Christmas Shopping with No Money

By Linda Griggs

Orchard Street and Chinatown

You can find good deals on clothing, home furnishings and leather goods such as pocket books and shaving kits, but no particular store stands out. Walk the length of the street and listen to the vendors yell, "check it out, check it out" until a price and an item suit you. Prices, by the way, are negotiable. Many stores on Orchard Street are still Jewish owned and closed on Saturday. Start at Canal and walk down Mott St. There are gift shops all along the way. Price items as you walk. They can vary pretty wildly. Slippers at Pearl River Mart on Canal and Broadway are 2 pairs for $5. On Mott and Pell they're 2 for $3.50. This stuff might be common to a New Yorker but to relatives out of town it's exotic. My favorite store for pretty little dishes, tea in tins, ginger in beautiful ceramic pots, etc. is Kam Kuo at the bottom of Mott on the west side of the street.

Fleamarkets

Fleamarkets are great places to find unique items for little money. There is always some stuff that is overpriced. It's a good idea to shop around a bit before buying because vendors may have competitive prices. The largest market I know of is Greenflea at 77th and Columbus; you can find everything from beautiful craftwork to people's old junk to antique silver here. It is on Sunday only from 10am-6pm. For more markets, check out our flea markets page. The durable beaded bracelets to the left are a mere $2 each!

Individual Stores

• St. Marks Sounds
• National Wholesale Liquidators
• Weber's
• K-Mart
• Conway Stores
• Odd-Job Trading

St. Marks Sounds

CD's are about three dollars cheaper here. Also try their other store just down the street and west of them.

20 St. Marks Place btwn 2nd and 3rd Ave, (212) 677-3444
Sun-Thurs noon-1030pm, Fri-Sat noon-1130pm

National Wholesale Liquidators

Most people shop here for housewares, soaps and shampoos but you can also score good presents. The clothing upstairs is mostly stretch so one size fits all. The apple, peach and lavender glycerine soaps are more heavily perfumed and produce a less creamy lather than the Body Shops but they only cost 50 cents as opposed to three bucks. Buy a couple of dollars worth, wrap them nicely in tissue and they're a nice present for a friend at the office. Don't be shy about giving a friend a non-stick pan if you know they cook and don't have one. It's not hip or funky but they'll thank you for it for the rest of the year. In the food section they have a great deal on candy canes and huge bags of pistachios. For Grandpa, check out their Bing and Jack Benny cassettes.

632 Broadway and Houston and Bleeker St, (212) 979-2400
Mon-Sat 930am-830pm, Sun 11am-7pm

Weber's

These places are hit or miss. You can find great stuff like a foam rubber, traveling chess set for $3 or beautifully, designed teak salad bowl for $15. Sometimes there's not much at all. They also sell food like crackers, pickles, vinegars and candy. They offer really good deals but if you want to buy more than one of anything that contains oils, buy one packet, go outside and try it. Sometimes oils go rancid, but nine times out of ten there's no problem.

132 Church Street and Warren, (212) 571-3283
Mon-Fri 730am-7pm, Sat 8am-6pm, Sun 10am-6pm

45 W 45 Street btwn 5th and 6th, (212) 819-9780
Mon-Wed 8am-7pm, Thurs-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm, closed Sun

2064 Broadway at 72 St, (212) 787-1644
Mon-Fri 9am-9pm, Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-7pm

116 W. 32nd St btwn 6th and 7th Ave, (212) 564-4545
Mon-Sat 730am-8pm, Sun 9am-7pm

475 Fifth Ave and 41st St, (212) 251-0613
Mon-Wed 8am-8pm, Thurs-Fri 8am-9pm, Sat-Sun 10am-7pm

48 W. 48th St and 5-6 Ave, (212) 764-1615
Mon-Fri 730am-8pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm

K-Mart

They have very good prices. Check out the plant section; they usually have healthy, inexpensive house plants and sometimes orchids for $10. If you are throwing a party at any point this season, they have tons of inexpensive party supplies.

770 Broadway at Astor Place, (212) 673-1540
Mon-Fri 9am-10pm, Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 11am-8pm

1 Pennsylvania Plaza (212) 760-1188
Mon-Fri 7am-9pm, Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 10am-8pm

Conway Stores

Truly the working gal's friend, this store has the best prices on kid's clothes and cheap and trendy office wear; who cares if you have to sew a button back on occasionally? They have been sued in the past for counterfeit Hilfiger and Levi's but I'm willing to overlook this ethical transgression because of their amazing prices. You know those little gift baskets of soap, bath oil and buff puffs that should cost about $2.00 to make but sell for $5.00 at most places? Here they are a cool $3.00. Cotton turtlenecks are about $5.00. I've never gone in there without finding something really cute for really cheap.

225-253 West 34th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, (212) 967-7390
Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 930am-8pm, Sun 11am-7pm

201 East 42nd at 3rd Avenue, (212) 922-5030
Mon-Fri 730am-730pm, Sat-Sun 11am-6pm

Odd-Job Trading

This store is just wacky. You don't go there looking for anything in particular, just look for a surprise. If you buy food items like crackers, buy one, go outside and taste it to make sure it doesn't taste old, then go back and buy in bulk. They have clothing, handbags, cosmetics, games and toys, cd's - all eccentric.

465 Lexington Avenue, (212) 949-7401
Mon-Fri 730am-8pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm

149 West 32nd Street, (212) 564-7370
Mon-Fri 730am-8pm, Sat-Sun 10am-7pm

66 West 48th Street, (212) 575-0477
Mon-Fri 730am-8pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm

12 Cortlandt Street , (212) 571-0959
Mon-Fri 730am-8pm, Sat-Sun 10am-7pm