The Christmas shopping hasn’t gone so well, maybe because I’ve spent the entire season way behind the power curve. Projects, decorating and shopping have all been started. None have yet been finished, and with only six days until Christmas, I’m feeling the heat.
So I thought I’d open a thread where readers could share great gift ideas from local establishments. For example: I’ve really enjoyed Jolie Boutique’s 12 days of Christmas e-mails, which suggest gifts at various price points. My daughter and I stopped at the store at 937 Curtiss St. a few minutes before closing last night and snagged presents for the cousins: a plaid scarf for the high school freshman and a cute metal message board and lip pomade for her 13-year-old sister.
I’m also planning on picking up a Downers Grove Park District gift card for my nephew, who is quite the young baseball player. He’ll use it to reserve a batting cage at the Rec Center beginning in January, but the cards, which are available in all denominations, may be used for any recreational program.
Other gifts with a “taste of Downers Grove” include downtown gift certificates available at the Downtown Management Corp. offices at 933A Curtiss St. and a calendar of Downers Grove landmarks created by sixth grade students at Henry Puffer School.
The students teamed with Village Hall to produce the calendar (pictured above), which features such favorite scenes as Prince Pond, Lyman Woods, the Main Street train station and the Tivoli. It’s available at Anderson’s Book Shop.
These are just a few ideas. Feel free to add your suggestions below.
Nothing says ‘Happy Holidays’ like showing up at Aunt Sadie’s on Christmas Day with a few growlers of 1 a.m. Ale from Emmitt’s (to make Uncle Sal’s political rants more tolerable), a bottle of Pinot Noir from the Cellar Door (to make your cousin Mark more tolerable) and a bottle of artisan olive oil from The Olive Tap, to douse the burnt roast with.
Better make that 2 bottles of Pinot..
Love the growler idea. Have just the family member in mind for that.
Style Studio has Scout collaspible coolers for people who throw a lot of parties – they are more attractive than the hardside plastics. They also have reusable totes I will be using as gift wrap rather than a gift bag. Avec panache has cute reusable totes that can fold up into nothing too.
My 24-year-old son is getting an Aurelio’s gift card. He moved out this year, has student loans and is back in school (this time on his own dime). My daughter is getting the free $5 gift card they give you (college student home for Christmas break).
The Puffer School calendar is so cute (and is only $5.oo) and the proceeds are going to be usd by the students to make improvements around town. The first improvement they are planning is to add more bike racks to the downtown area. What a great community service project for their school.
Thanks for adding that Trish. I neglected that important piece of info in my post.