Holiday Shopping on the Side Streets
Get out this Small Business Saturday, and every day, shop small, and explore the hidden gems and gift-giving treasures of Manhattan’s Side Streets! With endless unique, beautiful, quirky, crafty, and quality options, your friends and family will be thankful for you this holiday season!
Stock up on Christmas ornaments and decorations at Authentiques Past and Present (255 West 18th St). Its year-round collection of holiday goods has lent the store its second name, “Chelsea Christmas Shop.”
While in the Rockefeller Center area, be sure to stop by Rain (59 West 49th St), an incredible South African artisan soap boutique where the smells are magnificent and the staff both friendly and knowledgeable.
I hope that a book or two is on everyone’s gift list this year. Three Lives and Co (154 West 10th St) offers not only a wide variety of topics to choose from, and a clever staff to guide you, but also the ideal bookshop environment in which to simply spend time browsing.
What better time than the holidays to stock up on everything you could possibly need for baking? NY Cake & Baking Distributors (118 West 22nd St) is a mecca for baking supplies. Stacked from floor to ceiling there are thousands of items to help professionals and beginners prepare and decorate the best cakes, cupcakes, pies and absolutely anything else during the holiday season.
For those who are a bit more crafty, Beads of Paradise (16 East 17th St) is a perfect place to stop in and make a friend or family member a beautiful piece of jewelry, or simply to purchase the beads from the thousands that they offer from around the world. And, while in the Union Square neighborhood, be certain to visit the Union Square Holiday Market where there are dozens of merchants selling an eclectic mix of gift items and great food.
An excellent shop for gathering gifts for little ones, Kidding Around (60 West 15th St) has a selection of educational toys, games, puzzles, activity kits, books, musical instruments, dress up clothes, and much more.
There are many outstanding shops and boutiques on the side streets of Manhattan. 9th Street, however, just happens to have a welcoming array of choices gathered together in a short walking distance from one another. There is definitely an emphasis on vintage and antiques in this area, with some standouts being: Mr. Throwback (437 East 9th St), who is an avid collector of sneakers, sport jerseys and fun childhood toys and Fabulous Fanny’s (335 East 9th St) with a large assortment of interesting vintage eyewear.
In addition, 9th Street also has Flower Power (406 East 9th St), an herbal shop that will instantly take you back to the 60s and 70s; Sakaya (324 East 9th St), the only shop in the city devoted entirely to sake; and Dinosaur Hill (306 East 9th St), with games, a selection of hand-carved toys, marionettes, puppets, and many other items that will delight children and adults.
