Niagara Falls, as everyone who has ever vacationed here knows, is a great place to visit. It’s also a great place to pick up a souvenir or two, as everyone who has ever been on the receiving end of a Niagara Falls souvenir knows. From T-shirts and water globes to replicas of your own hand in wax, you’ll never want for something unusual to take home to a friend or loved one.
But what about more substantial gift giving, like that which occurs during the month of December? Well, it turns out that Niagara is a great place to find gifts of all kinds — not just in the souvenir category. If you’re planning a trip to Niagara Falls before holiday season officially hits this year, here are a few of the fantastic holiday gifts you can pick up for the good girls and boys on your list, and you can only get them in Niagara.
Wine
Ok — so it is possible to buy wine from the Niagara Peninsula outside of the Niagara Peninsula, but the selection in Niagara’s own backyard is without equal. For anyone with a true oenophile on their holiday list, it can make for an exciting hunt and a satisfying payoff. Whether you’re looking for a particular vintage of icewine or a case of Cabernet Sauvignon from a boutique vineyard that has zero distribution, you can find wines here that will make the wine lover in your life swoon all year long.
Artisanal Foods
Again, it is possible to find some of the artisanal cheeses, condiments, and other food available in the Niagara region in other places, but it’s the selection here that’s hard to beat. While you will have to plan ahead to make sure cheese and other foods that might spoil are able to stay cool during your travels, a simple stop at the retail store run by the Upper Canada Cheese Company can yield a wealth of great Niagara-made foods. Called the Jordan Station Gourmet Cheese Store, in addition to their own amazing cheeses, they sell locally produced pates, cured meats, cured fish, dressings, and much more.
Hats
Does someone on your list love hats — especially unusual hats that are well-crafted and one-of-a-kind? There is a hat shop in Niagara-on-the-Lake called the Beau Chapeau Hat Shop that has just the thing for the hat lover in your life. With over 8,000 hats in stock, they have something for almost every occasion, whether what you’re looking for is casual, formal, classic, official, or bizarre. It’s an amazing place to spend a few hours looking for just the right gift, and they also have a decent selection of scarves and gloves. Even if you don’t have a hat lover to shop for, the hats in Beau Chapeau are so unique, and the variety so far-reaching that you could also shop here for that person on your list who already has everything.
Come to Niagara for the waterfalls and world-class entertainment, and, while you’re at it, cross some names off your holiday gift list by finding fantastic presents that can only be found in Niagara.