Best Christmas Shopping in New Orleans

Owned and operated by glass and metal artist Arden Stewart, Nuance offers handmade Louisiana crafts in the Riverbend section of uptown. Pottery, blown glass, unique jewelry and fleur de lis mementos line the inside of the cute little shop. Located on the far end (from the Quarter) of the St. Charles Streetcar line, Nuance offers shoppers a great escape from the bustle of French Quarter perusing. Spend a day Uptown, and enjoy this gem of a store as well as a handful of restaurants and bars nearby. If you find something you fancy, purchase knowing that you are supporting the local art community of New Orleans.

Searching for culinary artifacts antiques and artwork look no further than Lucullus. Once solely a culinary antique emporium, Lucullus has expanded its reach to include design, with the owners' expertise showcased in a new shop and space in Bywater on Kentucky Street, the first street past (and parallel) to Poland going towards the Industrial Canal. whether 17th to 19th century Continental and English furniture or the magnificent selections of cookware are imported straight from France. What makes Lucullus so unique is the owners' depth of knowledge. With the opening of this location, they have expanded to include a more contemporary inventory.

Originally a Choctaw trading post, the French Market dates back to 1791, one of the oldest documented farmer's markets in America. Organized like a giant swap meet, you can find inexpensive silver jewelry, $10 sunglasses, stuffed animals for the kids and all kinds of tasteless items made from alligator hide. You can try your hand at bargaining, depending on the shop owner's mood and how much you're planning to buy, you might get a deal. Although many of the items for sale are imported, the prices are good and you'll find some local artists depending on the day. The food offerings are better than any mall food court.

Dr. Bob never had an art lesson in his life. Legends and lore, swamps and gators, shotgun houses and starry skies inspire his whimsical neon folk art. He incorporates found objects in his work, alligator teeth, reclaimed wood and local bottle caps adorn his paintings. If you have a meal at Elizabeth's restaurant at Chartres and Piety, you'll see plenty of Dr. Bob's work hanging on the walls. But the best place to see the artist's work and meet him too, depending on his mood, is at his Bywater studio and gallery. In the past, the place was less than welcoming to passersby, with no trespassing signs posted and Dr. Bob usually put out at any interruptions. After termite damage ruined a second-floor apartment over his studio a few years ago, Dr. Bob transformed the space into a bona fide gallery, complete with a smiling assistant and floor to ceiling displays of his work for sale.

Fleurty Girl is a wildly popular clothing and accessories shop with multiple locations and a decidedly local accent. The boutique's specialty is screen printed tees that feature New Orleans witticisms, catchphrases and pop culture references that make the shirts trendy yet timeless. Owner Lauren Thom started Fleurty Girl out of her house a while back, and her shirts have now become a staple around town, along with all kinds of Nola-centric gifts. Besides shirts, there are hats, boots and other accessories, many featuring the New Orleans Saints football colors black and gold.

Come to this charming museum along Central City's Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard and find a cavernous 16,000-square-foot space achieving an ambitious mission. The museum is home to an exhibition kitchen in the rear, a fab gift shop for foodies up front, and a series of central exhibits called Gallery of the Southern States of Taste. Here you can see a somewhat higgledy-piggledy series of displays dedicated to the food culture of 15 Southern states and the District of Columbia. There's also a newly added outdoor event space called the Gumbo Garden. Formerly an old Dryades Street Market that dates to 1849, the building's terrazzo floors still bear the dividing marks of the original vendors' stalls. The demonstration kitchen in the rear of the building sits where the fish market used to be.

A beacon of locally made art and jewelry on Frenchmen Street since 2013, this evening market is open every night from 7 pm until midnight, or 1 am on the weekend. Right next door to the Spotted Cat and in the heart of the Frenchmen Street nuttiness, this brightly lit marketplace boasts a revolving roster of serious artists creating everything from whimsical sculptures made from flatware to Impressionist style streetcar scenes and inventive offbeat t-shirt designs. This is where locals in the know buy their gifts and art for the wall and wearing. Check out the fun feathered hair barrettes and silver flatware sculpture.

A must for lovers of the city and history buffs, the Historic New Orleans Collection connects the dots in more than three centuries of New Orleans lore. Don't miss a stop at The Shop at the Collection, the perfect spot to get unique, local gift items, exclusive reproductions of maps, prints, gorgeous books published by THNOC, and one-of-a-kind pieces by local artists. A great spot if you're looking for authentic Louisiana and New Orleans gifts. After shopping, check out the collection - a museum, research center and publisher, the newly expanded collection was founded in 1966 to preserve the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South. Located in a historic complex of French Quarter buildings, the Historic New Orleans Collection also includes an impressive staffed research center for doing some checking up on famous residents like voodoo queen Marie Laveau, should you get the urge.

There are plenty of crafty jewelry designers in New Orleans selling fleur-de-lis pendants. But for the times you want to make a right-now statement, there's the groovily named Gogo Borgerding, a designer who creates eye-popping jewelry with necklaces that say "POW" and bracelets that look like Wonder Woman might wear them. Her eponymous store sells not only her bold pieces but also features other talented and sometimes unknown jewelers' designs. Some of the pieces are Louisiana-inspired, like the nubby crawfish claw pendants in silver or bronze or hand-cut sterling shadowboxes replicating the gas lights that flicker outside many a French Quarter cottage.

Where Y'Art is a sweet, locally owned gallery in the Marigny that offers more than 100 New Orleans artists with creations of all price points. From painters to sculptors, craftsmen and jewelry designers, you can peruse their work anytime online - consider this a 24-hour meeting place where the artist is always present and the wall space knows no limits. We also maintain a physical gallery in New Orleans' historic Faubourg Marigny neighborhood along with satellite galleries across the city. Browse New Orleans art and get to know the artists behind each piece, with a database searchable by category, color, collection, price or neighborhood.