Gift Giving 2011: Occupy Humphrey Street

With my sincerest apologies to one of the greatest writers of all time, I agonized about hopping in the car and heading out west to the malls, the people, the lines, the traffic, the pain.

While walking my dog Talan who never met a meal she would refuse, and our new puppy Deacon up and down Humphrey Street, I reasoned, why not just buy things from the great stores in town, right there on Humphrey Street?

I grabbed the pups and hit the road last week.

First stop, , (990 Humphrey Street, 781-598-2800), a gift certificate there in any denomination for a cut, blow-dry and style, they also have pedicures available.

Everybody loves food, and , on the corner of Bates and Humphrey has reloadable gift cards so you can give a loved one as many of their great pizzas and cheese steak subs as they desire.

Need to lift and tone after a few dozen Cindy’s pies? (646 Humphrey Street) has Pack Training for $99, or give a gift certificate for small group training, or splurge for some one on one training sessions with one of the pros at FT, they’re running some holiday specials. (781-596-0500)

Your gift recipient can drop off their slacks at (info@peterstailoring.net) and have their clothes re- fitted after they lose weight from takingclasses with Kevin Mastronardi, both Peter’s and Bikram Yoga (781-595-9010) have gift certificates available for the holidays.

A gift certificate from (781-599-6284) next door to Bikram Yoga at 644 Humphrey Street will absolutely get you an A plus on the gift giving report card.  Buy one for $115 and give the 5 Star Facial; you’ll be second to only Santa in the gift-distributing department.

Buying all those gift certificates making you hungry again? Grab lunch for yourself at (781-593-6455), and buy a gift certificate from Paula for the awesome marinara sauce or one of their signature chicken dishes when you’re done filling up, for that Italian food lover on your holiday shopping list.

After Caffe Paolina, head over toat 656 Humphrey Street and grab a gift certificate from them for a full waxing, a spa manicure, or splurge for the whole manicure and pedicure package.

Get back out on Humphrey Street and head towards the center of town, stopping at (781-592-LOOP) and grabbing a gift for any parents-to-be in your life, or buy some really neat toys for kids that’ll make you more popular with the youngsters than Sponge Bob.

A few doors down from Loop stands (781-599-6177) they have gift certificates available for a purifying facial, a J-Peel, a seasonal pedicure or a pre-natal Swedish massage.

After you’ve picked out the gift certificate you need from Euphoria, go across the street to Salvy the Florist’s and pick out a seasonal bouquet, a dozen roses, indoor and outdoor plants, or a holiday gift basket. If you’d like to give that special someone a gift certificate to Salvy’s you can do that too, (www.salvytheflorist.com) and they guarantee same day delivery.

is the next stop, directly across from the Fish House (781-598-1777) they have a cool special going on this holiday season with the G Bar and Kitchen (254-256 Humphrey Street). For every $50 you spend on Luxe BeautiQue gift certificates, you get $10 dollars to spend at Luxe or at the G Bar.

Off to the next, but first, the Humphrey Street Holiday Shopper pops into Newman’s Bakery.has been Newman’s for 46 years, and there has been a bakery at 252 Humphrey Street for over 100 years.

Whether you call them Moon Pies, Half Moon Pies, Half & Half’s, Yin-Yang’s or Black and White’s, Newman’s chocolate and vanilla treats are awesome, the best in the area. Newman’s bagels are excellent, too, and you can get a gift certificate for any amount at Newman’s, or order up a special cake to top off the holiday dinner (781-592-1550).

“We’re really selling a lot of our cannoli’s, our pecan rolls and Bavarian Crème Pies this year,” Bernard said.

The last stop on the Humphrey Street holiday shopping safari, is the G Bar (781-596-2228), preparing for their fourth holiday season in town. They’ve got gift certificates for any amount, and it’s not too early to make a reservation for dinner at the G on New Year’s Eve.

Happy Humphrey Street Holidays!