BostonZest

2012 Boston Area Holiday Markets & Other Places for Unique Gifts

Last week, over on the Trip Advisor Boston forum, a visitor asked about Christmas Markets. It made me think about the special Holiday Markets and events like CraftBoston that I could recommend to anyone thinking about a special shopping experience that will result in presenting unique, handcrafted, or at least carefully selected gifts for the holidays, or to stockpile for the rest of the year. 

Here are some of the events and places I recommend to avoid chains, keep the money local, and support hard working artists and artisans. 

The Downtown Crossing Holiday Market (next to Macy's) begins November 24th and operates daily.

Madeleine Ahlborn's Edge 2012 (mixed media and oil on canvas 6x6 feet)

The  Museum School of the Museum of Fine Arts will hold their Annual Art Sale of student, alumni, and faculty work from November 29th to December 2nd. (The photo above of one of the pieces on offer is courtesy of the Museum School. )

The Somerville Holiday Market on December 2nd at the Armory, 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville MA.

The Society of Arts and Crafts' Craftboston Holiday Show is December 7, 8, 9 at the Cyclorama on Tremont street.

SOWA Holiday Market Saturday & Sunday, December 8 & 9, 2012. This is always a fun event and if you've attended in the past, you should note that they have a new location. This year's market will be held at the Ben Franklin Institute, 41 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA. 

Bazaar Bizarre Boston, Sunday December 16th, is in its 12th year. You'll find this collection of mostly New Engalnd artists and craftspeople at the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama building on Tremont Street.

Holly Fair 2012 at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, December 15th & 16th, was added to the trip advisor list by ChristineP, and she has a reputation for knowing how to enjoy Boston. It's at 42 Brattle Street in Cambridge. 

Places to Shop for the Holidays or Anytime!

 

Stop into the Society of Arts and Crafts shop on Newbury Street to find very fine handmade gifts. 

If you are in the North End, stop by the  North Bennet Street School Gallery for carefully crafted gifts from this school's skilled students and alumni. This neighborhood also has a nice collection of small shops and is a wonderful place to buy food gifts.

And, Beacon Hill, and Charles Street in particular, still has a wonderful collection of neighborhood shops where you can buy hand selected items in a warm, friendly place. The community has done a great job of protecting their neighborhood from chains so it's worth a visit.

Any more places or events you love to shop? Add them in the comments below or send us an email and we'll check it out for a possible update to this list.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino plus contributions from the SOWA Holiday Market site and the Museum School of the Museum of Fine Arts.  

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Happy Thanksgiving From the BostonZest Team!

 

We like to pause on this day to say thank you to our readers and supporters. 

Thanks to all of you who come to the site often from our RSS feed. Regular readers clicking over make us feel like we're on the right track.

Thanks to all of you who follow us on Twitter. And a special thank you to each and every retweet. 

The biggest thank you is to those who remember to stop here on their way to Amazon. When you click on an Amazon link from here, it's putting money in our tip jar, only Amazon does it instead of you.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and may you enjoy a great holiday weekend. 

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2008 Penny Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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Isis Winged Belly Dancer in the Public Garden

With schools like Emerson, Berklee, and New England Conservatory nearby, the Public Garden often becomes a rehearsal hall. On Sunday, we spotted this young woman practicing belly dancing with golden Isis wings.

Here's a Youtube video of an Isis Wing Dance.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 

 Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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Check Out Our Wine List for Thanksgiving & Holiday Gatherings!

We have years of wine selections in our posts on sparkling and other wines. Since 2007 we've greeted each new month with a bottle of sparkle. And along the way, we've also shared our experience with red, white, and rosé wines. 

A rosé sparkler, like the Argyle we featured this month or a slightly frizzante Basque Txakolina we had with some jamon this past summer, is a great way to greet your guests.

Remember, you don't have to pay a fortune to add some sparkle to your holiday. We found a dandy Spanish cava from Dibon that sells for $10 a bottle!

If you want a red wine to go with your turkey, we love pinot noirs from the Willamette Valley. Soter, and Argyle pinot selections have graced our holiday tables. For an even bigger flavor profile, you could consider a baby Chateauneuf du Pape like Plan Pégau.

While you may not have time to hunt down our specific selections, you can use them as examples of something you might like. Then, a good wine merchant will be able to direct you to a comparable bottle from the store's own stock. 

Tracking back to those pinks we mentioned earlier, here are a few words from one of our favorite wine merchants, Howie Rubin from Bauer Wine & Spirits on rosé wine. We think rosé should be a Thanksgiving option!

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or, do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

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5 Reasons to Have Cider on Your Holiday Menu

There are many reasons to add cider to your holiday menu – for meals, for cocktail hour, or mulled and warm on a chilly evening. And, there are many types of cider to serve to your family and guests.

1. Artisanal ciders will be a hit with fans of microbrews and fine wines. Our wine guru, Howie Rubin of Bauer Wine & Spirits, recently recommended Bantam Wunderkind, a new local cider from Cambridge, MA. He knows our taste and this crisp, clean, dry creation was perfect with a supper of salad with buttery croutons and goat cheese.

2. At farmers' markets and farm stands you'll find sweet, fresh cider for those who prefer non-alcoholic drinks. You can even find single source ciders like this one made from honeycrisp apples. And, most cider is gluten-free. Just be sure to check that the one you're choosing really is safe for those who restrict gluten. You never know what some producers might add to the mix.

3. Cider's history makes it a perfect fit in this season of traditions. We wrote more about cider's past in our post, You Only Think You Know Cider.

4. Cider gives you a new world to explore! Try an imported, sparkling cider from someplace like Normandy where there is a long tradition of turning apples into a companion for food. One of the most respected producers is Etienne Dupont. Penny loves the barnyard funk of their organic version. It has that same mysterious quality of some of our favorite Italian wines. We wrote more about it here.

5. If you want to keep up with the conversation among food lovers, you should add some cider knowledge to your repertoire. Everyone is starting to rediscover this once lost beverage. Here'a a primer from NPR,  Americans Rediscover The Kick Of Hard Cider. And, remember, don't judge ciders by the mass produced versions. Try a small scale, local producer recommended by someone you trust.

Beer glasses, like the one below, are perfect for serving cider. Or, you can pour it into the same glass that other guests will use for wine or serve it in a brandy snifter as we did in the top photo.

And, thanks to everyone who clicks over to Amazon from here. It doesn't cost you anymore, but it puts a few coins in our tip jar.

 

 

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2010-2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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Sunday Dog, Zoe – the Cutest “Morkie” We’ve Ever Met!

Zoe is a little bit Maltese and a little bit Yorkie – a “Morkie” (sometimes called a Malkie or Yorktese). But, no matter what you call her, Zoe definitely has the cutes!



This adorable 9-month-old, who relocated from Florida last summer, is getting used to dressing up for the New England weather and of course looks great no matter what she wears.

Zoe loves playing with her pink, cloth Frisbie and is learning that the toilet paper is not her toy.

“Did someone say Toilet Paper?”

Her favorite person told us that Zoe, “absolutely loves attention and adores being around people and other dogs (big or small). And like most Yorkies that have a big personality, my Zoe will confront the bigger dogs like Great Danes and Pointers with no fear, not realizing she is only 7 pounds!"



Zoe was actually playing with our Poppy, here! But, it looks as though she could hold her own if the situation called for it.



By the way, we were fascinated by our Sunday Dog’s level of style and fashion sense, usually not seen at such a young age. So, before you ask, Zoe did not reveal her colorist’s name, but we’re betting this stunning color mix will be the new fall look. See you around, Zoe!

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 Details:

Words:  Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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Boston Common Foliage as a Backdrop

 

Over the past few weeks, we've been showing ways the colors of fall call things to our attention. Today, we celebrate the beautiful shape of this bare tree outlined by the brilliant colors across the open grass.

Other photos in this series are:

You & Me or the Autumn Tree

Puddle-luscious – Photo of the Week

Red Leaf: Photo of the Week

What's on your Holiday Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photo: ©2012 Ed Cherubino 

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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