Gift shopping on Moody Street

For the past three or four years, my wife and I have done a majority of our gift shopping on Moody St.

And no wonder. You get very special, unique gifts that aren't in the superstore bins. Where to start? Well, there are two super gift shops (one next to Lizzy's, the other next to the Tara Restaurant) that sell all kinds of artsy and decorative things for kids and adults, as well as great cards; the gaming shop, which is good for card sets, poker paraphanelia, and the like; Frugal Framers, which will do a professional framing job of a photo or newspaper article (last year's Red Sox team photos and article announcing the World Series win were popular last year); a florist; and the Construction Zone, which has an incredible assortment of Legos, blocks, and other toys that will really bring out the builder in your little ones.

The only thing that's missing from this picture is a place to buy decent clothes, for kids or adults. At one time there was such a place (Grover Cronin's, RIP) but now we have to go out to Natick or Framingham to do clothes shopping, for gifts or for ourselves.

But still ... if there's a birthday coming up, or Christmas is just two days away and you need something quick, Moody Street is the place to go. It's nearby, parking is easy, it's fun to browse, and there's lots of gift ideas you definitely won't see in a mall or Target.