Great Novelty Shop: Center Moriches Homewares & Children's Cottage in New York

Mom-and-Pop shops have always been my favorites, simply because these smaller stores sell items that you truly cannot find in mass-produced stores, such as Wal-Mart or Target. However, in this day and age, these small, independent shops are very hard to come by, as commercial buildings and offices take over, only because they can afford the high rent.

One shop that has withstood the tests of time is Center Moriches Homewares & Children's Cottage in Center Moriches, New York, on Long Island. The store is located at 383 Main Street and offers a quite a unique selection of items.

One half of the store focuses on baby and children's clothing. The selection is small, but the selection is of high quality clothing and outfits. The other half of the store focuses more on the home, and decoration pieces for the home.

I have in the past not really had a reasoning to go into the store, but recently when I saw their store shelves being filled with Halloween goods I had to check it out.

I was at first greeted by a very old woman who ran the store by herself. She greeted me, and asked if I needed anything in particular. When I told her I was just browsing, she let me be. This is a quality in which I love about these small mom and pop shops. They don't follow you around and breath down your neck, like some store owners have a tendency to do.

As of now her Halloween merchandise includes decorative plastic pumpkins, witch figures/stuffed toys, and other neat candle holders and such. The selection is small, but I walked out with the light up plastic pumpkin. I already had one at home that I picked up years ago at a yard sale, and finding one that was similar to the one I had at home was surprising.

Besides her seasonal goods, she also sells books for children, parenting, and other novels. You can also pick up some nice pieces of jewelery, frames, vases, mugs, and children's toys such as wooden pole horses, and stuffed animals.