Holiday shopping in Baltimore

Visit Baltimore research is showing that 30% of Baltimore area suburbanites are decreasing their trips into Baltimore City.  Amazon and the rainiest year on record are not helping. Baltimore retailers need you to come.

There a lot great things about Baltimore this holiday season and I will just point to a few. This article focuses a bit on downtown, but don’t miss out on unique neighborhood shopping, eating, and drinking experiences all over town.

The Light City Festival is great, but the winter holiday shows us maybe we should be Light City all year round.  Has anybody thought of making the wheel permanent? It is a great light display all by itself. What about making sure the Bromo Seltzer Tower and other select Baltimore landmarks always shine brightly in the night.  Lights make the city a festive place, lets do even more of it.

The Christmas Market has Germanic food, brews, and wine to go along with about 50 seasonal retailers. You can knock out your shopping while raising your stein of beer from the Hofbrau Munchen Brewery.

Shop at the places that are in bricks and mortar stores and are here year round. Reward the retailers that do fantastic holiday displays in their windows. Cafe Poupon should do clinics on window displays. Stop here on Charles Street for something sweet, a sandwich, or a coffee. Consider a night or two in a Baltimore hotel or Air BnB as a gift. Being a home town tourist in Baltimore comes with no airline delays or lost luggage.

Check out Made in Baltimore, which showcases Baltimore makers. MIB  now has a pop up shop at 20 W. North Avenue. Down the street is Joe Squared, where you can always have a delicious risotto or pizza pie.

I have a bit of a bone to pick with the Inner Harbor Barnes & Noble, which barely looked open last Saturday as we made our way in the rain. The B&N window displays could take a lesson from the Cafe Poupon.  However, after arriving, I am always reminded what a treasure this store is.  It is housed in the iconic Baltimore Power Plant building and has so many books that can teach us so much about life, places, people, fantasy, sports, travel, architecture, art, health, business……They also have a good selection of kids and teen books to choose from.  You can always get a warm drink while you are doing it and we had excellent service to help us find some specific present targets. To top it off, we had our presents nicely wrapped for free by friendly ladies raising money from donations for the Chrohns and Colitus Foundation.

Downtown Baltimore and its neighborhood shopping areas should be on your list.  The city and the retailers need your patronage.  There is also a fun new way to get from place to place without moving your car should you choose.  They are the Lime or Bird Scooters that are just one dollar and fifteen cents a minute there after. Pair your shopping with a meal and a nice beverage.  You can knock out your holiday present list and turn it into a lot of fun!