Browsing museum shops

Only 29 shopping days until Christmas. With the turkey gobbled up, the inevitable countdown has begun. If you’re feeling your blood pressure rise in anticipation of hordes of people scrambling and grasping for the latest, lowest-priced gotta-have at an anonymous behemoth retailer, take a deep breath. We’ve come up with the antidote to stressful holiday shopping. ¶ Area residents have ready access to a secret resource — well, admittedly not-so-secret but often overlooked. Museum gift stores offer up an opportunity to escape the maddening crowds and return to a kinder, gentler era when shopping was a leisurely pursuit and salespeople eagerly helped you hunt. These stores pride themselves on unique merchandise that often also carries the politically correct “Made in the U.S.A.” label. Don’t expect to find something for everyone in these mostly (with one notable exception) small shops. Although you may have to spend a tad more, you will score some unexpected items bound to delight those difficult-to-buy-for folks on your list. Plus, with many stores located downtown and on the Mall, you can even manage to knock off a chunk of gift-buying during your lunch hour. ¶ Which is just what we decided to do on a recent Wednesday afternoon with a shopping expedition to the National Geographic museum, the White House Historical Association, the Renwick Gallery and the National Gallery of Art. Here are some of our top picks, along with ideas from other museum shops we’ve browsed in.

Holiday Gift Guide

Present ideas for everyone on your shopping list.

Gallery

2012 holiday gift guide: Expert advice: A stress-free solution to the season’s quest for the perfect present? Recruit a task force of local notables, and ask them for their suggestions. And just in case our experts’ ideas miss the mark, we’ve added a few recommendations on what to get for all those on your list, including those difficult-to-buy-for music buffs, technophiles and foodies. — Janet Bennett Kelly

National Geographic Museum Shop

Ellen Tozer, National Geographic’s manager of retail, says, “We shop the world for you.” That means you don’t have to. Yet, you can scoop up stocking-stuffer-worthy tin zebra tree ornaments from Zimbabwe, knitwear from Nepal and carved wooden bowls from Kenya. Much of the store’s stock is related to exhibits, including the current “Birds of Paradise.” Felt owls in gray, blue and green make wise ornaments ($15 each), as do colorfully beaded hummingbirds ($12) from India. For the picky hostess, a small beaded votive ($4 each) will add holiday glow to a table, hand-carved salad servers with zebra handles from Kenya ($36) will toss some interest into dinner conversation. Other must-haves are a one-of-a-kind set of five bracelets ($38) of recycled glass beads from Ghana, flip-flops from Mali and plastic mats from Burkina Faso.

10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily.
1145 17th St. NW. 202-857-7588. www.shop.nationalgeographic.com.

White House Historical Association Museum Shop

You can fill a shopping cart with White House memorabilia in this airy, light-filled shop. (The older, smaller store on Lafayette Square carries the same merchandise.) “Anything with an eagle or a star on it or in red, white and blue is a winner,” says Michael T. Melton, executive vice president of the White House Historical Association. That includes a made-in-France red scarf ($150) based on a fireplace screen in the mansion’s Red Room and a Lego kit to construct a three-dimensional model of the house (ages 12 and up, $50). The 2012 White House Christmas ornament ($17.95) depicting President William H. Taft and his wife en route to deliver presents in a White Motor Company Model M would be welcomed by car buffs and history enthusiasts.