Holiday Shopping Part One: Your Road Map for the Lakeshore
The holiday season is in full swing. With the lack of snow on the ground you may find yourself a bit behind on your Christmas shopping. Don’t let shopping be a chore this year; it can quickly become stressful when you find yourself driving from store to store making multiple trips back and forth. Let us help you this season.
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Below we have provided a road map for holiday shopping along the Lakeshore. Whether you live in Saugatuck, Douglas, Zeeland, Holland, or Grand Haven, we have you covered. Minimize your driving as most of the towns below have the ease of simply parking your car and setting off on foot to find unique, local gifts for every personality on your list. Also listed in our road map are great coffee shops, pubs, and restaurants to check out after you have worked up an appetite, or need a break in the shopping day. Ladies, call up you girlfriends and plan a day out. Guys, we hope this helps make shopping a bit easier for you this year. Enjoy, and take in all the holiday cheer the Lakeshore has to offer this Christmas season.
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Visit Saugatuck and Douglas
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The Art Aficionado: For that person in your life who loves finding unique and one-of-a-kind art pieces, be sure to visit Good Goods. They have over 150 artists who provide the finest hand-made goods that will instantly liven up your house or yard.
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The Fashionista: Swing into For The Love of Shoes to find the shoes, active, lounging, or dressy apparel for the Fashionista on your list. For The Love of Shoes prides themselves on providing stylish yet comfortable clothes.
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The Proud Michigander: Check out Landshark's for a wide range of Michigan inspired tee-shirts any Michigan enthusiast would love. You can also find a multitude of amazing items ranging from bags, footwear, jewelry, headbands, summer and winter clothing.
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Lunch Break: After visiting these three places head over to The Southerner for a delicious lunch. The Southerner offers a menu full of Southern-style fixings including fried chicken, shrimp and grits, and many other delicious choices.
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The Workaholic: For that person in your life who desperately needs a getaway visit Lakeshore Lodging. Surprise them with a beautiful rental house for a few days in the beautiful Saugatuck area. Or provide a handful of vacation ideas to help them slowdown in the upcoming year.
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The Wine Lover: When shopping for The Wine Lover on your list stop by Petter Wine Gallery. They offer a great selection of wines, hand-poured chocolates, and unique cheeses. You can even participate in wine tasting while in the store if you desire!
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Dinner: After a long day of shopping head over to Saugatuck Brewing Company. They are known for their unique food, rotating taps, friendly staff, and all around enjoyable experience. After dinner consider gifting the beer lover on your list with a brewmaster session, where they can brew their own beer. Saugatuck Brewing Company is the only microbrewery in Michigan who has a Brew-On-Premise license.
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Visit Zeeland
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The Accessory Queen: Whether it be a unique set of earrings, a ring on every finger, or the coolest home decor, find the perfect gift for the Accessory Queen on your list at On Silver Shores.
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The Overflowing Closet: Swing by Clothes Junkie to find a great gift for the woman in your life who never has anything to wear despite her jam-packed closet. Here you will find an assortment of new and gently used women’s clothing.
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The Social Justice Activist: Are you buying for someone who is less materialistic and cares more about supporting good causes? If yes, head to Better Way Imports to order hand crafted bags, jewelry, accessories, and other items from women across the world fighting oppression and seeking hope by making an income through the North American marketplace.
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Dinner: When the exhaustion kicks in and your stomach is calling for food head to Tripelroot. They are an awesome brew pub offering stonebreads, appetizers, and salads with a great selection of craft beers.
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Visit Downtown Holland
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Start your Holland shopping day off right with a cup of coffee at the popular Lemonjello’s Coffee shop. If you’re not feeling coffee, order a delicious hot chocolate, tea, or chai and snack on a muffin or cinnamon roll while you’re at it.
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The Accessory Queen: Thomas A. Davis provides the answer to any of your shopping troubles. Who doesn’t love a nice new piece of jewelry? Check this store out for beautiful gems, rings, and watches.
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The Artist: Head to Fris Downtown for all things art. Art supplies, gifts, framing and matting, they have it all. You can even attend do-it-yourself classes to create your own masterpiece.
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The Bookworm: For that someone who always has their nose in a good book, visit Reader’s World for great reading material.
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The HGTV Buff: For those on your shopping list who are always looking to redecorate their homes, head to HOM by Benchmark for cabinetry, tableware, home decor, and fine furniture. Also, swing by Teerman’s for a handful of great home products. Find unique kitchen tools, cookware, dinnerware, home accessories, clocks, electronics, and patio furniture.
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Brunch: When you hit your mid-morning hunger because you skipped breakfast while planning your shopping adventure, head over to the Windmill Restaurant for an amazing breakfast.
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The Fashionista: If you are shopping for a woman who loves to show off her sense of style, check out these women’s boutique clothing stores: Tikal, Frances Jaye, Blu Veranda, jb and me, Spring Sweet and Studio K.
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Their First Christmas: If you have a little one on your list experiencing their first Christmas, swing by Tip Toes to find the best selection of gifts for children. From must have baby essentials to clothes, toys, and blankets, they have it all.
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The Fitness Freak: Check out Gazelle Sports for all of the running and athletic gear you can think of ranging from footwear to awesome athletic apparel.
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Lunch Break: There is no shortage of great lunch spots downtown Holland. Might we suggest New Holland Brewing Co. They have a great atmosphere and offer a wide variety of beer, spirits, cocktails, and tasty food.
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The Foodie: When shopping for someone who is always looking to boost the flavor of their meals, visit The Seasoned Home. They are home to any and all the seasonings or spices you can imagine. Find gourmet foods, loose-leaf teas, kitchen items, serving ware, and home décor.
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The Mission Impossible: For those on your list who never give you any gift ideas, check out Karla’s Place for unique one-of-a-kind gifts. They offer many different kinds of accessories ranging from jewelry, to home decor, to handmade items. Apothecary Gift Shop is also home to a wide variety of gifts perfect for the holiday season. Puzzles, games, toys, gourmet food, beverages, home decor, fashion accessories, jewelry, and more.
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Dinner: By the end of a long shopping day a delicious, hand crafted meal is a must. Butch’s Restaurant has the perfect dinner plate for you. They have a distinctive dinner menu, alongside an amazing selection of wine and beer.
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The Shoe Addict: When shopping for the person who loves shoes, head to Borr’s Shoes & Accessories. They offer a large selection of fashionable and practical shoes for both men and women.
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The Sweet Tooth: Holland Peanut Store is perfect for the family member on your list who has a sweet tooth. The candy shop has an amazing assortment of chocolates, peanuts, unique and old-fashioned candy. You name it, they have it. Plus, candy makes for the perfect stocking stuffer.
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Visit Grand Haven
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Art Aficionado: If you are looking for hand-crafted artwork, be sure to swing into C2C Gallery. They house a multitude of unique gifts from paintings, to photographs, sculptures, jewelry, and textiles.
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Sweet Tooth: If you need to buy a gift for the sweet tooth in your life, Grand Haven is the place to be. Be sure to stop at all three of these businesses for your holiday sweets.
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- Patricia’s Chocolate offers handmade, preservative free “art that melts”. If you are looking for some of the rarest and most unique chocolate in the world, visit Patricia!
- Chocolates by Grimaldi is Grand Haven’s family-owned and operated chocolate factory. Eliminating preservatives and other ingredients leads to pure, handmade chocolate to be enjoyed by your loved ones. Sample their popular Chips n’ Chocolate, fall in love with it, and then buy it for all of the sweet tooth lover on your list.
- Blueberry Haven offers a different kind of taste for your sweet tooth. Visit their store to find a massive selection of blueberry products including jams, dried blueberries, trail mix, and chocolate covered blueberries. If you want a variety of items, buy one of their great, customizable gift boxes or crates.
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Lunch: Is it finally time for a lunch break? If so, check out Electric Hero for a delicious assortment of sandwiches. Turkey, beef, chicken, Italian meats, vegetarian, and grilled cheese sandwiches can be enjoyed along with soups and salads at Electric Hero.
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Are you planning a day trip to Grand Rapids before Christmas day comes? Check out our Holiday Shopping Roadmap to Grand Rapids.