The Cortelyou Road Holiday Gift Guide
It’s that time of year again and in 2012, we live in a great spot to pick up good gifts nearby. All you have to do is take a walk down a street like Cortelyou Road and step into one of the many shops to find something worth gifting. Here’s a list for all of us, whether you’re shopping for a 6-year-old or a 60-year-old.
• For the grown up gifts, TB Ackerson has a great selection of Brooklyn-made spirits (modeling for us in the picture above) including whiskey, rum, gin and wine that’d look very pleasing with a bow on top. You can pick up 77 Whiskey ($43), Due North Rum ($37), Dorothy Parker Gin ($36), Greenhook Ginsmiths ($33), Hudson Baby Bourbon ($42, made a short way upstate) or Brooklyn Oenology wine ($17), most of which come from our fine borough.
• Nearby, Market has a Brooklyn gift basket ($60) for more Brooklyn-made goods. In addition to a diverse bunch of edibles, the shop has a number of seasonal beer from Brooklyn brewers that’ll make a good addition to any meal, party or fridge.
• If you’re shopping for a younger crowd, Toy Space is a great spot for figurines and trains. It’s got a great selection of figurines running from $3 to $25 for the bigger items. For the many train-loving kids among us, there’s an awesome bunch of model subways for $11 that’ll run on standard wooden tracks. The shop also has a decent selection of of board and card games but if you’re really in the market for that, you might want to head down to Kings Games.
• Kids these days, much like kids for the last decade or two, love Pokemon. And why not? Pokemon is great, there’s no argument. If you’ve got a pocket monster-obsessed kid on your list, you can give him or her a set of Pokemon action figures for just $7 from the 99 cent store on Cortelyou and Rugby Roads. It’s inexpensive but, if the kid is a fan, it’s a great stocking-stuffer.
• Okay, let’s stick with Pokemon and add Yu-Gi-Oh (another big cartoon franchise) and sports cards. Collectible cards are another awesome gift for certain kids that can help make a mountain of gifts a little higher. The cards start at $3 at Duane Reade and go slightly higher. If your kid wants a bigger, deeper selection of card games, we must once again recommend that you take the Q and head down to Kings Games, the card gaming mecca of South Brooklyn.
• For those of you courageous enough to gift jewelry, Brooklyn ARTery is stocking pretty gold, silver and pearl necklaces and earrings that run anywhere from $48-$175. The jewelry is made by local artist Chisa. If you’re interested in the rest of the ARTery’s offerings, we took a tour of the new shop just last month.
• Qathra offers a number of giftable items including a glass teapot from Japan that runs $29. If you’re looking for interesting coffee makers, this is a good place to start.
Those are just some of the highlights on Cortelyou Road. You might also stop into Sycamore or Superior Deli for flowers or the Flatbush Food Co-Op for beauty items…and the list goes on and on.
In the coming days, we’re going to show you some of the best gifts from other spots in the neighborhood. We’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below. Do you have any neighborhood gifts worth sharing?