Whenever I hear someone brag about having all their Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving, my inner voice says the same thing: You pathetic human. What have we done to Christmas, when rushing mall to mall, July through October, in search of that perfect piece of plastic, crossing each gift off a list as though it were a chore—like cleaning the basement or sweeping the porch—is the standard by which we measure our holiday triumphs?

Perhaps if you live in some far-flung corner of the universe, where long drives to shopping centers at highway interchanges provide your only opportunity to browse, filling the sky with carbon-based exhaust is your only avenue to live shopping.

Luckily, here in Jefferson County’s small towns, you can hit the trifecta of holiday gift giving and reconnect with the joy—remember the joy?—of the season. Take Shepherdstown, for example. First, shopping locally gives your holidays back to you. Shepherdstown in December is alive-action postcard that Nate Currier and Jimmy Ives would love to exploit. It’s a gathering, a movable feast where you’re guaranteed to run into people you know. In an unhurried way you can wander German and Princess streets, bumping into friends and acquaintances as you duck in and out of shops, reminding yourself why you live here. The time you save not driving from mall to mall can be spent pondering your loved ones—instead of crossing your brother off the list (done!), you can find some special small thing that says, “Hey, man, I saw this and I thought of you.”

Second, you can find gifts that are distinctive. Independently owned businesses reflect the proprietor’s vision in a way you could never find in a chain store. From toys to tableware, jewelry to fun foods, the things you’ll find in Shepherdstown are not the same things you’ll find everywhere else—not even in another independently owned store.

Third, you can shop locally without breaking the bank. Indeed there are premium goods that come at premium prices, but every store in every store in Shepherdstown you can find high-quality goods for under 25 bucks. And, gentlemen, there are special gifts in the $25 to $100 range that can demonstrate once and for all that you are a not blunt-witted knucklehead who doesn’t know the first thing about your spouse/partner/main squeeze.

Guys, let’s start in familiar territory: beer. If you’re headed to a holiday party and want to bring some holiday cheer, start at Grapes and Grains on German Street. You can pick up specialty beers, including some brewed in West Virginia. Or, thanks to the extensive selection of single beers, you can assemble a sampler pack. You can choose for variety or based on a theme, say, pilsners of the world, your favorite lagers, or nut brown ales.

Wine is a traditional holiday gift to present to the host of a party. If you don’t know much about wine (or even if you do), head to Grapes and Grain on any Saturday for their weekly free tasting. Check out the Grape Debate column in this issue of the Observer, too. Grape and Grain typically carries the wines recommended by our Grape Debate experts, David and Christian Asam—often those wines are the ones featured at the Saturday tastings. You can also find a wide assortment of wines at Coffee and Chandlery.

Speaking of Coffee & Chandlery, there’s more to the place than, well, coffee and candles. There are soaps and lotions and things that ladies love, plus table linens, picnic wares, and other festive objects. Then there’s the fancy foods and cheeses—an assortment of these make a memorable gift basket.

A few steps away, for the outdoorspeople on your mind, there is Shepherdstown Peddle & Paddle, Outdoor Basics, and White Fly. If you’re not sure what type of gear to go for, there are all kinds of accessories and clothing, too. If you’re an outdoors type yourself, you get the pleasure of hanging out and handling the gear, living vicariously through gifting.

At the top of German Street is D’Accord, purveyors of all things French. Here is a sampling of what you can find for under $25: colorful placemats; a set of four checkered napkins, $13; an iron-look picture frame from on a stand, $20; fancy smelly bath oils and gels and soaps from five to fifteen dollars; and, a real favorite, a tin of butter cookies for $13.

Just downhill, Lullaby Lu is known for mid- high-end baby furnishings and apparel. Still $25 goes a long way. Two popular items are a stamper-marker kit in a fanciful tin box ($26) and a Fifi the Pooch lunch box ($16). Owner Lara Bromley has made a priority of organic fabrics in clothing that she has transferred to puppets and toys.

At Tradition & Culture, the intimate gallery is chock full of affordable gifts, such as mother-of-pearl earrings, bracelets, and crystals. At Steppin’ Out, for under $25 there is a huge assortment of Vera Bradley quilted accessories: cell phone cases, lunch sacks, cosmetics bags, and more. So guys, if you’re not a good gift wrapper, a some jewelry, like the “floater necklaces” at She-Town Divas, at $9.99, strategically placed in a sunglass case, saves you the trouble.

There’s a lot for kids down on German Street, too. The bat puppet and piggy one, too, lead a cast of fuzzy critter toys. Across the street Blue River exemplifies what locally owned can mean for creativity. It’s an apparel and accessories store, and a fine one, but with a toy section emphasizing environmentally sensible materials and finishes—like Boggily Bunnies and cranky windups. Then there’s the regionally famous toy store One Two Kangaroo for some of everything.

It just goes to show you there are many bargains among the fineries of Shepherdstown. Turn the corner onto Princess Street and you'll find more at the Good Shop and Devonshire, and eats at the Carriage House.

Two German Street shops specialize in one-of-a-kind finds. JCooper offers fine handmade furnishings, hand-blown glassware, decorative tiles, and other hand-crafted home accessories. Upstairs at JCooper are several rooms of art, photographs, and multi-media works from local artists. For whimsical lady’s apparel, in what’s been called an “elegant marriage of art and undies, visit DBA, housed within JCooper.

Dickinson and Wait Craft Gallery is known as one of the nation’s leading purveyors of American craft. As they search far and wide for the best of the best, it’s a source of local pride how many local artists are featured in the shop.

So, this holiday season, save some gasoline, save some rushing around, even some money, and enjoy the town a bit. And fellows, with a little advance planning, you can hook up with the guys for a pint while taking a break from the rigors of hunting and gathering.