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Hometown holiday shopping
Hometown holiday shopping LOCAL SHOPS OFFER UNIQUE GIFTS, GREAT SERVICE
by Sandra Landen Machaj
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Where to begin?
It seems from October until the first of the year, it is one season after another for all to celebrate. As people recover from the splendor of Thanksgiving, they realize that Christmas is just around the corner.
Christmas is perhaps the busiest season of the year, as everyone hurries to get everything perfect for the holiday. Decorating the house – inside and out – baking those favorite Christmas cookies, but not so far in advance that they all get eaten before Christmas arrives, writing Christmas cards to send to friends and family, especially those who are far away and unable to share the holiday season with us.
So begins the time of replacing the fall décor with the beauty of Christmas, thus turning homes into a wintery, Christmas Wonderland. For those in the Midwest, decorating the outside of the home is often the first job on the list, before the reality of a Midwest winter sets in, with snow, sleet and below zero temperatures.
Before attaching outdoor displays, check for burned out lights and frayed wires and replace those before attaching them to a home. A safe holiday display is most important. This might be the year to revise indoor and outdoor displays. Decorations abound
Check local stores for current new items to add to holiday decorations. Or consider checking some antique stores, such as Always Remember That Antique Mall, in Paddock Lake, where they have a large display of antique Christmas items and also some new items such as hand painted shovels and sleds by a local artist, or a combination of an old sled and a new painting. One can never know what they’ll find in an antique mall, not just decorations but gifts for the collector in a family.
“With 100 vendors offering a variety of merchandise from collectibles to seasonal designs, there is sure to be something to appeal,” said Judy Kutzler, who along with her husband, Jim, own Always Remember That Antique Mall.
Finding a special item among the many available – especially among the many collectibles – brings a smile to one’s face knowing that someone on the list will be pleased when they open their gift.
Christmas shopping is both the most loved and most hated job of the season – hated because it takes so much time and energy, loved because finding the perfect unique gift for loved ones is one of the highlights of the season. Shopping for real
So, how to shop? For the past couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more people avoided actively shopping and went online to order.
While this may save time, it doesn’t necessarily get one into the spirit of the holidays nor does it help the businesses in your community if you are ordering from the big box stores.
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above: The advantage of an artificial tree is the ability to choose one that will fit in the space you have available. For this corner a tall slim tree is what is needed. top right: Consider these painted shovels and sled either as a gift or a decoration for your house. at right: Hand painted wine glasses with whimsical pictures are perfect for Christmas or perhaps one with the person’s favorite character.
SANDRA LANDEN MACHAJ Spirit of Geneva Lakes
Going to local businesses, where the stores are decorated in holiday themes and with many playing holiday music, helps to put the shopper in the Christmas frame of mind. Shopping at local stores, including the smaller local boutique stores found in the Geneva Lakes area, is a great way to find those truly special items to please those on a gift list.
Shopping in local smaller stores also helps keeps friends and neighbors employed.
For Wendy Staller, who with her husband, Joe, is owner of Staller Estate Winery on Hwy A in Delavan, the winery offers a variety of activities during the holiday season. Schedule a winery event with friends enjoying a glass of wine and some charcuterie while sharing holiday greetings.
While there, peruse the gift shop and consider some of the special wine items for someone on a gift list. Special hand-painted wine glasses, wine holders, and a variety of locally made cheeses are available for sale.
For the wine lover on your list, consider a bottle of Staller’s wine or, even better, a membership in their wine club or cheese and wine club. The wine for the wine club recipient is picked up at the vineyard every two months.
If looking for a different type of liquor for a gift or to serve at holiday events, Aeppel Treow Winery, in Burlington, is the place to shop. They produce hard ciders made from apples or pears, in addition to champagne-style wines, brandies and afterdinner aperitifs.
Their wines can be ordered online and shipped via Vino Shipper. Order early as close to the holidays, delivery may be slow. Christmas in the Country
While people may think about shopping at The Apple Barn in Elkhorn during the apple season, it is a good place to add to a shopping list for the holidays.
Each winter, they hold a “Christmas In the Country” event where local artisans display a variety of handmade home decorations and crafts. Everything from Christmas ornaments, handmade mittens and gloves and holiday décor can be found there. Items there are unique and likely affordable.
The regular Country Store items – homemade jams and jellies and local honey along with the country home décor usually found there are also available for gift shopping. They make wonderful stocking stuffers.
Stop and visit the award-winning fruit wines created on site to add to someone’s Christmas stocking or gift, or even purchase some for holiday entertaining.
The event is held every weekend, Friday through Sunday from the middle of
November through Dec. 11.
Wondering where to find special and unique Christmas cards? Try the Elkhorn Chamber of Commerce. Purchase the beautiful winter scenes which each year represent Elkhorn – snowy Christmas scenes of the community looking like a winter wonderland.
The community was named the Christmas Card town after an executive of Ford commissioned artist Cecile Johnson to paint six watercolors of the Christmas Community for their magazine and tagged them the Christmas card town. Each year, a new set of cards is available, a reproduction of that year’s paintings.
For those who are difficult to shop for, try gift cards to their favorite restaurants. Who doesn’t love a pizza from Gino’s East in Lake Geneva or Luisa’s in Wheatland? Or enjoy a meal at Mars Resort while enjoying the beautiful view of Como Lake. Pick the person’s favorite restaurant or check the latest issue of Spirit of Geneva Lakes for restaurant suggestions sure to please. It’s not Christmas without a tree
For those who enjoy an artificial Christmas tree, bringing it down from the attic or up from the basement is all that is needed to get it in place. For those who have a pre-lit tree, the hardest and least enjoyable job – putting on the lights – is already finished. All is left is the fun, adding the ornaments and other decorative items to the tree and placing the angel or star on top making it a special tree.
For the true purist, there is nothing like a real live tree for Christmas. When entering a home, the aroma of the fresh pine permeates the entire home. There are several Christmas tree farms in the area where families have a choice of choosing a freshly cut tree or the ability to cut their own.
Evergreen Acres Christmas Tree Farm in East Troy is one that offer customers a choice of cutting their own tree or choosing from one of the freshly cut Frasier Firs up to 11 feet tall for their home. They start selling trees on Nov. 25 and continue until they are sold out.
Picking out or cutting a tree is a great holiday tradition for the whole family. Choosing the perfect tree may be an easy job or it may be difficult as each person has their own idea of what is the perfect tree for the family.
While out for the tree, pick up wreaths, garlands, and other decorative greens needed for decorating at home.
Once home, spend the day decorating the tree as a family, making it everyone’s tree. Enjoy pulling out the favorite ornaments and deciding where they go on the tree. Also bring in some new ornaments to give the tree a new look.
Many stores in the area have ornaments representing the area. Lake Geneva ornaments can be found at the Geneva Lake Museum and local stores.
Once the tree is finished, it is time to bring out the hot chocolate and some of those Christmas cookies.
Christmas is a family time and be certain that to enjoy that time together. It is a time to welcome new members into the family who have joined due to marriage or the birth of new babies. It is also a time to remember the Christmas’ of the past.
Shop locally downtown Lake Geneva.
