As you are probably aware, the mall and shopping up the line are ridiculous right now. We just got back from BJs where we buy our diapers and wipes for Snoop Mad and it was ridiculous.
If you have to go, you have to go. But if you just need a present for someone there really is no need to drive up to the mall to get one. There are plenty of great places to shop downtown. Hell, even if you plan on getting gift cards as presents you can buy them at Stop and Shop. Gift certificates to restaurants are great gifts to buy and easy to wrap and you can get those locally too.
There is great working mans outdoor clothing at Nelsons. Sporting goods at Palazolla’s. Women’s wear at Seasons, Cormorant Shop, First Impressions, The Black Swan and other joints. There’s gifts at Stone Leaf, Pisces, The Black Swan, Bubbles, The Art Room, Harbor Goods, The Dress Code, The Magic Scarf, Menage Gallery, Present and a whole bunch of other places. Then there’s books at Dogtown Books and The Gloucester Bookstore. There’s Art at the local joints, jewelry from the folks around town like Beth Williams, Candy Marshall, and Jacki Ganim-Defalco. You could get gift certificates for spa treatments at any of the salons like Deborah Coull, Headlines or Mattys or Lauras or Salon one, and others that escape me. If I forgot anyone don’t hesitate to write me and I’ll add to the list. I’m just banging this out off the top of my head.
Trust me on this one. I guarantee you can find gifts right in downtown Gloucester, save gas money, avoid the crowds and fighting the taffic, and have fun doing it- right here in Gloucester.
Hell a bottle of booze is a great gift and you can get that at The liquor Locker or Seabreeze liquors. There is absolutely no reason to go fight that madness out of town right now unless there is a specific gift that our downtown doesnt carry but I bet if you just thought about it you could easily do all your holiday shopping right downtown and be happy about doing it.
I know this so mch that I’ll personally guarantee it. If you go downtown to shop and are not satisfed I’ll refund to you triple the current subscription price to GMG. THAT’S HOW CONFIDENT I AM! Now get to it!
Good Morning Gloucester 
I have not been in a mall in five years. I do not miss it. I did go to downtown Gloucester today and I got a couple of great gifts I never would have thought of. Screw malls — it’s all the same stuff everywhere.
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Your right Joey. If you just go down town and look around you will probably find a store that you did not even know existed and find some really cool stuff that they don’t sell at the mall. For me its a real treat to go down town and look around because I don’t get to very often. So if you need an excuse, Holiday shopping is it… HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!…..FRANK
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Shopping downtown is a treasure! How nice to have people look you in the eye and mean what they say! The merchandise is wonderful. Our stores downtown are unique and best of all they support our neighbors, not faceless corporations. Holiday gifting is a great excuse for exploring and enjoying our downtown.
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Joey, thank you for your wonderful site. You should be the official cheerleader for Gloucester and the chamber of commerce. I enjoy downtown and ‘wish’ that there were more restaurants and eclectic shops. I ‘wish’ all the merchants the success they are due. I ‘hope’ they regularly brainstorm creative ideas to increase foot traffic/business. I shopped downtown yesterday and enjoyed the ‘spirit’.
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Thanks!
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If you don’t know someone’s favorite in town spot give them a Cape Ann gift certificate! It is good at over 250 local shops and restaurants! You can pick them up at the Chamber or either of the Shaw’s. Merry Christmas! jac
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Damn! I wish I read your post BEFORE I sat in traffic last night for 45 minutes! I braved the stores, but gave up early and decided to finish up downtown today. On a positive note, lines in the stores were reasonable and they actually had the gifts in stock that I had given up on.
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I wish I could shop in downtown Gloucester!
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Thanks Joey for the support… and an FYI for folks… I have not seen a meter lady all week and I’m fairly confident that we won’t for the remainder of the week….. us folks at the stores are ready to help people pick out the gifts, and most of us are open late too! Come on down!!
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We did most of our shopping on Main St. yesterday. It was fun! The shop keepers need your support!
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