With just a few shopping days left until Christmas, you may be scrambling to find gifts for some of the special people in your life. Sure, you could drive an hour away to one of the bigger shopping centers, but why deal with the crowds, the crammed parking lots and the time spent in the car when you could be baking cookies? Keeping your shopping local supports your community businesses and is sure to be a much more pleasant experience.
St. Joseph is a perfect place to spend an afternoon shopping, with a nice selection of shops to choose from and plenty of restaurants and cafes where you can pop in and enjoy lunch or hot cup of cocoa. Twinkling lights, horse-drawn tours and a Santa house give the downtown an even more festive feeling. And even though the streets are usually bustling this time of year, you can always find a place to park and it never feels claustrophobic. I’ll highlight some of my favorite shops in downtown St. Joe that feature great gift potential for kids. Hopefully you’ll be inspired to head down and finish your shopping there.
Crocheted hat, La Dee Da Children's Boutique. Look at that detail!
First, stop by La Dee Da Children’s Boutique at 314 State Street to pick up a unique gift for a baby or child in your life. The boutique features adorable, unique clothes, a selection of high-quality toys and gifts, nursery decor, cloth diapers, slings, skin products, and more. I squealed when I saw this too-cute-for-words crocheted hat ($29.99, made in the USA)–can you imagine that bit of adorableness on your baby’s head?
If you can’t make it downtown, try La Dee Da’s online boutique. You can also follow La Dee Da on Facebook for up-to-date information on new products and special events.
Forever Books, St. Joseph MI
Just one door down at 312 State St., be sure to stop into Forever Books. Featuring a great selection of kids’ titles from picture books through young adult, a nice fiction section and a good selection of new non-fiction as well, it’s easy to find something for any member of your family including the little ones. You’ll also find beautiful and unique journals, bookmarks, and other gifts for lovers of words. The staff is friendly and helpful and actually read the books they sell-and it shows. Make sure you get entered in the computer system when you check out, as frequent shoppers earn rewards (believe me, I know.) Remember: spending time in a local bookstore is a great way to nurture a love of reading in your kids!
The Toy Company in downtown St. Joseph, MI
If you can manage to bypass Chartreuse Art Gallery, the Chocolate Cafe, Perennial Accents (which will be offering kid’s cooking classes starting in March; see class schedule on website for details) and the rest of the State St. strip without using up all your shopping time, be sure to head down to The Toy Company at the north end of State St for a great selection of creative, high-quality toys including Playmobil, Groovy Girls, Thomas the Tank Engine, Rokenbok, PLAN, Melissa & Doug, Webkinz, and many surprises. We got our nine-month-old Clara her first “real” dolly from The Toy Company, an adorable soft rag doll made by Stephan Baby. Can’t wait until she opens it in just a few short days. That reminds me…time to get back to wrapping gifts. Have a wonderful holiday season in Southwest Michigan!