TOP-10 Christmas stocking stuffers from Labour of Love

I love Cabbagetown!
Last week, I delivered more copies of my walking guides Toronto Urban Strolls 1 and 2 to Labour of Love on 242 Carlton Street. (They are always well stocked with my walking guides!) So I got a chance to sift through their Christmas merchandise. That was fun!

I'm a big fan of their jewelry selection (read about my shameless story on how I got the Labour of Labour neckless I wanted for Christmas) but they also carry plenty of options for $20 and under.

Here's the list of my TOP-10 cool finds to put in Christmas stockings (or to give as hostess gifts) as seen at Labour of Love:

1) If you're the one who ends doing this sort of chore at home, you'll love this one.  The whole store is peppered with such quirky quotes, which adds to the fun of browsing. (Prices vary according to size, this one was $12.)

2) Sooooo cute! Miniature Mason jars as shot glasses ($20 for a set of four)

3) I fell in love with this one. You can get a porcelain Fortune cookie with a hole in the back ($5) and combine it with a little red book filled with Fortunes to fit in the cookie ($15). In A year of Fortunes I read clever quotes such as "That thing you feel guilty about? The other person doesn't even remember."

4) For a personalized gift, in thin colourful boxes, you'll find little porcelain trays marked with any letter of the alphabet, to store jewelry or change ($12). 

5) More reading, lots of it, for wine lovers. My favourite: "The secret of enjoying a good wine: 1. Open the bottle to allow it to breath. 2. If it does not look like it's breathing, give it mouth-to-mouth." ($15)

6) I think people will have a blast with this Photo Booth kit of accessories ($20). Once, the graphic artist husband of a friend organized a party and as a souvenir, he wanted to take the photo of every guest. It normally feels awkward to me to purposely stand in front of a camera but not this time. He had drawn all kinds of accessories for us to choose from. The photos were great! (You can see a sample at the end of this post.)

7) A friend of mine has the regular magnetic poetry kit on her fridge and each of her guests always ends up playing with it at one point during the party. This one focuses on cocktail vocabulary ($15).

8) Now, for kids, Sardines, a lovely observation game the whole family won't mind playing. It involves sardines in bikinis. What's not to love? ($20) 

9) Old-fashioned fun in a little box. In it, you'll find a string and the instructions for 18 different string games. ($15)

10) Adorable little boxes to store money, or a ring? or a neckless? ($2/small one, $5/big one)

Also read about what I found at Kendal & Co. across the street from Labour of Love.

Christmas ornaments over our heads at Labour of Love.

Photo done with my friend's props at a party.
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