Many of us will be doing their holiday shopping online this year. When traveling, we all enjoy visiting small town shops, going to museums, and discovering gifts beyond what you would find at your local big-box store.
If you love the unique, the quirky, the artistic, or just love supporting small museums that are dependent upon sales to help stay open, shopping small museums is a way everyone can win.
Turn on a little holiday music, sit back and enjoy browsing these unique museum stores. Just click the title link…you just might find the perfectly unique gift for someone on your list:
The Walters Art Museum
Baltimore, Maryland
A nice collection of unique gifts for children, beautiful jewelry, and items for home and office.
Chrysler Museum of Art
Norfolk, Virginia
An outstanding collection of art-inspired gifts and hand blown glass ornaments, jewelry, and accessories. Read more about the Chrysler Museum of Art on our blog.
The Henry Ford Greenfield Village Museum
Dearborn, Michigan
The Henry Ford Museum is dedicated to innovation and invention. Filled with fun gifts to spark children’s imaginations, their own pottery collection, hand made food treats, and items made right on site. Find out more about the Henry Ford Museum on our blog.
Figge Art Museum
Davenport, Iowa
Located on the upper Mississippi River, this art museum has a nice collection of jewelry, books, scarves, and gifts for children
The Gibbes Museum
Charleston, South Carolina
This lovely museum can bring art into everyday life with art prints, scarves, woven bags, and much more. Read more about the Gibbes Museum on our blog.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, Ohio
Located on the Ohio River, their collection currently has a wonderful collection of items featuring Vincent Van Gogh. You can search by artist, apparel, art, books, media, and they also have great puzzles.
The Farnsworth Art Museum
Rockland, Maine
From Blue Willow candle sets, to adorable nautical ornaments, to Wyeth art-inspired gifts, the Farnsworth has a wide selection of gift ideas celebrating the Maine lifestyle.
The Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens
Washington, D.C.
This elegant historic house has become a museum unto itself. Read more about the Hillwood and discover its rich history. With its Russian art influences, they offer stunning Faberge egg Christmas tree ornaments, and elegant jewelry. Read more about the Hillwood Museum on our blog.
Portland Art Museum
Portland, Maine
The store offers a great collection of books and toys for children, a collection of Winslow Homer art inspired gifts, and art books.
The Dennos Museum
Traverse City, Michigan
They offer a wide selection of puzzles, calendars, socks, colorful children’s plush toys and more in this small museum.
Houmas House Gift Shop
Darrow, Louisiana
This historic home is a favorite stop when cruising the lower Mississippi and offers a small collection of memorabilia, gifts, and ornaments. If you need a memory of your own vacation, a glass blown ornament featuring a riverboat on the river might be just what you are looking for.
Halim Time & Glass Museum
Evanston, Illinois
This amazing small museum specializes in clocks and stained glass. Their collection of offerings include unique umbrellas, purses, puzzles, and clocks, among many more beautiful gift ideas. Read more about the Halim Time & Glass Museum on our blog.
Maryland Center for History and Culture
Baltimore, Maryland
Their large collection includes items made in Maryland made of local woods, items for the house and home, and fun children’s gifts.
The Music House Museum
Williamsburg, Michigan
This specialty museum offers gifts for the music lover. They offer a collection of hand-winding music boxes, scarves, ties, and ornaments.
Missouri History Museum
St. Louis, Missouri
A small collection of quality items including a map of St. Louis tie or scarf, suffragist ornaments, and a collection of good books.
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Boothbay, Maine
A large selection of quality items for the lover of gardens and the natural world. You’ll find alpaca scarves, water resistant gardening gloves, fun gifts for the kids, specialty foods from Maine, and much more.
Minnesota Historical Society
St. Paul, Minnesota
Their large collection includes items made in Minnesota and a special section devoted to hometown hero, Charles Schultz, and a Peanuts collection.
The Charleston Museum
Charleston, South Carolina
This museum offers gifts ranging from memory games to porcelain coasters, smoked sea salt to spyglasses.
National Nordic Museum
Seattle, Washington
A specially curated collection of Nordic goods and crafts including art-inspired scarves and accessories, home decor, bath and grooming, foods, beautiful glass gifts, and fun little Viking boats.
Milwaukee Art museum
Boothbay, Maine
A large selection of quality items for the lover of gardens and the natural world. You’ll find alpaca scarves, water resistant gardening gloves, fun gifts for the kids, specialty foods from Maine, and much more.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Boston, Massachusetts
This gorgeous museum began as a personal art collection. Their extensive online gift shop includes specialty teas, chocolates, prints, board games, and unusual ornaments.
Bainbridge Island Museum of Art
Bainbridge, Washington
With a colorful collection of home goods and accessories created by local artisans, this shop is a fun way to support both the museum as well as local artisans.
The Walker Art Museum
Minneapolis, Minnesota
A large selection of items made in Minnesota, journals, jewelry, wine totes, and more. A wide variety sure to help you find something they’ll love to receive.
Dumbarton Oaks Museum
Washington, D.C.
This historic home museum offers an eclectic collection of jewelry, textiles, pottery, baskets, scarves, purses, and more.
Newport Restoration Foundation
Newport, Rhode Island
Working to rescue and refurbish our American colonial era heritage one building at a time – the Newport Restoration Foundation rescues historic homes from demolition or neglect and brings them back to life. Saving this piece of American history not only benefits us all, but has helped bring this historic city back to life as well. Not just rescuing mansions, their collection of properties varies from an old windmill to a mansion including Rough Point Mansion and the Whitehorne House, both of which are open to the public as museums. Shop their store to to support their efforts and you’ll be rewarded with fun finds from puzzles to yoga pants.
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
San Diego, CA
When the love of trains gets you, you are hooked for a lifetime. This museum showcases the talented creations by different model railroad clubs that are more works of art than anything. Like a film director creating a story, these models are snapshots in time. The museum works to keep the story alive by actively working with children’s groups through school programs, summer camps, and scout programs. Their museum gift store has a great selection any train lover would enjoy – from Thomas the Train age to the kid-inside.
Happy Shopping!
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