Skip the malls and shop the museums this holiday season

The Barnes Foundation offers plenty for your parents. Chose the perfect give for mom or dad at the Barnes.

Skip the crowded malls and three-mile lines at the big box stores this holiday season and support your local museums instead. We found the best gift shops to pick up something for everyone one your list — naughty or nice.

For the kids

The Franklin Institute
222 N. 20th St.
215-448-1200
www2.fi.edu
Educational presents won’t make you the boring relative any longer. The Airzooka is a hand-held blaster, blowing balls of air up to 20 feet away. Ultraviolet Touchable Bubbles glow in the dark for post-dinner hijinks. With plenty of science kits based on space and robotics, the Franklin Institute keeps learning fun.

For the co-worker

Mutter Museum
19 S. 22nd St.
215-563-3737
www.collegeofphysicians.org/mutter-museum
The office Pollyanna sounded like a good idea until you ended up with that nosy neighbor in the adjacent cubicle. Why not embrace the holiday spirit and give them a plush, smiley-faced heart? If you’re feeing extra generous, leave a bar of rose-scented corpse-shaped soap in the bathroom for all to share.

For mom and dad

The Barnes Foundation
2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
215-278-7000
www.barnesfoundation.org
After years of sequin-covered construction paper hats, you owe dad something classy like a Van Gogh-inspired tie, or perhaps a silk Renoir Roses scarf for mom. Spruce up their lovely abode with a handcrafted silhouette vase or a colossal coffee table book of American paintings. The Barnes provides plenty of decorations to replace your folks’ original centerpiece: you.

For the nature lover

Longwood Gardens
1001 Longwood Road
610-388-1000
longwoodgardens.org
It might be too cold to sniff the flowers, buy you can satisfy the nature lover in your life with a lavender sachet for the closet or car. Your friend will never forget how to warm up thanks to the apron adorned with a mushroom soup recipe. And if he must head outdoors, the solar mint tea lantern provides a peaceful feeling during the stressful holidays.

National Constitution Center has all your teacher's needs. Stock up on gifts for your favorite teachers at the National Constitution Center.

For the teacher

National Constitution Center
525 Arch St.
215-409-6600
constitutioncenter.org
Don’t forget to show some appreciation for the men and women dedicating their lives to teaching your children. A sports-themed pen and paper set spices up the standard stationery that teachers are always running out of. A cocktail mixer filled to the brim with Jelly Bellies fuels the sugar rush for grading tests. And the Constitution shot glass comes in handy after a long week of Powerpoints. Hey, it’s their right, too.