Uniquely West Chester Holiday Gift Ideas

Are you looking for a holiday present that is unique to this area? Check out the list below for alternate gifts, such as memberships to local gardens or museums, tickets to local performances or books or movies with local ties.

Membership in Local Organizations

• Chester County Historical Society
• Wayne Art Center
• Radnor Historical Society
• Chanticleer (Radnor)
• Morris Arboretum (Chestnut Hill)
• Woodmere Art Museum (Chestnut Hill)
• Tyler Arboretum (Media)
• Main Line Art Center (Haverford)
• Lower Merion Conservancy (Gladwyne)
• Riverbend Environmental Education (Gladwyne)
• The Grange Estate (Havertown)
• The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education (Roxborough)
• Newtown Square Historical Society/Paper Mill House Museum
• Marple Township Historical Society
• Thomas Massey House (Broomall)
• Springfield Historical Society
• Friend of the Springfield Library
• Friends of the Cynwyd Heritage Trail
• Barnes Foundation (Philadelphia and Merion)

Tickets, Subscriptions or Gift Cards to Local Performances

• Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall (West Chester)
• Footlighters Theater (Berwyn)
• Stagecrafters (Chestnut Hill)
• Allens Lane Art Center (Mt. Airy)
• Sedgwick Theater (Mt. Airy)
• Media Theater (Media)
• Bryn Mawr Film Institute
• Delaware County Symphony (Newtown Square)
• Marple Newtown Players (Newtown Square)
• Academy of International Ballet & Performing Arts (Media)
• Springfield Country Club Golf Gift Certificates
• Narberth Community Theatre
• Forge Theatre (Phoenixville)
• The Colonial Theatre (Phoenixville)

 Classes

• Chester County Night School
• Wayne Art Center
• Haverford Township Adult School
• Main Line School Night
• Delaware County Community College
• Marple Newtown Recreation
• Salsa in the Suburbs (Media)
• Springfield Ice Rink
• Manayunk Roxborough Arts Center
• Merge Dance Studio (Manayunk)
• Freedom Valley YMCA (Phoenixville)
• Bodies by Pilates (Phoenixville)
• On Edge Movement (Phoenixville)
• Chester County Quilting (Phoenixville)
• Phoenix Karate (Phoenixville)
• Zumba with Donna and Nicole (Phoenixville)
• Iron Cross Athletics (Phoenixville)
• Valley Forge Jazzercise (Phoenixville)
• Golden Tiger Shotokan Studio (Haverford Twp)
• Orlandi Dance Center (Haverford Twp)
• Movements in Motion (Haverford Twp)
• East Eagle Yoga (Haverford Twp)
• Pilates for Movement (Haverford Twp)

Books About the Area

• Walking the East End:: A Historic African-American Community in West Chester, Pennsylvania
• Valley Forge
• Main Line by Rail by George Harding
• Historic Photos of the Main Line by Laura E. Beardsley
• The Main Line: Country Houses of Philadelphia's Storied Suburb, 1870-1930 by William Morrison
• Chester County
• Historic Newtown Township 1681-1983 by Alice and Carol Lindborg         
• Chestnut Hill
• Chestnut Hill Revisited
• Germantown, Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill
• Lower Merion and Narberth
• Southeastern Pennsylvania Trolleys
• Haverford Township
• Roxborough
• Manayunk
• Mount Airy
• Middletown Township, Delaware County
• Wawa
• Marple and Newtown Townships
• Newtown Square
• Conshohocken
• Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports
• Conshohocken in Vintage Postcards
• Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships
• Suburban Philadelphia Trolleys
• The Philadelphia Area Architecture of Horrace Trumbauer
• Bartram Covered Bridge: Spanning History by George D. Conn, Christopher P. Driscoll, Eric D. Gerst and Doug P. Humes
• Scenes Around Newtown Square: From the Not-So-Distant Past
• Springfield
• Victorian Roxborough by John C. Manton
• Bygones: A guide to Historic Roxborough-Manayunk by John C. Manton
• The First 300: The Amazing and Rich History of Lower Merion

Books by Local Authors or Set Locally

• The Eve to Believe by Mark Schaeffer
• The Road Back: A Journey of Grace and Grit (Radnor)
• The Girl Who Fished With a Worm by Harry Groome (Villanova)
• Bury Me in My Jersey: A Memoir of My Father, Football, and Philly by Tom McAllister (Roxborough)
• Dugout Phunnies (Phillies comic book) by David Jablow (Roxborough) and Jon Goff 
• Any childrens' book by Brian Biggs (Roxborough)
• Any book by Michael Swanwick (Roxborough)
• Don't Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough (Paoli)
• Small Damages by Beth Kephart (Devon)
• Growing Up Global: Raising Children to be at Home in the World by Homa Sabet Tavanga (Berwyn)
• Chester County Fiction by 14 Chester County authors
• Life Among the Cannibals: A Policital Career, A Tea Party Uprising, and the End of Governing as We Know It by Sen. Arlen Specter
• Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus (Harriet Beamer Series) by Joyce Magnin
• Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise by Joyce Magnin
• Blame It On The Mistletoe - A Novel of Bright's Pond by Joyce Magnin  
• The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow by Joyce Magnin
• Appetizers at Devon (cookbook benefits the Devon Horse Show)
• Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
• Carrying Mason by Joyce Magnin
• Books by Devon resident and author Beth Kephart
• Chanticleer: a Pleasure Garden by Adrian Higgins
• Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks
• The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut: The Irish Who Died Building America's Most Dangerous Stretch of Railroad by William E. Watson
• The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan  
• Ghosts in the Garden: Reflections on Endings, Beginnings, and the Unearthing of Self by Beth Kephart (set at Chanticleer)
• Cheerful Money: Me, My Family, and the Last Days of Wasp Splendor by Tad Friend   
• Growing Up in Wayne by Henry DeWitt
• The Blackbird Sisters series of mysteries by Nancy Martin
• Strange but True by John Searles (murder after the Radnor High School prom)
• Bluest Blood by Gillian Roberts
• I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia by Gillian Roberts
• Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine: The Fabulous Flavors and Innovative Recipes of North America's Finest by Susanna Foo
• Susanna Foo Fresh Inspiration: New Approaches to Chinese Cuisine by Susanna Foo
• Father Sky by Devery Freeman
• Drinking Coffee with a Fork: The Story of Steve Carlton and the '72 Phillies by local sportscaster Steve Bucci

Movies With Local Ties

• Lovely Bones
• Philadelphia Story
• Sixth Sense
• Wide Awake
• To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
• Mad Men
• Taps
• Bazaar of All Nations
• The Blob
• Backwards
• The Mighty Macs

Other Items with Local Ties

• Media Fair Trade Calendar
• Wayne Gift Certificates
• Wawa Single Cup Coffee for Keurig
• Iron Hill Brewery Bottled Reserve Gift Packages and Etched Glasses
• Local Framed Antique Map
• Vesper Brothers Signature Tomato Sauce, from the owners of John's Village Market in Wayne and Berwyn
• Buildings in the Springfield woodcut series
• The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield PC game
• John Levering's Map of the Township of Lower Merion, 1851
• Firebird Bobblehead