Mackenzie’s on South Avenue is selling “The Mike” for $56. It’s a portable karaoke machine for a smartphone or other mobile device. With a cord that hooks right into a phone and a speaker attached to the mic itself. “You play music and sing through the microphone,” Susan Tomaselli said. Credit: Michael Dinan
Elm Street Books “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” by L. Frank Baum ($16.99) and “Americana” by Bhu Srinivasan ($30, signed). The shop’s Melissa Thorkilsen said of the Baum book: “It’s a wonderful read-aloud, it’s a fictional account but very imaginative and a really wonderful story about Santa Claus and his life,” and of “Americana” she said: “It’s a local author and a wonderful book for any nonfiction reader in the family.” Credit: Michael Dinan
Offerings from Francos Wine Merchants on Elm Street include the following, with comments from Carl Franco: “newly arrived” Joseph Drouhin Nuits-Saint-Georges Proces ($99.99), “locally distilled” Batchers’ Bourbon Whiskey ($41.99), six-liter bottle of 1983 Chateau d’Yquem ($3,599.99), “everyone needs a good champagne for Christmas morning” Krug Grande Cuvee Brut Champagne ($159.99) and “something special for your Scotch-lover” Glenmorangie Signet Single-Malt ($184.99). Credit: Michael Dinan
Swedish-made chess sets at design solutions on Elm Street. They cost $49. Shannon Gerrity, who is in charge of displays at the eclectic shop: “It’s glass and wood, and just a beautiful classic piece that stores itself in the box.” Credit: Michael Dinan
Squishies at New Canaan Toy Store on Park Street. They cost $5 to $12. Owner Chris Kilbane says the Toy Store typically carries about 50 different types of squishies: “The kids have gone crazy over them. I think it’s the tactile aspect of it, and it’s also that they’re cute.” Credit: Michael Dinan
Stewart's Spirits on Elm Street is offering a series of specialty beers. They include a one-time Double Coffee Stout brew ($13.99 per four-pack), the annual batch of Imperial Stout Trooper ($14.99 per four-pack) and Thimble Island’s “Mutually Assured Destruction,” the Russian Imperial Stout ($25 per four-pack). Here’s Robinson on each of them. Trooper: “New England Brewing puts this out once a year. It’s popular. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. We get six four-packs in.” Double Coffee Stout: “It’s a stout brewed with cinnamon and coffee. It’s a one-time release. We have six four-packs of it.” Imperial Stout: “This is a barrel-aged. So they take bourbon barrels, they actually took them from the Litchfield distillery and aged this stout in the barrels. This is something you can age up to five years and it’s just going to get better and better. It’s high-alcohol too. It’s 11 percent alcohol by volume.” Credit: Michael Dinan
Ally Bally Bee, the artists’ co-op on Elm Street offers several items, including Single-Malt Scotch Caramels ($12.95), Santa ornaments handmade in Connecticut ($44) and Bedrock Tree Farm Soy Candle, handcrafted with freshly harvested fir needles ($23.50). Here’s what Alison Cox said about each of these items: Candle: “This is just such a gorgeous Christmas smell that enhances your tree.” Santa ornament: “The ornament is so unique, there’s nothing quite like it. It’s this one woman’s vision, she makes all of these Santas and makes them all year long, so she starts in January and makes hands and then paints the fabric for the ornaments and then works through the whole year on them.” Caramels: “The caramels are very unique, a great hostess gift or stocking stuffer.” Credit: Michael Dinan
New Canaan Music on Main Street is selling the Crush Alpha drum kit ($399 on Thursday, Dec. 21 only— 15 percent discount). The set includes birch/basswood shells, bass drum pedal, Hi Hat stand, straight cymbal stand, snare stand, throne, 14-inch Hi Hats and 15-inch Crash ride, ported resonant bass drum head and stick bag with six pairs of sticks. The set is “fully assembled and we will load it into your car,” owner Phil Williams said. New Canaan Music on Friday will run a 15 percent off sale on music stands. “It’s a good, popular kit because it’s all inclusive,” Williams said. “Everything you need to start rocking out.” It comes in three colors: black, blue or red. Credit: Michael Dinan
New Canaan Olive Oil on Elm Street is selling “wrapped and ready” pairings that start at $30, such as this California Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Honey Balsamic Vinegar. “It’s an olive oil and a balsamic that we think go well together,” Deb DeFoe said. Credit: Michael Dinan
We’re entering the home stretch of Christmas shopping in New Canaan, as most every holiday shipping date has past. For anyone looking for great last-minute gift and stocking-stuffer ideas, we’ve created the gallery above—covering everything from $5 squishies for the kids to a $3,600 six-liter bottle of wine for the grownups. Though it’s not meant to be exhaustive—for example, we left off favorites such as the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce’s gift cards, New Canaan Historical Society’s ornaments and Philip Johnson Glass House’s design store items—the gallery represents a good cross-section of downtown merchants.
As Laura Budd from the Chamber’s offices above the Playhouse on Elm Street said: “From our office on the ’50-yard line’ and from our interactions with store owners and managers, we know that New Canaan shoppers have embraced the ‘Shop Local’ movement. We know this is in no small part due to the tremendous effort the local businesses put in to the ‘experience’ of shopping here in New Canaan. Shoppers are drawn in by the creative window displays and make their purchases based on a unique product selection and great service in the stores. All of this effort contributes to the vibrant downtown we all love.”
