A Dose of Holiday Cheer
Going it Old-Fashioned Warms the Cockles

As wearisome 2008 draws to a close, our land has been gently covered with a blanket of white snow. The year of financial catastrophe, national political campaigning, local corruption, and rusting infrastructure flows into warm holiday parties and family merrymaking. While the uncertainty of the future will haunt our festivities, the greater Cleveland is still a place of wonder and hope.

A visiting co-worker from Bratislava, Slovakia, once described how the people of her country flock into a decorated downtown for an outdoor party on the square during the holidays. Hot chocolate and hot toddy and pastries and cookies warm the body as the folks greet old friends and meander past vendors selling handmade gifts. My co-worker was looking forward to going home so she could be a part of the festivities.

Cleveland's recent Winterfest harkened back to mid-20th century Cleveland. The Winterfest celebration began the holiday season the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but Public Square's holiday lights will last through the end of January. Kringle's Inventionasium in Tower City, where Kris Kringle can be seen working through a secret portal, and the Twigbee Shop and Holiday Express Train remain for those who want to capture some Christmas spirit.

To experience A Christmas Story House and Museum, get your Ralphie Pass here, from the hosts of the outrageously successful 25th Anniversary of the film (film and party held here!) We no longer have Mr. Jingaling and the decorated windows of Higbees and The May Company, but Christmas is still magical on Public Square.

For more of an old-fashioned downtown shopping experience, check out Cleveland’s neighborhoods. The streets of Little Italy, Shaker Square, Larchmere, the Warehouse District, Coventry, and Tremont feel like they haven’t changed since the late 1800s. Tree-lined sidewalks flanked by retail, restaurants, and bars have a hometown feel because the concentration of businesses entices browsing.

Outlying downtown “villages” in Vermilion, Olmsted Falls, Peninsula, Medina, and Chagrin Falls, with their gazebos, historic clocks, and town squares inspire capture the imagination. And inspire Christmas cheer.

Vermilion’s Main Street and the streets that run perpendicular to it are filled with buildings that have been around along time. The Swan Creek Candle Outlet, in an old bakery, and was refurbished to retain its original hardwood floors and exposed brick tiles. Holiday windows at Abigail’s Antiques & Emporium, Bicycle Bill’s, Brummer’s Homemade Chocolates, Salty Critters, and Admiral Debbie’s Desserts will entice you inside. The day can be completed with dinner at either Chez Francois or Old Prague restaurants after a visit to the Inland Seas Maritime Museum.

Olmsted Falls’ Grand Pacific Junction historic shopping district is bisected by frequently-used train tracks. Shopping at The Music Box, Antiques Down Under, and Abigayle’s Quiltery is enhanced by the ability to walk over the covered bridge above a historic woodland with a path leading to the falls. The creek runs behind the Grand Pacific Hotel and the Olde Wine Cellar, which has a sophisticated and thoughtful selection of wine with knowledgeable owners hosting the space. Take time for tea at Clementines or dinner at Quince Restaurant.

Peninsula, also along train tracks, is full of galleries. The former canal town’s Cuyahoga Valley Railroad Station provides for great picture taking as does the bridge over the Cuyahoga, wonderfully decorated for the holidays. Check out Log Cabin Gallery, Elements Gallery, and Yellow Creek Trading Co., but don’t forget to visit the historic Bronson Memorial Church and the Cuyahoga Valley Historical Museum. An afternoon of shopping can be topped off by dinner at the Winking Lizard or Fisher’s.

If you missed Medina’s Candlelight Walk in November, you can head out to the Medina Christmas Tree Farm for a tree, then drive around the square to admire the gazebo decorated with greens and red ribbons and shops all aglow. Over 200 businesses make their home in the Historic District, including A.I. Root home interiors, O.G. Apparel, Eastwood Furniture Amish furniture, Fleurs European Boutique gifts and silk flowers, Fundamentals toys, Tandem Trolly gifts, Studio Knit yarn shop, and Gramercy Gallery featuring Crabtree & Evelyn, local art, antiques and fine gifts.

Chagrin Falls feels Western Reserve, especially when the streets are covered in snow, which is frequently at this time of year. Free cookies and cocoa are available in Township Hall which also features a Santa’s gift shop and playhouse and pictures with Santa. Free horse and carriage rides take guests past antique shops, book stores, and clothing and interior design stores. It’s the kind of place where even the hardware store—Chagrin Hardware—is fun to browse. Other favorites are Chentini Gallery, the Fireside Book Shop, and The Bee’s Knees. Eat at Raintree Restaurant for a touch of Victoriana, Rick’s Café for a casual dinner, or Gamekeepers for elegance.

When I was a young girl in Conneaut, I walked through a snowy downtown past Ben Franklin’s in my pink coat with fake fur trimmed hood past townsfolk who called out holiday greetings. The plastic Santa Claus pinned to my coat was an ice breaker because if you pulled the string at the bottom, Santa’s nose lit up, just like Rudolph’s. I think we knew everyone who lived in that small town.

Few of us in the Cleveland area have that hometown experience today. Even if I don’t have the time to detour to a historic district this holiday season, I can walk through the Victorian-era Arcade between Superior and Euclid Avenues. I can imagine women strolling through the space in velvet skirts that touched the ground with their hands clasped within fur muffs on the arms of men wearing top hats. The stadium-shaped terraced floors are bedecked with greenery and ribbon and a Christmas tree alongside the classic old-moneyed palms, is enchanting. I like that it’s old-fashioned.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia J. Taller ctallerwritesATwowway.com

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