6 Days of Christmas Shopping in The Hamptons

Pour yourself a holiday beverage and relax, perhaps a glass of Sylvia’s Eggnog. We are here to help you become the best Christmas Shopper of all times!

‘Christmas is almost here and I still have so many names on my list and not enough gifts under the tree!’

Day One – Traveling in Style on ‘A trip to East Hampton Village’

• How about a classic auto for the trip, maybe a Jaguar, Porsche or Bentley
• Skip the driving with a Limo, Helicopter, Seaplane or The Ambassador Coach

Day Two – A ‘Mill House Inn Gift Certificate’ with the Perfect Hamptons Adventure hidden inside each and every envelope

• Make the gift of a stay at MHI even more special by adding a special touch for everyone on your list
• In your suite – A Catered Dinner, Couples Massage, Spa Treatments or Movies & Popcorn by the fire
• Your Personal Assistant will take care of everything – Restaurant Reservations, Wine, Flowers, Chocolates

‘It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas and I need to finish my shopping soon!’

Day Three – Something Very Hamptons from Our List of Tickets and Events

• The Hampton Classic, International Hamptons Film Festival, Food Truck Derby or Dan’s Taste of Summer
• Tickets to Stephen Talkhouse, Guild Hall, Bay Street Theatre, a Gallery Opening or a special shopping event

Day Four – A little bit of the Outdoors, after all it is the East End, a Gift Certificates fit nicely in stockings. . .

• Surfing Lessons, Horseback Riding on the Beach, Private Bike Tour, Guided Nature Walk
• Whale & Seal Watch, Fly Fishing Charter, Sunset Cruise and Dinner on a Secluded Beach
• Harvest Season Chauffeured Wine Tours, Picnic on a classic sailboat

‘There is so much more to get done for Christmas Day, I feel like I will never finish every task on my list!’

Day Five – Beautifully Curated Lists by the MHI Editor. Each says ‘The Hamptons’ in a special way. And a short shopping story.

• About The Hamptons Books, Movies, Wine, Spirits, Food, Clothing, Furniture, Art, Jewelry
• Many stores are available online or give Amazon a look for books, music, movies
• Gift Certificates are available from almost any vendor!

• Hamptons Reading List – Fiction
  Great American Writers who were drawn to the East End of Long Island, not only for the land, the sea, and the sky but also for the abundance of the harvest’s bounty and the camaraderie of other artists and writers. Here is some of the copious contemporary fiction written in, around, and about the Hamptons. Some of these books are riveting, some sublime, and some downright trashy. But who doesn’t like the guilty pleasure of reading trash sometimes? Especially on vacation at the Beach!
  • Our Hamptons Reading List: The Fiction Edition I
  • Our Hamptons Reading List: The Fiction Edition II
  • Our Hamptons Reading List: The Fiction Edition III

• Our Hamptons Reading List: Bookstores
  One of my main criteria when deciding if I will ever return to a vacation destination is the presence of a great bookstore. After all, you need a place to learn about the local history, food, art, and culture of the area, as well as grab a couple of trashy local gossip books to take to the beach with you.
  • Our Hamptons Reading List: Bookstores

• Architecture and Some Notable Architects of the Hamptons
  Given the ever changing nature of the Hamptons over time, it is only natural that the character of the architecture here should change as well. Their books make amazing gifts!
  • Architecture and Some Notable Architects of the Hamptons

• Our Hamptons Reading List: The Photographers
  I’ve added to our Hamptons Reading List with some remarkable books of photographs by some of our very talented neighbors . . . each so different!
  • Our Hamptons Reading List: The Photographers

• Our Hamptons Reading List: Memoirs and Biographies of Hamptons Celebrities
  A brief tour of a few memoirs and biographies of Hamptons luminaries, including Alan Alda, Alec Baldwin, Carl Bernstein, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Joel, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. October is the perfect month to cuddle up and keep reading.
  • Our Hamptons Reading List: Memoirs and Biographies of Hamptons Celebrities

• The Hamptons Movie List
  After writing about The Hamptons International Film Festival 2018. It seems quite fitting to progress to the subject of Hamptons Movies. But, given how many movie industry types call the Hamptons “home” (or at least 2nd or 3rd home, or spend a lot of time here), there are too many “Hamptons Movies” to cover in even two blogs!
  • The Hamptons Movie List, Part One
  • The Hamptons Movie List, Part Two

• Our Hamptons Reading List: Non-Fiction Edition
  These are not, by any means, all of the non-fiction books about the Hamptons, but I am starting with the books I have collected in my own library over the years. I am starting with my favorites.
  • Our Hamptons Reading List: Non-Fiction Edition

• Our Hamptons Reading List: Newspapers, Magazines, and Blogs
  This is a list of our most basic information sources: local newspapers, magazines & blogs – both online and off. Year to year, there are many others littering the sidewalks of East Hampton Village and the various black holes of the Internet, but these are the publications that so far have survived and that we find valuable. Tuck a subscription into their stockings!
  • Our Hamptons Reading List: Newspapers, Magazines, and Blogs

• Exploring The South Fork Wineries
  The South Fork lays claim to only 3 wineries, as much of the rich farmland has been supplanted by McMansions and green land preservation tracts. But don’t equate quantity with quality; exploring the three South Fork wineries will make for a great viticultural adventure or three! And a Wine Club membership makes a gift that keeps on giving!
  • Exploring The South Fork Wineries

• The Hamptons’ Summer Art Scene
  The history of art in the Hamptons really started with the building of the railroad in 1872. As well as attracting the wealthy Summer Cottage community, escaping the heat of the city, artists were drawn here for the beauty of the landscape and the unique quality of the light reflecting from the water on all sides. Give a gift of Local Art!
  • The Hamptons’ Summer Art Scene

• Vineyards of the North Fork
  A contact list of North Fork Vineyards, a history of the NF wine industry and details of our first round of wine exploration. And, again, wine is a Perfect Gift… It’s time to pour yourself a glass of red, to get yourself in the game, so to speak.
  • If you know the varietals that are your favorites try a mixed case or two
  • Want to place the decision making in the hands of the Vineyard, join a wine club or two
  • The Ultimate, contact us and arrange a classic car, driver and a wine tour!
  • Vineyards of the North Fork
  • Six Million Bottles of Wine a Year and Counting!
  • North Fork Vineyards: Sound Avenue & North Road – West to East Part I

• The Best Spirits on The East End
  The terroir that benefits our unique wine region has also given birth to a wide variety of beverages. Maybe the beginnings of today’s craft cocktails originated in the area’s bootleggers, smugglers and the up-island speakeasies they supplied. During the 1920’s, the high cost of imported alcohol limited its availability to the high society set and with that came a new class of Prohibition Era Cocktails. This is all so new and very cool on the East End! Drink Now!!
  • Beautiful bottles of specially crafted spirits, Cherrywood Smoked Malt, Rough Rider Straight Bourbon, Botanical Dry Gin
  • Hard Apple Cider blended from jonagold, fuji, cameo, pink lady, elstar, granny smith, mutsu, pippin, rome or empire apples
  • Specialty beers brewed by a husband and wife who share a labor of love and passion
  • Moonshine that harkens back to prohibitions days; Apple Pie and Honey Infused
  • Grappa and brandy from the couple who define sustainable farm to table
  • Membership in a Brewery or Distillery Club
  • A bookshelf of our favorite cocktail encyclopedias
  • Create a custom spirit at a bespoke distillery and incubator
  • The Best Spirits on The East End

• Shopping the Hamptons
  So she arrived on a Sunday night, and snuggled under a down quilt with the fireplace flickering. The detective in me determines the cause of the red smears and brown blotches in her journal are from chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of 2014 Prime Number from Roanoke Vineyards – the perfect pairing for planning tomorrow’s shopping. As if throwing a dart at a map on the wall, she drifted off to sleep knowing that tomorrow morning her adventure would start by wandering out the front door of the Mill House Inn in East Hampton Village.

  For the rest of the story take a trip down the lanes with me, enjoy the village shops, shop a bit, have a cocktail!

  • Shopping the Hamptons 1
  • Shopping the Hamptons 2

Day Six – Just about done, this is the easy one! Give our Elves a call and they will take care of everything. In 6 easy steps!

1. Give us a call. . . Let us know who’s on your shopping list and what makes them smile and we will help you be the hero of their Christmas Tale
2. Our Elves are ready to help and they promise to find just the right gift for everyone you love. They also have a gift just for you
3. For every $500 Gift Certificate you purchase. . . Our Elves will gift wrap a $100 Gift Certificate just for you!
4. If this Gift Certificate is for you and your special someone. . . please let us know! We will add 20% to the value
5. We can build an ‘MHI Gift Certificate’ with the Perfect Hamptons Adventure hidden inside each and every envelope
6. St Nick is amazed what his Elves can fit in every envelope!  By now I bet you’re glad our Elves only learned to count to 6