Last minute shopping - think out of the box

by Diane Hettrick

Am I the only one who hasn't gone Christmas shopping yet?

It's part of my plan to de-stress the holiday, and back off from the relentless cycle of spending too much money I don't have on things that people don't want and won't keep.

I prefer to stay close to home to shop - parking, driving time, lack of crowds - the heck with supporting local businesses as a reason - it's all about me and making my life easier.

So help me think about places to shop to get gifts that people might actually appreciate (besides cash).

Fred Meyer. An honest to goodness department store in Shoreline. I wonder how that happened. I don't go there looking for specific things. I just wander and let myself be surprised.

Sky Nursery. The staff there are fabulous. One year I went to the house plant section, found a worker, and said "I want plants for people in inside offices with no natural light, who will forget to water them and when they remember, they will empty their cups of cold coffee into the dirt." I came out with four gorgeous, abuse-tolerant plants. I gave my brother-in-law, the Serious Gardener, a set of thick, green, kneeling pads. They're selling ferns right now - use them for decoration and plant them after the holidays.

Dinners Ready - There's one at Gateway Plaza, 206-546-6464 . One of our FaceBook readers said to get gift certificates for dinners for young, busy families.

Bartell's has a whole row of gift shop type stuff that you get for people when you don't know what they want. They also have the best cards in town, although Ballinger Thriftway is excellent, as is Beach House Gifts in Richmond Highlands.

Central Market. The only problem with going in to Central Market is that they have so much, you may never come out again. They have all kinds of things for gifts - interesting containers, soaps, exotic foodstuffs. In years where I felt ambitious, I made Soup in a Jar, and found all the ingredients at Central Market.

Scrapbooking. If there is anyone in your life who scrapbooks, there's a wonderful store right in Aurora Square. Buy a papercutter that cuts stars, or just get a gift certificate.

Two Trading Tigers, in LFP Towne Centre, is a consignment shop with an Asian influence. They have interesting stuff and never more than a few of each item.

How about a bottle of good wine? Larry will help you find the right one at North City Bistro and Wine Shop.

Third Place Books.  Books of all kinds and a gift shop with the oddest gifts outside of Archie McFee's.

Don't forget the boys' toy stores. Home Depot at Aurora Village.   Towne Centre Hardware in LFP is more like an old-fashioned general store than a tool shop.  Tweedy and Popp in Richmond Highlands.

Buy an art work. We have a gallery in the Shoreline City Hall and in LFP Towne Centre.

That's as far as I have gotten. Any other ideas?