Photograph by Nicole Wolf

This holiday season, buy the kids in your life something local — and healthy. In 2008, Cammie and Kip Weeks started Eco-Kids (207-899-2752, www.eco-kidsusa.com) a Portland-based company that makes natural play dough, paints, and other safe, creative products. The paints, which come in five colors, are powdered, to be mixed with water. And while the eco-dough resembles that bigger brand, the ingredients are all natural: flour, salt, cream of tartar, organic rosemary oil, vitamin E oil, soybean oil, coconut oil, potassium sorbate, citric acid, natural and organic fruit, plant and vegetable extracts from annatto seed, beets, blueberries, carrots, paprika, purple sweet potato, red cabbage, and spinach. Look for all the products, which include colored pencils, pads of paper, and rolling pins, at large and small retailers across the country.