A lot of holiday shopping can be done in Alexandria

For the epitome of holiday shopping, pay a visit to The Christmas Attic, 125 S. Union St. For 40 years, staff there have helped shoppers find the perfect gifts for everyone on their list, from the babies of the family to the grandparents. It is the ultimate Christmas shopping experience, from the decorations and gifts that fill the space to the toy train chugging overhead.

{mosads}Ornaments are a classic gift for the holidays, and The Attic offers every type. Not every decoration has a Santa hat or a sprig of holly on it, which means they can be displayed year-round. For the nurse on your list, you can find a green scrubs ornament that reads: “R.N. — Rockin Nurse!” while a young sibling or cousin will enjoy a dinosaur or horse ornament. For the music lover, there is a selection of Christmas CDs, along with ornaments that depict every type of instrument, while a pet lover would enjoy a set of holiday cards that are drawn with his or her favorite breed of dog, or perhaps a Christmas bulb with paw prints all over it. 

If you’re stumped on what to get that fun-loving friend of yours, consider a bottle of wine nestled in the store’s rack, along with some sassy napkins that read: “Joy to the World, the drinks have come.” Or you might consider getting a sign that jokes: “It is bad to suppress laughter. It goes down and spreads to your hips.”

For a family member who has recently moved out on his or her own, you could buy a holiday wreath to hang on the new front door, or a tree skirt to wrap around the bottom of a tree. And for the couple who were wed this year, you can pick up an ornament that commemorates their first married Christmas together.

If the young couple are expecting a baby in the coming year, there are a variety of sweet ornaments designed to showcase “Baby’s first Christmas” in soft tones of pink and blue.

The Christmas Attic has Hanukkah offerings as well. Decorations and ornaments of menorahs and dreidels — as well as Stars of David — are available on the second floor of the overflowing shop.

Overall, The Christmas Attic is bursting with just about everything a person could need for Christmas or Hanukkah this year, making holiday shopping for gifts or decorations less stressful. 

For more kid-friendly gifts than delicate Christmas bulbs, “Why Not?,” a store at nearby 200 King St., offers a large selection of baby and toddler clothes, as well as toys and books for toddlers up to preteens. At reasonable prices, you can afford to pick up some playsets for the boys in your family, and maybe a classic Hardy Boys book to go along with their sense of adventure. For the young girls on your list, accessories to play dress-up will make them smile. The two floors of this fun and spacious store promise not to leave you at a loss for what to get this year for the young kids on your list.

These are just two of many shops in the Alexandria area that are teeming with great gifts for the holiday season, with everything from seasonally themed bakery treats to decorations to art pieces. Spend some time in the city’s Old Town for a convenient shopping trip that’ll cross everyone’s name off your list.