Upper West Side Stocking Stuffers
From flying sharks to handmade winter wear, you won’t have to travel far to find that special holiday gift for a loved one. Read more
Gift Guide 2010
$10 and Under
Christmas with the Puppini Sisters
$10.99 at Barnes & Noble, 33 E. 17th St. (betw. Broadway & Park Ave.), 212-253-0810
We can’t decide if the Puppini Sisters are sultry goddesses of music sent to save us from a season of hellishly dreary hymns. This trio has reworked dusty old carols into playful, jazzy exercises of honest-to-goodness holiday cheer. Lone original composition “Step Into Christmas” could force a smile on any Scrooge’s face, even if he was being suffocated by a crush of last-minute shoppers. This is one pop-jazz holiday record actually worth a listen. Read more
Shop Til You Drop at Mom and Pop
Amsterdam Avenue, which is often dissed as that poor sister of Broadway, is the backbone of the Upper West Side. It may not top your list as a destination for holiday shopping, but don’t overlook the mom and pops, some of which have held their own on this rapidly changing street for decades (and one for more than a century!). Read more
GIFT GUIDE!: BUY IT ON BROADWAY
My family uses the German word “stadtbummel” (city stroll) to mean “We’re wandering in and out of stores on a whim.” Whatever you choose to call it, a stroll along Broadway at this time of year is a handy way to pinpoint gift ideas for every man, woman and child in your life.
Let’s bummel over to Lincoln Plaza Cinemas (1886 Broadway between 62nd and 63rd), the go-to theater for anything interesting on the Upper West Side, and pick up a slim yellow and blue gift certificate booklet ($20) for Christopher the cinephile. The chocolate chip cookies ($1.95 each) at Breadsoul Café (30 Lincoln Plaza) are an addiction for Roger, who works long hours at the West Side Y on 63rd Street. He gives them as gifts to co-workers to munch on during the stressful holiday crunch. Read more
