads and pieces of jewelry to handmake grasshoppers, dragonflies, spiders, centipedes, scorpions, butterflies and any other insect you can name. “I’ve made some funky, funky stuff,” he says, “and I thought I’d never sell it because it’s so weird.” 

He’s found a large audience with his bug art, and he’s experimented with many different shapes, sizes and “figments of my imagination,” he says. “I’m just trying to be as creative as possible. And I got a pretty active mind.” Mr. Fever’s critters make the perfect statement pieces, Christmas ornaments and pretty little buddies. 

If you want something absolutely haunted, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Time Travelers Antique Mall (2020 Main Street, Springfield). Aside from carrying a collection of genuine glass eyeballs, vintage medical and military tools, one of the oldest Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist dummies in the world (made with the owner’s real hair), and more old toys and clowns than your grandma has on her creepy doll shelf, the 13,000-square-foot mall also has a ton of old photographs and paintings where “you just know they’re looking at you,” owner Janice Niemala says. “Sometimes people buy things, and we’re like, ‘Thank you for getting rid of this for us, it creeps me out.’”

Another magical Springfield treasure trove of the strangest and most fun odds and ends, is, well, imagine a garage that used to be a strip club. That’s exactly what this place is, and it has possibly the best name for an antique store ever: The Little Shop of Hoarders (2251 Main Street, Springfield). Well, it’s not actually a garage — but its current building used to be a strip club. Little Shop is just like Doctor Who’s TARDIS, where it’s small and dainty on the outside, but huge on the inside — and then even more appears. Opened by Diane Czech 25 years ago (who passed away in 2024), the family-owned business has 13 vendors, most of whom have been with them since the shop opened, says Mark Rabaya, Czech’s son. Rabaya says the store aims to sell “unique, one-of-a-kind gifts” that you won’t find anywhere else.

The store is slower-paced and quite “mellow,” as longtime vendor Jake Lewis describes. But it absolutely has its fair share of knick knacks, dolls (I saw the most uncanny Little Orphan Annie hiding in the shadows) and decidedly haunted objects. “We’re all hoarders or whatever, but not really,” vendor Mark Zurfluh says of the people who sell their items out of the store.

They’ve got old Coke bottles, tools, rocks and gems, vintage signs, ’80s toys and other antiques (many of which are displayed prominently in the center of the room, which used to be the stage), and everything in between. “We really focus on keeping our pieces low-priced,” Lewis says. By maintaining a cash and check only system, they are able to keep the prices of most items in the shop down to what you’d have as pocket change. As you browse, be sure to say hi to Little Shop’s orange tabby cat mascot, Simba.

While you’re in Springfield, don’t forget your essential stop at The Crypt (226 7th Street). With the biggest punk-rock-goth-alt vibe of them all, you’re sure to find a collection of vintage outfits and items to make your Y2K vampire dreams come true. It has plenty of old dolls and clowns, leather and lace, sustainably sourced taxidermy, and a solid collection of horror VHS tapes just perfect for the Christmas season.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, and your unusual, witchy and alternative friends will absolutely adore your presents regardless of what they are. To quote Jack Skellington, “There’s children throwing snowballs, instead of throwing heads. They’re busy building toys and absolutely no one’s dead.”