It’s that time of year again…welcome back to Christmas In Retail! [cue dramatic music.]
The holidays are magical and beautiful here in Upstate New York, but rather chaotic for small businesses like us. We wouldn’t change it for the world, but we might cause a global coffee shortage to get through holiday shopping madness! (JK…sort of…)
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🎁 Gift Guide 🎁
Not sure what to get for your loved ones? We have a few ideas! Be sure to stop in and ask one of our genius staff members for assistance if you’re still searching for the perfect gift.
The Literature Lover 📚
Comes with stationary, bookplates, bookmarks, a reading journal, and more!
Bibliophile ceramic bookends—sooo cute
The gorgeous Chiltern Classics are a must
The Banned Books Beauty 🚫
A relevant classic
A puzzle and a to-read list in one
*Sock* it to the book banners
The Grand Gothique 🦇
A perfect coffee table book
Edgar Allen Elderberry tea
Gorgeous and fascinating
The Wise Witch 🔮
The perfect balance of beauty and witchy
For the serious tarot readers
All-natural witchery
The Boozy Beverage Enjoyer 🥂
ALL the bubbly cocktail recipes right here
One of several gorgeous, whimsical glasses
Smells…intoxicating (lol)
The Admirable Artist 🎨
Every type of gel pen you ever wanted
Colouring is for EVERYONE and I will die on this hill
Keep it in your bag and never miss a paintable moment
The Whimsical Wanderer 🦋
Gorgeous pollinator calendar
A woodsy, soft Temple Moss candle
To smell as whimsical as you feel
The Friend of the Forest 🌲
A customer-fave, for good reason!
Beginner forager approved!
A puzzle worthy of a frame (which, incidentally, we also have…)
The Lively Little One 🧸
The sweetest bedtime story I ever did see
Ideal stocking stuffer
So no child ever goes without Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore
The Finger Lakes Fanatic 🐟
Deeply fascinating local read
Rep the FLX with a roomy tote!
Also comes as a FLX rocks glass!
💞 SG Staff Segment 💞
Please give a warm welcome to the newest SG queen, Bella! She is already fitting right in:
Isabella is a new hire at Stomping Grounds, whose previous experience as a Library Associate helps them feel at home within Ground’s ever-growing collections. They graduated from Clarkson University with a BS in Physics in 2023 and are on track to graduate with an MA in Rhetoric in 2027. They have a personal reading goal of 100 books per year, with their favorite genres being ‘absolutely unhinged female protagonist’, ‘this building is alive and angry’, and ‘feminist retelling of male-centered classics’. The majority of Isabella’s time is spent negotiating peace with their cats, Cannoli and Waffle, sewing, and, of course, reading.
Alison’s Cocktail Corner
Ingredients:
One shot (1.5 oz) white rum
8 oz Blueberry Lavender seltzer water
2 tsp. Portland Lavender Syrup
1 tbsp. Simple syrup
Lime juice to taste
Mint to taste
Mix everything together and enjoy over ice!
💡 What’s New? 💡
Come visit us in-store to see our gorgeous wintry decor and enjoy all of our new merchandise! We have too much new festive stock to fit in the newsletter, but I pinky promise it’s worth it to pop in or peruse our website.
🌎 Community Updates 🌎
We recently made a field trip over to Sweet Ki’s, a new bakery and treat shop right up the road from us! They are located at 112B Seneca St, Geneva, and offer gourmet cookies and sweet treats. Once we tried their INSANE cookies, we knew why they won Best Cookies in the FLX 2025. It’s not even close.
We chose a Butterfinger brownie cookie, a Biscoff snickerdoodle, and a peanut butter cup brownie roll. I think I died and went to heaven.
The lovely owner, Kiara Bourne!!
Visit them in person and follow them on Instagram here!
📕Stomping Grounds Book Club📕
The Resurrectionist by E. B. Hudspeth (2013)
“The first section of the book, detailing the life of Dr. Spencer Black, is a gripping, horrifically detailed portrait of a Frankenstein of living creatures; he works with the intention of making monsters, rather than them being the tragic result. Truly believing that fantastical beasts are and were real, he goes to extreme lengths to prove their existence to his family and the medical community. The second half of the book contains Black’s Codex Extinct Animalia, which contains the sketches and anatomical diagrams of his “creations”. Beautifully illustrated and anatomically labeled, the pages together create a monstrous Grey’s Anatomy, with a preamble from the mad scientist who made them possible.”
-Bella
Be sure to stop in and check off all of your holiday shopping needs! We are now open 7 days a week until Christmas.
See you next month!
