Holiday Shopping in Petoskey

The 100-plus shops in Petoskey, Michigan, stock treasures you probably won't find on an ordinary Christmas list.

Don't bring your usual Christmas list to this resort town and artists' mecca on the northweat shore of Michigan's Lower Peninsula (70 miles northeast of Traverse City). The 100-plus shops in Petoskey stock treasures you probably won't find on your list.

Old-time lampposts and 19th-century storefronts draped in greenery and tiny lights decorate downtown's eight-block Gaslight Shopping District. Along streets that slope to Lake Michigan's Little Traverse Bay, shoppers peer into windows where elves and Santas cavort in displays.

Amid the stores--some in the same families for generations--you're sure to find that perfect gift. It might be hand-dipped chocolates at Kilwin's or gourmet delicacies at American Spoon Foods, pint-size skis at Bearcub Kid-Fitters or hand-painted Christmas china at Cutler's Kitchen Accessories.

Galleries such as Perry Sherwood's stock works of more than 300 area artists. Paintings remind you of sun-washed summers in this village of Victorian cottages and wide, blue lake views--a sharp contrast to the sparkling lights and snow-frosted shore at this time of year.

Handmades and collectibles pack Grandpa Shorter's. The son of the town's namesake, Chief Petosega, opened the brick two-story, with its restored plank floors and tin ceiling, as a mercantile in 1880.

"Yo-yos are in. All the kids want them," said owner Kathy Bultman advises indulgent grandparents at the Rocking Horse Toy Co. across the street. Of course, the shop sells a herd of handcrafted rocking horses, too.

Ward & Eis Gallery specializes in Native American artists' works. Owner Jennifer Eis points out a small Ojibwa basket woven from sweet grass.

At Symons General Store, built in 1871, Lynn Symons packs a Christmas basket from a customer's handwritten list. She chooses among cases of cheeses and sausages, plus shelves crowded with candies, teas, wines and other goodies.

A blaze glows nearby in the lobby of the century-old Perry Hotel. Settle into a cushy chair to tally your buys. Even if there's more shopping to do, no need to rush. In this town, special gifts are easy to find.