Shopping on a small budget

SALISBURY — There are those disciplined shoppers who pick up gems here and there during the year with Christmas in mind. For the rest of us, it’s time to shop.Assuming that shoppers do not have great piles of excess cash handy, The Lakeville Journal visited a highly arbitrary group of stores in town in search of inexpensive Christmas presents.Christopher Baetz at Passports nodded in understanding when he heard the proposition. “That’s why we have these,” he said, indicating an assortment of cheerfully decorated blue bowls — good for dishwasher and microwave — at $9.“Lots of stocking stuffers this year, I think,” he added. It would have to be a pretty big stocking for the bowls, but the gist was clear: The economy is tough.For men, there’s also the “Sushi tie,” a silk emblematic necktie from Allyn with various types of sushi on it. At first glance it seems unlikely, but Baetz said they sell out regularly ($45).They also have a small but good assortment of bow ties in Churchillian dots and holiday plaids, and unusual alpaca solid color ties from Alicia Adams, at $80.On the women’s side, a bracelet of multicolored cultured pearls is $30, and a matching necklace is $70. There are leather wallets and small purses for women in the $20-40 range, “boa ruffle” scarves at $20 and candles galore, all at well under $25.At Petpourri in Lakeville, Stephanie Pellegrino had umpteen suggestions for the inexpensive gift for the pet owner, beginning with a rather alarming dried pig’s ear for $1.49.“Dogs love them,” she said, sensing resistance to the idea.“Buddy Biscuits” dog treats are $5.99 a box; for $7.99 you can buy the mix and bake them yourself.On the feline front, a toy made with organic catnip is $5.99, and a series of cat toys that resemble fishing flies (and use some of the same materials) start at $10.99.For the owners, Pellegrino has a nice line of snazzy bags from Laurel Burch, starting at $10.You can load up on last year’s ski jump stuff at Peter Becks Village Store (hats are $9, shirts are $15), and there’s a nice line of Fraas “cashmink” scarves for women at $25.Nice solid cutting boards with the Salisbury town logo etched in them start at $45, SmartWool hiking socks (especially good for use with fishing waders) are $17, and a plastic saucer by sled legend Flexible Flyer is $10.If you’re feeling flush (and cold), grab a Hudson’s Bay Blanket, which is $370 and will last for generations. And if you look at it that way, 50 years of daily use, five months of the year, comes out to about a nickel per evening. (Of course, the dog might leave a chewed-up pig’s ear on it, but that’s what dry cleaners are for.)Across the street at the Salisbury Association, a savvy shopper can stretch a buck to the breaking point. Hot off the press is the “Journal of Judge Donald Warner,” edited by historian (and Lakeville Journal contributor) Richard Paddock ($20).Warner (1850-1929) was a postmaster, state senator, state’s attorney for Litchfield County, and Superior Court judge.Arnold Whitridge’s “Short History of Salisbury, Connecticut,” which includes an essay on the town’s role in the American revolution by Kathryn Boughton, is $8.95.Two pamphlets, “Hiking Trails and Short Walks Around Salisbury” and “Guide to Birding in the Northwest Corner” are a mere $3, and the town’s 2009 Natural Resource Inventory, an indispensable document for anyone interested in conservation and development issues, is $20.And there are limited quantites remaining of what were reportedly Harriet Beecher Stowe’s favorite notecards, with a logo featuring a devil and the legend, “Who the [blank] is this from?” ($8).

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