Wrap it up: Art, nature centers have creative gifts for you

Pandemic, shmandemic. Some of us did not get a free minute to do that early buying the media are claiming is an outgrowth of a quiet summer and autumn.

And we know who we are, sweating already in the 65-degree morning because we don't know what to get for half of our holiday list.

Local arts and nature centers can cool that fevered brow, even when you have a finicky teenage grandson. And it's a double delight on Christmas morning when part of the proceeds from your purchase go back to the organizations that bring art and conservation to our community.

By the way:December calendar of things to do in Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero

And:Best spots to view holiday light boat parades in Naples, Marco, Bonita

Here's a look at gifts from around Collier County with your gift recipients in mind:

The Baker Museum

One of our favorites, and Store Manager Kathleen Hassan's, too, is the Chihuly umbrella, which comes in both full and tote-able size ($36). A mild-mannered charcoal on the exterior, it springs open to reveal a print of one of the glass artist's famous ceilings. 

So you like color? Take a looki in its jewelry case at the enamel shape pendants from French artist Thierry Joo. Strung on black cord, they come in palettes such as blue and green or white, gray and black or — pow! — the entire rainbow. $135 and up. 

More art:It's art, it's message-making — and it's fun for student muralists at Naples Art

And:Immokalee Foundation students tour Keith Haring exhibit, paint mural at Naples Art

The exhibition "Baseball Heroes" has brought some ideas to the store as well: Books that are entertaining reading for beginners or for parents to read to youngsters. "H is for Home Run" and "Full Count" ($17.95) teach the alphabet and numbers by centering on the game. Quick: Where is the number two (2) involved in the game? The answer will be buried somewhere further down in this story.

More for kids and kids at heart: Tinker Totters, little parts to be assembled as heroes, robots and more ($32) and Zigzoids, which can be snapped into endless architectural forms ($19.95), the perfect dorm desk decor.

The first ones there may be able to snap up the supply of Musical Crackers, a highly decorative version of the little cylinders to be popped at celebrations; these release small handbells for that family Christmas concerto ($24.50).

Where: The Baker Museum, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples 

Requirements for entry: Proof of professionally administered COVID test; card showing full vaccination status also accepted

Information: 239-597-1111 or artisnaples.org/baker-museum

Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

The Nature Store at Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary offers every possible avenue for shopping: online, curbside delivery and in-person. 

The sanctuary itself requires advance reservations right now, and it's always worth it. In the meantime, the store doesn't require reservations, but facemasks are a necessity. 

The Nature Store there has always been a trove of fun things, and the T-shirt selection this year, in deep lime, grape and blueberry, is at its best for kids ($11.50 to $16.95). Gators will make an appearance on their fronts, but there's a clever one with beneficial bugs swaggering around, too.

Artistically inclined little ones, or even your teen, will love the stuffed fabric alligator ($9) that takes its colors from whichever of the accompanying pens — all of them, we hope — they paint it with. Then it can go in the wash and emerge ready for another new look. 

Adults get attention, too. There are even long-sleeve T-shirts for those born with inadequate internal furnaces ($24).  A water-resistant vest by Weekenders ($84)  has pockets for every conceivable item needed by a birdwatcher or someone who can only carry one personal item aboard their flight.

The jewelry, as always, is unusual, and this year, one that is an absolute double-header: style and fragrance. Aromatherapy and Essential Oil bracelets have interval segments of lava stone that will absorb fragrant oils and release them for hours. And for the man — or woman — who wants something totally different gracing their wrist, there's a black sandalwood-band watch that looks hefty, but you could measure its weight in feathers. $109. (Warning: There is only one of those.)

For your friend on-the-go, or a host/hostess who perennially has a full house, there's a four-pack of conservation-wise bamboo toothbrushes. $15.95. 

Where: 375 Sanctuary Road W., Naples

Information: 239-348-1894 (Nature Store) or corkscrewaudubon.org under the Support dropdown.

Marco Island Historical Museum

We want the full set of 32 Crayon Rocks ($17) from the Marco Island Historical Museum store. And not for our kids, either. The soy wax crayons shaped like pebbles were the inspiration of a special education teacher whose family-owned company makes them in their rural Kentucky farm.

They also come in smaller numbers, beginning with eight crayons for $6.99.

There is a wonderful inventory of gifts for kids here, from coloring books to a colorful Encyclopedia of Ocean Life ($14.99), good for a gift or to have on hand for those curious visiting grandkids. 

A Todd Turrell map of Florida's 10,000 islands has your home office in its line of sight. The Naples-origin map shows in a dramatic way how intricate the whole ecosystem of Southwest Florida is. It comes in sizes beginning at 18 by 24 inches for $30 to $85 for a 24-by-36-inch poster.

For the hostess, there are roughly 4-by-6-inch paintings of Christmas trees, on wood board, at $15. They're ideal for small easels or, back-to-back hanging in the condo window or from a chandelier. 

Store Manager Nancy Judd is among the artisans whose jewelry is for sale in the store, and every year it's hard to resist one of her turquoise-look stone-and-bead necklaces ($39) and a pairing of matching earrings ($12). 

Don't forget to pick up a copy of "The Nine Lives of the Key Marco Cat" ($26.95 hardcover), which details the arduous journey of a world-venerated artifact from its burial grounds on Marco Island to the Smithsonian, and — at least for the coming year — back to Marco again. (It's right next door to the gift store, and now is the time to see it.)

 Austin Bell, curator of collections at Marco Island Historical Society and a consulting scholar at University of Pennsylvania Museum, wrote the quirky bio of the famous feline.

Where: Marco Island Historical Museum, 180 S. Heathwood Drive, Marco Island

Information:  239-252-1440 or themihs.info/museum/

Marco Island Center for the Arts

Elgin Diaz or his family drink a lot of Pepsi and we who shop for the holidays at the Marco Island Center for the Arts are the beneficiaries of that. The Naples artist creates unique soda-can thrill machines, from jet fighters to racers, motorcycles at Jeeps. ($150) 

The Marco Center's clay guild show and sale items, a December tradition, beckon you to pick up wedding gifts, hostess gifts, small trays and more, all one-of-a-kind, at various prices.

Its jewelry, too, is far ranging, from Fort Myers artist Nancy Green's fused glass pendants and earrings ($20) to the By the Sea collection of the same items from Maureen Massey, who calls both Isles of Capri and Maine home. It's $49 for her silver sand dollar earrings. Or look at Tampa artist Karen Wright's spiraled trios of bracelets, ($30, $36 with braided leather), which Store Manager Marsha London-Sherwin points to as big sellers.

"They're like pet rocks — people keep coming back to get more," she said. Further, they're a versatile gift, she added: "They're good for everyone from 18 to 80."

When Massey isn't designing silver jewelry, she's making Christmas ornaments, this year sand dollars with starfish or poinsettias with glitter-clad piping.

Where: Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island

Information:  239-394-4221 or marcoislandart.org

Naples Art

The Naples Art gift shop does so well its merchandise changes a lot, but there's always more of something good coming if what you wanted is gone. And right now the thing to want is one of its leather boutique bags, sized for concert venues and roomy enough for the cellphone as well as cards, comb and tissues. They're $96, but have been on sale from time to time.

Because of the Keith Haring show, "Radiant Vision,'" at Naples Art, there are some  souvenirs such as the Haring ball cap with a turntablist dog spinning some imaginary grooves ($26). For kids, there's a book on his brief but brilliant career in "Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing" ($17.99.) 

Scarves and necklaces are staples in the store, which specializes in as much regional and local art if possible. Among our favorites: The bead-fill hollowed stone pendant  with a double centerpiece stone, with earrings. $84. 

Where: Naples Art,  585 Park St. Naples

Information: 239-262-6517 or naplesart.org

Other artistic opportunities

Two stores at nonprofits offer a different sort of amazing inventory.

The Center for the Arts Bonita Springs promotes as gifts its one-night workshops, with feats such as creating your own fused glass pendant or your own serving bowl, $65 each.

Information: 239-495-8989 or artcenterbonita.org

At the Naples Botanical Garden, there are live plants of all sizes and shapes in its gift store. hat's also the right place to find tickets for its Johnsonville Night Lights in the Garden ($36, $16 ages 4-17).

Buy a ticket for yourself and you can enjoy that Christmas gift together. 

Information:  239-643-7275 or visit naplesgarden.org 

Harriet Howard Heithaus covers arts and entertainment for the Naples Daily News/naplesnews.com. Reach her at 239-213-6091.