Looking for advice for a cross-border xmas shopping trip to New England. It has been a long time - so a little rusty. Favorite stores include the Crate & Barrel, the Christmas Tree Shop, Jones New York, Eddie Bauer etc. Would like advice on where to shop for good deals and wide selection. I am considering Kittery, NH, Portland, ME or Salem, MA. Also, enjoy the christmas feeling - do any of these places decorate their streets/stores for Christmas in November?

Anyone have a three-day itinerary that they would be willing to share? Any tips much appreciated.

I am not aware of any outlets in Salem, MA or Portland, ME. Route 1 in Kittery has a great variety of shops, including JNY, Eddie Bauer and Crate & Barrel. No Christmas Tree Shops in that area yet (but they're working on it!) The only downside to Kittery is Maine's 8% sales tax, but otherwise Kittery is great. I don't believe they do a whole lot by way of decoration. You might wish to do a Kittery/ Portsmouth NH trip - Portsmouth is basically right next door to Kittery, and has a great downtown area with cool shops and great restaurants. You could also consider North Conway, NH, where they have lots of outlets, no sales tax, and maybe more of a decorative/ festive atmosphere, but I think fewer restaurant options than Portsmouth.

Kittery is in Maine, not NH.

The state is significant because of the very significant difference in sales taxes. NH has none at all, so you might consider the shops in the Conway area.

Massachusetts has a 5% sales tax, but it is not applied to clothing items (unless the price is over $175). I am not aware of significant outlet shopping or major stores in Salem, though there's a big outlet mall in Wrentham.

Maine has a sales tax, too; I believe it's 8% and lso applied to clothing, making it the least atttractive of the 3 states.

Have you considered Manchester, Vermont?

The best outlets in the area are in Wrentham MA. The outlets in Kittery ME are ok, there's definitely a Crate & Barrel and Eddie Bauer. Freeport ME has slightly better outlets, it's about 20 min north of Portland. In the Salem MA area there's the North Shore Mall.

Even with the sales tax in ME I have done pretty well in Kittery - particularly at the Crate & Barrel outlet.

Not too far from Kittery is Newington NH (adjacent to Portsmouth) which has a nice but smallish mall with a Macy's, Aeropostale, American Eagle and adjacent to it is a strip style mall with a kitchen outlet, Old Navy and Kohls.

Between Kittery (outlets) Newington (regular mall) and Portsmouth (charm, decorations and unique stores) I think you would find everything you wanted.

I would stay at the Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle - beautifully restored old hotel that is part of the Marriott chain. New Castle is 5-10 minutes from all of the shopping I mentioned above.

The Kittery/Portsmouth combo suggestion is a good one. There's a Christmas Tree Shop in Portland ME, also Salem NH and Nashua NH. So maybe a Kittery/Portland ME combination would work too.

Wow - thx for all the great info. Looks like Portsmouth/Newington/Kittery is where we will go. Are the stores open on Sundays? Are there any statutory holidays between now and xmas when they will not be open? I am looking at a three-day weekend and like to make sure that the stores are open when I get there!

Also interested in (excellent value for money) suggestions for B&B or an inn/places to eat in the area. The Wentworth by the Sea looks wonderful (on-line pics) - though a tad more $ than able to pay.

Thanks again - you guys/gals are a wealth of info!

There is the York Harbor Inn in York, Me, just north of Kittery. Very nice but not sure if it meets your price criteria.

For restaurants, we tend to do more family friendly dining in this area so we like the Friendly Toast for breakfast and love the totally organic pizza at the Flatbread Pizza Company.

maine has a 5% sales tax and a 7% meals and lodging tax. New Hamster has no sales tax but a 8% meals and lodging tax.
A few extra miles from Portland gives yuo the Freeport LL bean and a lot of outlet stores.

Tanglewood Hall is a great b&b in York Harbor, ME. Also, Portsmouth Harbor Inn & Spa in Kittery, ME. Both are just minutes from the stores in Kittery and a few more to the ones in Portsmouth/Newington, NH.

Nearby Ogunquit and Kennebunk both have special Christmas activities - Ogunquit has Christmas by the Sea the weekend of Dec 7-9 and Kennebunk has Christmas Prelude Nov. 30-Dec 9. I haven't been to either in a few years, but have enjoyed both in the past. http://www.maine.info/events/festivals/december.php

For a spluge lunch with an ocean view suggest you reserve at MC Perkins Cove in Ogunquit or the Stage Neck Inn in York Harbor.

The Kittery Outlets are operated by a few managment companies - this is a good site for planning your shopping. http://www.thekitteryoutlets.com/directory.cfm

Hope you have fun.

oops . . . that was supposed to be "splurge"

Check out the Hilton Garden Inn and the Sheraton Portsmouth. They're both right downtown and should be cheaper than the Wentworth.

Yes, stores are open on Sundays. Downtown Portsmouth has lots of cute shops. I'd skip the Fox Run Mall altogether, it's kind of a dud.

Hey Isle_lass,

This sounds like so much fun!! I love ME and NH.

Kittery has plenty of outlets to keep you busy. They have Crate and Barrel, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, JNY, Puma, Lindt you name it its there!!

Just a side note...someone mentioned that there was a Christmas Tree Shops in Portland, but it's actually in South Portland, close to the Maine mall.

I believe there is also a Christmas tree shops in Salem NH....you can check on their website for the exact locations....I love that store also!

Enjoy your trip, be sure to let us know how it went!

Layla