Christmas Ornaments — our 4 favorite shops in Cape May

Our family started a tradition of getting a Christmas ornament (at least one) from each place we visited on vacation when the kids were really little. Our Christmas tree is now a mini guidebook of all of the adventures we taken over the years from a tiny tree frog with a Santa hat from Bermuda to a crown from The Tower of London. We briefly relive each visit as we place the ornaments on our tree each year. 

We also give Ian and Rachel an ornament in their Christmas stocking each year that will ultimately be a starter set for their own trees as adults. They got silly ones with their names on them, sports themed ones (soccer and volleyball), favorite food ornaments — you name it! One year we got them each a spider ornament. We have had one on our tree forever that has always captivated their attention. They used to fight over who got to put the spider on the tree. You don’t know about the legend of the Christmas spider? There are several versions, of the story—the most common one here.

As I am sure you have already guessed, we absolutely adore looking for Christmas ornaments in Cape May. Here are our four favorite shops to visit (but there are many more):

Winterwood Gift and Christmas Shoppe

It is in the anchor building of Washington Street Mall right on the corner of Washington Street and Ocean Street. The building itself is absolutely gorgeous. It is simple packed with a huge variety of Christmas decorating item in addition to ornaments. They also have handcrafted jewelry, home décor and art that fills two full floors. You will definitely have a challenging time choosing your prefect ornament (or two). Winterwood Gifts also has locations in Rio Grande (the original) and Wildwood. Many of the ornaments that we put in the kids stockings came from Winterwood.

Whale’s Tale

Another favorite of ours—located on the other end of Washington Mall closer to Congress Hall. For years we would visit the Whale’s Tale and pour over the lovely jewelry, beautiful unique seashells and tasteful gifts. However, the back of the store has an impressive selection of gorgeous and unique mouth blown, handcrafted glass ornaments. Many of them are seashore themed such as mermaids, sandcastles, shells and the like-so perfect for a Cape May vacation memento! There are other fun ones like a cannoli or ballet slippers. We got the kids each a lighthouse ornament one year, as part of their future ornament collection.

Sunset Beach Gifts

Our third go-to shop for Christmas ornaments is not right in the city of Cape May, but at Sunset Beach in Cape May Point — appropriately named Sunset Beach Gifts. It is an absolutely wonderful gift shop that carries just about any beachy gift you can possibly imagine. We often buy things there to decorate our own beach house, as well as gifts for others. Although the selection is not huge, they are incredibly unique and fun. I think Christmas ornaments make a very thoughtful hostess gift to say thanks for an unforgettable beach house visit.

West End Garage

Last but certainly not least—West End Garage. There are so many treasures in the little stalls in the Garage. As you poking around you will notice a few vendors carry beach themed (go figure) Christmas ornaments. It seems as if every time we stop in there is something new and different to find. Our home is a few short blocks away so I must confess we are there a lot.

Visiting each one of these stores is a great way to spend time in Cape May during the holidays or any time of year. However, many have an online store as well, featuring their ornament collections and more. I invite you to check them out at the links I provided above. An ornament would also make a great addition to a Cape May gift basket—don’t you think?

Where is your favorite place to buy Cape May ornaments? Let me know which shops I may have missed!

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