Christmas Shopping in Winnipeg

Christmas Shopping

Picking out unique presents can be hard to do, but it’s much better than just buying a gift card (unless that’s what the person asked for). There are so many awesome stores in Winnipeg that sell items that are more special than the generic things you can buy at the mall. Here are a few great places around Winnipeg to check out when doing your Christmas shopping.

Hush and Shout 

This store is right in Osbourne village and has the perfect gifts for the fashionista in your life. Their shelves are filled with beautiful dresses and gorgeous accessories that will make any girl very happy on Christmas morning. The Hush side of the store has lots of dressy going out clothes, and the Shout side sells more casual looks. Either way this store has something for every style of girl! Check out their site to see some of their new items!

Chapters & McNally Robinson

Both of these stores sell so much more than just books, they have tons of items that make great gifts! The atmosphere in these stores makes Christmas shopping so much less stressful. Go to the Starbucks in Chapters or Prairie Ink in McNally and grab a hot coffee, then take your time browsing the store! They sell everything from whiskey stones for Dad or Grandpa, to yoga mats for your Mom or sister! They also carry Fred Flare products, which I love (their cute ice cube trays make perfect stocking stuffers). Chapters also sells the Kobo, their version of an E-reader. This product is one of the hottest gifts of the season, so pick one up for the bookworm in your life!

Tara Davis

This store is perfect for anyone who loves things made locally, the whole store is full of products made in Canada! The store carries beautiful jewelry, purses, notebooks, handmade pillows, and pretty much a little bit of everything! They also have hand knit items that they will customize to whatever colour and style you choose. This store’s right in the Exchange District so while you’re there, browse some of the awesome other shops in the area like Hilary Druxman!

These are just a few of the places in Winnipeg that are awesome for Christmas Shopping, I’ll post more soon! What’s your favourite store for present buying?

Holiday Shopping

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As soon as the snow fell and it got cold out, I realized the holidays are right around the corner which means time to buy presents! Shopping for gifts can be very stressful and it is hard to keep track of your spending. Last year I went a bit overboard and spent way more money on presents than I could afford. This year I'm going to have a game plan, have a budget, and make shopping less stressful. Here are some tips on how to make holiday shopping easy as pie.

Make A List
There is nothing more helpful than making a list of the names of everyone you have to buy presents for. This keeps you organized and stops you from over-buying. You can add ideas for presents to the list or wait until you're out shopping to find ideas. Lists also help to keep track of how much money you have spent so you stay within your budget.

Plan Out Your Shopping Trip
Don't just go to the mall and wander store to store expecting to find everything you need. Before you go shopping, plan out which stores you need to hit for certain gifts and once you have found everything you need you can explore other stores. This will help you keep your shopping trips shorter leaving more time for fun things like doing some Christmas baking!

Shop Online
If you want to beat those terrible lines at the mall, stay at home and shop online! This can be a great way to find cheaper deals on the items you want and it saves you lots of time. It's great to start by looking for items on the actual stores website and then searching for them on sites like eBay or Amazon. You might even save enough money to buy more presents than you thought you could!

Make A Wish List
Even though you're more focused on getting all of your shopping done you can't forget to make your own wish list! This makes sure that you will get the things you need and it is so helpful for the people that are trying to find the perfect gift for you. You can still go oldschool and make hand-writen wish lists or you can try one of the websites that make it easy to distribute your list. There are tons of these new sites, and on some of them you can create groups so that all of your friends and family can know what to get eachother. Try Giftster, it's a really good version of the online wish list!

I hope these tips are helpful and they make your holiday shopping stress-free! Coming up in my next post I will tell you all about my favourite stores for holiday shopping!

MCC Thrift Shop

The beautiful mural on the outside of the MCC Thrift Shop

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On a budget? Unemployed student? Lover of deals? Sometimes shopping does major damage to my wallet so when I get the itch to buy something but I don't have much money I go bargain hunting. One of my favourite places for finding great things for super cheap is the MCC Thrift Shop. 

The store has had a couple of different locations but for the last year they have been at 445 Chalmers Avenue. They have a large mixture of items including clothes, dishes, furniture, books and movies. All of the stuff they sell is donated by local people and businesses, and the proceeds go to fund the Mennonite Central Committee. Also, all of the staff at the MCC thrift shop are volunteers and they are all very friendly. 

Now that there are hardly any places left to rent movies in the city, I check out the thrift store to stock up on old VHS tapes and DVDs to watch at the cabin or at home. They have movies I forgot even existed but that are classics! 

The main reason that I like this thrift store is because there are so many hidden gems just waiting to be discovered. My mom and her co-workers usually check out the store once a week for a day they call "thrifty fridays". Her favourite item to buy is antique china. She has managed to find some pretty awesome stuff and lots of it has turned out to be worth way more than she paid! 

The best item I have seen come out of the thrift shop so far is a fortune telling teacup that was made between 1904 and 1920. My mom bought it for $0.25 and it's worth $125.00! There is a guide online that shows you how to use tealeaves to read your fortune with the cup. Around the rim it says "would'st learn thy future with thy tea this magic cup will show it thee."Such a cool find! 

You never know what kind of old treasures you can find in a thrift store so next time you're in the mood to shop and find a deal check out the MCC Thrift Shop!

The Fortune Telling Teacup

Hilary Druxman

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I love shopping! There are so many great places in Winnipeg to find beautiful clothing and accessories. Through my extensive research in the field of shopping I have come across Hilary Druxman, a jewellery store right in the Exchange District (so close to Red River College that I could shop there on my lunch hour). 

I first discovered the store a few years ago when a family friend told me she got a ring custom designed at the shop. I checked the store out for myself and I couldn't help but make my first Hilary purchase! Ever since I put on my first Druxman design, I have been absolutely hooked! I've lost count of how many necklaces, rings, bracelets and charms I've purchased, but I have a good rotation system so each piece gets its turn to shine! 

All of Hilary Druxman Inc's jewellery is designed and crafted in their Winnipeg studio, another great reason to love their products. The studio is so beautiful, all of the designs are displayed in a very neat and clean fashion making it easy to view all of the amazing pieces. 

Many of the designs have been created to donate money to different charities and organizations. Twelve unique pieces of jewellery can be purchased that each bring out your inner philanthropist. Now you can look good and feel really good too!

The custom work they do there is gorgeous. It still shocks me that everything is created right here in Winnipeg. Hilary's designs have been featured in many magazines and lots of celebrities have been spotted wearing them! In 2004, Hilary opened up a retail store in Santa Monica, CA, and she even has an online store so you can do some shopping right after you read this! 

Next time you're in the Exchange District go check out her store, I promise you'll love it!

Happy shopping friends!

Some of my favourite Hilary pieces