Salida Among Five Colorado Main Streets Voted Among America’s Favorite Christmas Shopping Destinations – by Ark Valley Voice Staff – Ark Valley Voice

S Mountain lights up with fireworks while crowds throng F Street after the Parade of Lights. Merrell Bergin photo

Poll Identifies America’s top 150 main streets for Christmas shopping

It may come as no surprise to those of us who choose to live in the Colorado Rockies, but five Colorado mountain town main streets have hit the list of America’s top 150 main streets for Christmas shopping.

“Main streets are the heart and soul of communities, especially during the holiday season,” said Present.com Representative Sanjit Sandhu. “Our survey highlights the many charming and unique main streets across the country, all of which offer a memorable shopping experience for the holidays that simply can’t be replicated. These main streets remind us to support local businesses as we make holiday memories that last a lifetime.”

As described in the survey list, the five Colorado winners include:

#15 Main Avenue, Durango
Durango’s Main Avenue is lined with festive decorations, artisan shops, and cozy cafes, creating a warm holiday atmosphere with beautiful mountain views.

#16 Manitou Avenue, Manitou Springs
Manitou Avenue is a charming spot for holiday shopping, with boutiques and galleries offering unique, handcrafted gifts in a picturesque mountain setting.

#17 West Colorado Avenue, Telluride
Telluride’s Main Street sparkles in winter, with snow-capped mountains and festive decorations complementing its mix of luxury shops, local crafts, and holiday ambiance.

#47 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte
Elk Avenue in Crested Butte provides a festive holiday atmosphere, with charming shops, local crafts, and snow-capped mountain views.

#67 F Street, Salida
Salida’s F Street offers a quaint holiday shopping experience with art galleries, unique boutiques, and seasonal decor that captures the Christmas spirit.

Main Streets Over Malls

In the past few decades, the expansion of online shopping and large malls on the outskirts of towns has led to a significant decline in popularity of the traditional main street. While they are huge, they can also be impersonal.

But across the country are hidden gem main streets that have retained their unique character and charm, beloved by locals and those visiting from out of town. A survey conducted by Present.com of 3,000 respondents uncovered the best main streets for Christmas shopping in America – places where you can find everything from boutique stores and artisan shops to historic storefronts.

According to Infographic, America’s top 150 main streets for Christmas shopping have some unique characteristics that shoppers love:

The mural on the wall of the Twitchell Building, on First and F Street is enjoyed by visitors and residents alike. AVV has an office on the building’s second floor. AVV file photo

Unique and locally-made, one-of-a-kind gifts    36%

Festive decorations and holiday atmosphere:     34%

Friendly, personalized customer service:             12%

Historic charm and scenic ambiance                    14%

Convenient parking and accessibility:                   4%

When it comes to specific types of stores, these were the ones that made the cut:

• Nearly a third (30%) rated boutique clothing and fashion stores the highest – after all, who doesn’t want to receive a nice woolen scarf, a cozy sweater, or a lovely dress?
• Artisan and handmade gift shops (22%)
• Vintage and antique shops (20%) also scored highly for their unique offerings – here you’ll find one-off items you can’t find anywhere else.
• Bookstores and specialty gift shops (16%)
• Local food and wine shops (12%)

After all, you can’t go wrong with buying your loved ones a book by an author they love, or the current bestseller, and as for food and wine – not many people are going to be disappointed when they unwrap those!

Present.com’s survey also found that certain elements add to the overall holiday shopping experience on main streets.  Among the most important: Some 46 percent said that holiday light displays and festive decorations were the clear favorite, demonstrating their power to create a magical environment.

Some 22 percent named the presence of winter markets and seasonal pop-ups offering shoppers something different that they wouldn’t get at any other time of year. Other appreciated elements included warm indoor spaces to relax in, (14%), horse-drawn carriage rides (10%), and street musicians or carolers performing holiday music (8%).

The survey also explored how far shoppers are willing to travel, something important to the distance between the top Colorado Main Street experiences in the mountains, and the bulk of Colorado’s population on the Front Range.

Some 40 percent said they would travel up to one hour, which shows a willingness to seek out new finds beyond the local options. Less than 30 minutes (19 percent) and 1–2 hours (19 percent) followed closely. For highly-dedicated holiday enthusiasts, 12 percent were willing to travel four or more hours and 10 percent were willing to travel 2–4 hours.

When asked to describe the ideal main street for holiday shopping in one word, the overwhelming majority chose ‘festive’ (66%), followed by ‘cozy’ (10%), ‘quaint’ (10%), ‘vibrant’ (8%), and ‘elegant’ (6%).

The top 10 Main Streets as they scored in the survey were as follows:

#1 Main Street, Aurora, New York

#2 Main Street, Cooperstown, New York

#3 Main Street, New Hope, Pennsylvania

#4 Main Street, Mystic, Connecticut

#5 Ocean Avenue, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

#6 Genesee Street, Skaneateles, New York

#7 Broad Street, Nevada City, California

#8 Main Street, Lake Placid, New York

#9 Main Street, Tarrytown, New York

Information courtesy of  Present.com.