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Image source: William Hook on Flickr

If you can believe it, there is only a week and a half left to shop for Christmas – thank goodness there are still two weekend in the mix. We’ve been sharing with you some great shopping resources over the season, but thought we’d put them and our other appropriate shopping suggestions all in one place to give you plenty of ideas. Read on!

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Image source: MOMI

Great holiday shopping around the boroughWhether your endgoal is providing gifts for nieces and nephews at Hanukkah (which starts the night of Dec. 8!), co-workers for Christmas, or dear friends for Kwanzaa, we’ve all got serious shopping to do. You may not be aware of the wealth of independently owned shops around Queens where you can find something unique and interesting while at the same time supporting your neighbors, so we’ve rounded a few up.

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Image source: Etsy

Gifts made in Queens: a guide to local artisan goods. There’s a lot of talk these days of buying local, for both environmental and economic reasons, plus the fun of giving or receiving something that’s not mass produced. Queens has its share of independent businesses coming out with items that are original enough to impress your pickiest gift recipients this year. We did some digging on Etsy and elsewhere, and were impressed with the local talent. Here are some of our picks from Queens artists.

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Image source: Chocolate Swirl

Queens Holiday Markets 2012. Hello, 2012 holiday season! One of the fun things to do during the holidays is go to the various holiday markets around the city. Most people are familiar with the markets in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and there are a number of markets during the season in Queens. Here is our roundup – we will update this list as new markets come to light.

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Lidia Bastianich reveals her favorite food shops in Queens. Lidia is, of course, a driving force behind some of NYC’s best Italian restaurants (Felidia, Esca, for instance), part of the group that brought Eataly to Manhattan (a food lovers paradise, no lie), a cookbook author, and television cooking show star (who doesn’t love watching Lidia on PBS?). In the article she highlights an excellent array of Italian food shops located both in the eastern and western sides of the borough, where one can purchase cheese, bread, cured and fresh meats, pasta, produce and pastries.

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Buy world-class design here in Queens: the Shop at The Noguchi Museum in LIC. Down near the edge of Western Queens, where Astoria meets Long Island City at the waterfront, sits The Noguchi Museum, dedicated to the work of Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), a major figure of mid-century art and design. His iconic sculptures, akari lamps, and that biomorphic glass coffee table – mere examples from his full œuvre – endure in their influence and significance. And you can take home some of his designed pieces at the The Noguchi Museum Shop.

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How to be the coolest aunt or uncle: Hip kids’ gift and toy stores in Astoria, Corona, and Elmhurst. Before heading to your next kiddie birthday party, stop by one of these shops in Queens for unique toys and gifts that won’t be the same as what your young friends already have, or what everyone else just saw on the shelves at Toys“R”Us.


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