Small Business Saturday might be over, but it isn’t too late to shop locally. Whether you’re shopping for trending books and games for children, self-care goodies for your best friend, or bespoke artwork for the person who has it all, look no further than Lexington Center.
LexObserver stopped into some of the town’s small businesses to see what products are flying off the shelves this holiday shopping season. Here is what we found:
Lex Art’s Holiday Marketplace at 130 Waltham St.
Everyone has experienced the struggle of shopping for the person who seems to have it all. When in doubt, you can never go wrong with gifting one-of-a-kind art made by local artisans. If you’re in the market for just that, check out Lexington Arts & Crafts Society’s Annual Holiday Marketplace at 130 Waltham St., which will be open from Dec. 1 to Dec. 24. The marketplace, which features handmade art crafted by the local artists who are members of Lex Art, occupies three rooms of the society’s Lexington Center building. Shoppers can buy fine silver jewelry, framed oil paintings, ornaments, photography, stained glass art, ceramics, woven pieces such as scarves, hats, and gloves, and more.
Maxima Book Center at 1717 Massachusetts Ave.
Maxima Book Center is the place to go if you’re shopping for a book worm or need to grab a treat for a child in your life. Of course, the local shop at 1717 Mass. Ave. has a large variety of books including best-selling fiction novels, non-fiction, mysteries, and more. But they also have a selection of books on the history of Lexington if you’re shopping for someone in town. The store also has gifts for children such as wooden toy sets, stuffed animals, puzzles, puppets, and stickers.
Center Goods at 30 Waltham St.
Center Goods on Waltham St. will help you shop sustainably and ethically this holiday season with their eco-friendly goods. Store employees told LexObserver the store is a great place to shop for practical gifts such as powdered laundry detergent or toilet paper made from recycled materials. They also offer various items that would make great stocking stuffers for your climate-conscious loved ones, such as lip balm packaged in compostable materials, holiday-scented soy and bee’s wax candles, DIY cocktail jars pre-filled with dehydrated fruits that can be infused with the liquor of your choosing, and much more.
The Music Emporium at 165 Mass. Ave.
Want to go big for the music lover in your life? The Music Emporium specializes in boutique and vintage acoustic and electric guitars, as well as banjos, mandolins, and accessories like handwoven guitar straps. This legendary store, run by lifelong musicians, guitar collectors, and music educators, has been in business since 1968. No matter how seasoned the musician you’re shopping for is, Music Emporium’s knowledgeable staff can help you find the perfect gift.
Omar’s World of Comics at 20 Waltham St.
Omar’s World of Comics is filled to the brim with new and used graphic novels that will suit people of all ages and interests. In the children’s section, the local comics store has a variety of Bluey picture books, among others, and in the adult section, store staff told LexObserver its graphic novel cookbooks have been a big hit. In addition to comics, the store sells Pokémon and Magic the Gathering trading cards, which Omar’s staff said are popular, and various figurines depicting popular characters from the Transformers movies, Sesame Street, Godzilla, and more.
The Dragonfly Boutique at 1656 Mass. Ave.
This new women’s clothing store on Mass Ave. is the perfect place to shop for your mother, daughter, or best friend. The staff often help customers curate customized gift baskets filled with items sold in their store. This holiday season, staff have helped shoppers make spa-themed baskets complete with bath salts and candles and baskets for people who like reading with one of the store’s many self help books and an acrylic book mark. Dragonfly Boutique’s oil diffusers are particularly popular this season, especially the holiday fragrance.
Crafty Yankee at 1838 Mass. Ave.
Crafty Yankee is the place to shop if you’re looking to buy for a holiday party host or stock up on festive decor for your home. The store’s staff told LexObserver they often help customers find gifts based on their budget and who they’re shopping for. For example, they might point customers in the direction of their homeware such as glasses and platters if they’re shopping for a new homeowner. If a customer is shopping for their wife, mother, or daughter, they might point them toward their large jewelry selection or candles. Crafty Yankee also sells a variety of Lexington swag such as crew neck sweatshirts, tee shirts, hats, and homeware.
House 403 at 403 Waltham St.
If you’re shopping for a wellness guru, stop into House 403, a new community wellness space on Waltham St. Inside, you can grab a coffee from the espresso bar, take a yoga class centered around meditation and mindful movement, get a haircut at the organic hair salon, have dry needling work done on sore muscles, or buy wellness-centric gifts for loved ones. This holiday season, shoppers can’t resist the Dromme zero-proof botanical elixirs sold at House 403. The zero-proof drinks, which are infused with plant and mushroom extracts, are a healthy alternative to a classic cocktail. In the mood for one-stop shopping? This wellness store also has a variety of vintage items, including kilim rug stockings, which you can fill with small items sold in-store. If you don’t know where to start at House 403, pick up a gift card — nobody can resist getting a free haircut for Christmas.
Don’t just skip Amazon for the holiday season, reduce or eliminate your Amazon purchases permanently. I admit, it is easy and convenient to shop on Amazon. But, who would you rather receive the benefits of your purchases — independent, locally owned businesses in Lexington and nearby communities or a huge corporation. When you buy locally from locally owned businesses it benefits your entire community.
Giving up Amazon only requires a little bit of effort. The only time my family has purchased anything on Amazon in the last twenty years is when one of our daughter’s baby sitting families gave her an Amazon gift card for Christmas.
If supporting local businesses and your local communities isn’t enough of a reason to reduce or eliminate your Amazon purchases, do it to help save the planet. Amazon has a huge carbon footprint and is one of the biggest corporate contributors to climate change and global warming.
For more information about Amazon’s failure to meet its climate goals, read this article from the Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-08-14/amazon-carbon-emissions-climate-change