Are you tired of shopping at the same old places for your Christmas gifts? Is the thought of fighting the crowd of shoppers at the mall enough to make you want to just hand out a bunch of gift cards this year? We have a solution. If you want to “shop outside the box” and try something new this year, here are a few unique places to shop for Christmas gifts in 2017.
- Fall Festivals. Every city has them, whether they are held at the local high school gym or your city’s convention center. These seasonal festivals are a great place to find unique gift items for everyone on your list. Because they occur in the fall, much of the merchandise available is comprised of the colors, tastes, and scents of the season, making it easy to find gifts appropriate for Christmas.
- Yard Sales. These can be a treasure trove of gift items, and often you can find a real bargain. That big bin of vintage record albums for sale? Perfect for the teen who wants to decorate her bedroom walls with old discs. That complete set of dishes? Just what the millennial moving into his own apartment needs. With many sellers, the more you buy the better deal you can negotiate. Bring your own bag and fill it up, then offer the seller one round price ($20 or so) for the whole kit and caboodle. You might be surprised what you can walk away with.
- Craft Fairs. These fairs happen all summer long and tend to continue into early fall, and can be a wonderful source for handcrafted artisan gifts. You can find wonderful items to decorate a home, unique original artwork, candles, lotions, and lots of unique, useful items. If you find a vendor you like, you can keep their contact information and take advantage of it throughout the year, when you may need a special birthday gift, wedding gift, or anniversary gift.
- Thrift Stores. These stores are another great source for one-of-a-kind gifts. Carnival glass for the collector, vintage dress patterns for your best friend who loves to sew, costume jewelry for the teen who can’t get enough, license plates and old signs for the rustic man cave, board games for family fun night, and furniture for the spare room. There’s no telling what you might find in these stores, and the merchandise is constantly being refreshed.
- Home Shows. Not sure what to get for the person on your list who loves to work in the yard and garden? Attend a home show and discover items you never knew existed. You can find all kinds of wonderful gifts at a home and garden show, from decorative to utilitarian, for the wine lover, coffee lover, organic gardener, decorator, designer, and handyman. Home shows offer one-of-a-kind gifts that you wouldn’t typically find in typical shopping malls or marketplaces.
You don’t have to drive to the mall in the snow, fight the hordes of shoppers searching for a bargain, and hope no one else got the same gifts you did when you shop at one of these unique places to find Christmas gifts. Take your time, plan ahead, and enjoy browsing through your local yard sales, craft fairs, fall festivals, thrift stores, and home shows for your gifts this year.
