Written by Susie Kramer
Photos by Mariah Fisher
“You want to go shopping...”
I have flashbacks of last holiday season's mall shopping. Unsettling visions of check-out lines the length of three parallel-parked stretch limos. Stores that have perfected the ‘Mark-It-Up, Then Mark-It-Down’ strategy. Sardine-packed shoppers with pained, tight-lipped determination - anxious more than anything to check it off their list and get out as fast as possible.
“...In Ligonier?”
I’m suddenly feeling an enormous sense of relief. That’s an entirely different type of shopping. Browsing the shops in Ligonier is a holiday-spirit-lifting experience!
The date is chosen. Logistics are handled. Babysitters are booked. Let the shopping begin!
We bring winter in with us as we walk through the door of Main Exhibit Gallery, and it sends some massive windchimes in motion. Their deep, symphonic tones are background music for our browsing. The store is packed with handmade crafts by American artisans — ceramics, glassware, woodcrafts and furniture, and even unique socks and jewelry. I’m studying a wooden laser-cut bowl with a concentric pattern. While she’s boxing it up for me, owner Mandy Sirofchuck tells me about the Maine-based artist’s tedious job of gluing everything together where the pieces join.
We can't wait to make our way up to The Diamond. My Pittsburgh friend hasn't seen my pretty town center since before its months-long major reconstruction. On the way, I pull her into one of my favorite shops. Inside Annalynn Boutique, owner Lynn Brown’s happily chatting with us as we canvas her artfully arranged store. There are adorable crocheted ‘Melange Collection’ ornaments. Candles and luxurious lotions are chosen for a mother-in-law, and a ‘Jellycat’ animal (is that a stuffed ostrich?) is purchased for a young nephew.
When we step back out onto Main Street, we're hearing a surround-sound of Christmas carols pouring out from multiple speakers on the Diamond.
“...And when you walk down the street...
say hello to friends you know,
and everyone you meet…”
Snow is softly falling around a polished bandstand that houses a sparkling pine in its center. It feels like we’re on the set of a Hallmark movie.
While we're taking in this idyllic scene, my friend is expressing her envy of my zip code and her desire to move to Ligonier. She sighs, and then insists she needs chocolate. The smell in The Ligonier Sweet Shop is heavenly. The owner, Cokie Lindsey, explains that she buys from lots of Pennsylvania chocolatiers, and that her favorite time of year, in addition to the holidays, is ‘chocolate and candy trade show time’. She helps me choose a bag of wrapped chocolates for my kids’ stockings, while my friend considers their wall of Ligonier souvenirs. She grabs a tote bag with that iconic Diamond bandstand silhouette for her Grandma. Right next door is The Paper House, so I run in to buy a couple boxes of Christmas cards.
Next, it’s the place that takes the prize for one of the best holiday window-displays I’ve seen — complete with a giant lego Santa and a sidewalk snowflake light show. I couldn't wait to show it off. This store is a boutique for Conte Design, a busy interior design firm. Its modern space with floating staircase is filled with Christmas decor. I’m considering how that cool Santa plate will look propped up on my buffet with Christmas dinner set up around it.
The Diamond is adorned with pine garlands and bows and strings of white lights everywhere. On every grassy quadrant stands a piece of Christmas tradition — almost-life-sized carolers, a sleigh, a beautiful nativity scene and a gingerbread house. I tell my friend that a young local artist, Zach Sierocki, just gave it a fresh newly-painted look.
My tree is looking pretty bare this year - it could use some more ornaments. Holiday Home Store is our next stop! The sparkle in this place is incredible — we can hardly find owner Pat Baker in the midst of all this holiday glory! We can’t believe how many different ornaments we see. There’s lighthouses for beach-lovers, a whisk ornament for that chef in the family. Wait… Is that a bacon and eggs ornament?!?
Our bags are getting heavy. (Luckily that Ligonier ornament weighs about four ounces.) But we must push on! The Finishing Touch is just around the corner! Its super-friendly owner, Colleen Pritts, directs us to some pillows with sweet Christmas scenes that I know my aunt will love.
The sun is dipping (is it already four o’clock?) and we make plans to come back the following weekend, because we can't believe how many shops we missed — the Treehouse, Orvis, LHM Designs, Betsey's, The Black Bunny Boutique, Martin's, Post and Rail, La La Loopsey and The Beauty Boutique. We need to venture up East Main to shops like Song Of Sixpence, G Squared, Swansdowne Antiques, Allegory Gallery, Second Chapter Books, Scamp's Toffee, Crumpets Tea Shop, The Stationery Store, Celtic Culture, Strawberry Crow and Mommy Gear.
We have just enough time left for one more shop. My Honeybee’s whimsical inventory puts even wider smiles on our faces. Brenda Shaffer, the owner, directs us to a display of pampering items like soaps and bath bombs, in reinvented scents. There are lots of items adorned with llamas and VW buses, and inscriptions like “Those who wander are not lost”.
Wandering through Ligonier this Christmas season, we found lots of ‘things’, but the best thing of all was the feeling we had - that this truly is “the most wonderful time of the year”.
