With this holiday gift guide, you can come through in the clutch... and on a budget!
They say that money can't buy you love, which generally stands true until the holiday season rolls around. Anticipated consumer spending will average $660 per person this year, which is a whole lot of moola. Christmas shopping puts many people into debt for months, with credit card interest piling up as the result of trying to be Big Santa on Campus.
In fact some people are carrying debt into the current holiday season, from the previous season... but ain't nobody got time for that! So we culled the Brooklyn streets to round up a list of places to shop for cool holiday gifts for under $25.
If you're flush and money is no object, then indulge your friends and family with high priced gifts. But, if you're still working off student loan debt, paying a ridiculous amount of rent to live with three people and you only drink during Happy Hour-then don't play yourself!
From the dreaded Secret Santa at your job, to amazing stocking stuffers, to those holiday parties that you can't show up empty handed, with this holiday gift guide, you can come through in the clutch... and on a budget!
#8. SUZETTE LAVALLE
726 Franklin Avenue (Crown Heights)
This quaint, eponymously named boutique just feels like you'll find some cool items inside... and you will! Suzette Lavalle spent years in the fashion and retail industry as a stylist, buyer and a window designer. So when it comes to fashion retail, she knows a thing or two about a thing or two. There's a wide variety of under-$25 gifts, but get over there soon, because they are going fast!
*click photo to enlarge*
#7. FELIZ
185 Dekalb Avenue (Fort Greene)
Genevieve Platt is the owner of this shop, and it features lots of really cool and inexpensive holiday gifts. In fact, I think there might be more things under $25 than over $25, with a good amount of their product for under $10. So you can get deep into some Secret Santa gifts. It's got this Boho-Chic feel, so you'll be enveloped in the cool Halo of Feliz, when you buy gifts from this Fort Greene store.
#6. Area Kids
741 Fulton Street (Fort Greene)
This store has a lot of great gifts for kids. It's so much stock, that it's not all stocked and displayed for easy breezy browsing, but its definitely chock-full-of under $25 gift options. They have toys and games, clothes and fun stuff for the kiddies; so instead of hitting up Target, keep it a buck and shop with a small, local business, and go to Area Kids. Check them out
#5. Bicycle Habitat
560 Vanderbilt Avenue (Prospect Heights)
Citibike ridership is peaking and bike ridership, in general, is up in NYC. Bicycle Habitat is an excellent place to catch some bike accessories for your loved ones who push the two wheels around. They've got a bunch of under-$25 items that you can give out as gifts. And it may even inspire you to ditch the Uber and grab your own bike!
#4. Calabar Imports
708 Franklin (Crown Heights)
Calabar Imports has become an institution in NYC. It's named after a town in Nigeria, where one Proprietor, Heloise Annette Oton, lived and where her daughter, Atim Annette Oton was born. I like the store on Franklin, because Heloise always seems to be there and she's the nicest lady you can meet. It's well stocked with jewelry, clothes, home and knick-knacks, with an African/Asian influence. Lots of stuff for under $25 in there!
#3. Bed Vyne Wine & Spirits
370 Tomkins Avenue (Bed-Stuy)
There's a Hennessy shortage in America, and many people are attributing it to Donald Trump and the dumpster fire that is his presidency. But whether you aim to elevate your holiday cheer or drown your worries, booze is boss! If you're buying for yourself or getting a bottle for those friends that fancy themselves liquor connoisseurs, you'll definitely find outstanding brands that are hyper local, smaller batch and cheaper than Hennessy. These brands are under $25.
#2. Knife & Spork
602 Myrtle Avenue (Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy)
This is a kitchen and an EDC Knife store. They make some really cool stuff, and much of it is under $25. With everyone into cooking and more people calling themselves a chef, this could be a good place to pick up some utensils for your cooking friends or those work around the house and need strong, sharp knives.
#1. Peace & Riot
401-403 Tompkins Avenue (Bed-Stuy)
Peace & RIOT is a home design and decor store, but it really does have a wide variety of offerings. It also has a chunky selection of under $25 items that are as cool as its more expensive items. The store was previously on Nostrand Avenue but earlier this year relocated to Tompkins Avenue, where the new bigger location shares space with Indigo Style Vintage and Mary's Hands Jewelry on the other side of the store, which are also gems. It's well designed, feels good inside and smells relaxing. Here's a cross section of some of the gifts you can buy without hocking your kidney in the new year:
So there you have it. Stay out of debt, while maintaining your reputation for picking good gifts!
Happy shopping, and save yourself some money!
