Get your cheer here

Hie thee to the cakery It’s hard to feel glum inside a snow globe, and that’s how it feels to be in downtown Stowe, Vt., over the holidays. Snuggled beside Mount Mansfield, the village is cozy to the core, a vision of white steeples. The snowy streets are chock-a-block with well-heated shops, and everyone’s glad to see you. At the Stowe Craft Gallery, there are plenty of artsy knickknacks to choose from. Across the street Stowe Mercantile is stocked with winter comforts, from woolens to earthy soaps. All shops are run by locals — and there’s not a mall in sight. Outside, the air is clean and fresh, the decorations old-fashioned. You can savor the silence at Bear Pond Books, or stop for a frothy cocoa at Jamie’s on Main, a tiny cafe and ‘‘cakery’’ with steamed-up windows. The mere scent of Michelle Hines’s chocolate-decorated confections is enough to warm your spirits, even when it snows. Stowe Craft Gallery, 55 Mountain Road, 802-253-4693, 877-ILOVEVT (456-8388), stowecraft.com . Stowe Mercantile, Depot Building, Main Street, 802-253-4554, 866-454-3482, stowemercantile.com . Bear Pond Books, Depot Building, 802-253-8236, stowebooks.com . Jamie’s on Main, Depot Building, 802-253-0077.
Hie thee to the cakery

It’s hard to feel glum inside a snow globe, and that’s how it feels to be in downtown Stowe, Vt., over the holidays. Snuggled beside Mount Mansfield, the village is cozy to the core, a vision of white steeples. The snowy streets are chock-a-block with well-heated shops, and everyone’s glad to see you. At the Stowe Craft Gallery, there are plenty of artsy knickknacks to choose from. Across the street Stowe Mercantile is stocked with winter comforts, from woolens to earthy soaps. All shops are run by locals — and there’s not a mall in sight. Outside, the air is clean and fresh, the decorations old-fashioned. You can savor the silence at Bear Pond Books, or stop for a frothy cocoa at Jamie’s on Main, a tiny cafe and ‘‘cakery’’ with steamed-up windows. The mere scent of Michelle Hines’s chocolate-decorated confections is enough to warm your spirits, even when it snows.

Stowe Craft Gallery, 55 Mountain Road, 802-253-4693, 877-ILOVEVT (456-8388), stowecraft.com.

Stowe Mercantile, Depot Building, Main Street, 802-253-4554, 866-454-3482, stowemercantile.com.

Bear Pond Books, Depot Building, 802-253-8236, stowebooks.com.

Jamie’s on Main, Depot Building, 802-253-0077.

(Text by Diane Foulds/ Yankee Image)