Holiday shopping doesn’t have to be a drag. This yearly tradition can go from being a dreaded chore to an eagerly anticipated day of fun with the addition of one simple ingredient—sweet, delicious alcohol. But you don’t have to pretend you’re getting a call from your friend Jack Daniels to withstand the most aggravating crowds of the year. These are just a few of the stores around town that combine buying and boozing for maximum yuletide joy.

The Dressing Room

The Dressing Room
75A Orchard St. (Grand & Broome Sts.)
Lower East Side 212.966.7330
Hours: Sun., Tues., Wed. 1pm-12am, Thurs.-Sat. 1pm-2am (Closed Mon.)
The Dressing Room combines all the things we love—shopping, drinking, and cool people to do both with. This Lower East Side boutique, opened in 2007 by designer Nikki Fontanella, is more of a fashion collective than a mere store. Emerging designers share space in The Dressing Room’s work studio, then showcase and sell their work in the boutique, which happens to be adjacent to the bar. The casual drinking area (read: not a full-service bar) is like the rec room most New Yorkers will never have, with free WiFi, shopping parties, movie screenings, DJ nights, and other weekly events.

SoHo Holiday Stroll
SoHo 212.274.0550 x 17
Thu., Dec. 11th, 6pm-11pm
If you like to get all your shopping done at once, the SoHo Holiday Stroll is for you. This Thursday, over 70 stores, restaurants, galleries, and salons in SoHo will open their doors to Strollers with event bracelets ($20), offering huge discounts and free gifts. ILORI, Marciano, Marisa Perry, Molton Brown, Sam Brocato Salon, and Yaso are just some of the businesses promising alcoholic incentives. And hey, it’s for a good cause—proceeds benefit ACE 4 Homeless. Bracelets are available for sale at select retailers up to and during the event and online. Don’t forget to stop by the official after party at Marithe + Francois Girbaud, sponsored by P.I.N.K. Vodka, from 10pm-midnight.

Solefood NYC
38 Lispenard St. (Broadway & Church St.)
Tribeca 212.941.7653
On the surface, Solefood NYC is totally gimmicky. It looks like a restaurant, and when you enter you “order” from a “menu” of shoes and customize them to your liking. But high concept or lo, Solefood makes some fabulous kicks. Thursday is ladies’ night, when menswear is put aside and the girls take the floor for shopping, cocktails, and manicures. The evenings generally last from 6pm-10pm, and they fill up fast, so RSVP early to mike.solefoodnyc@gmail.com to secure a spot.

The Johnson Club Room
Nat Sherman Store
12 E. 42nd St. (@ 5th Ave.)
Midtown 646.442.1858
Nothing says “Dad gift” like a nice box of cigars, but shopping for them can be a daunting task. At the Nat Sherman store, however, let the experts do the work for you while you take a break in the Johnson Club Room. This swanky lounge is open to the public, although memberships are available and include perks like the use of your own personal humidor locker. The stately businessmen and moneyed types sipping their single malt scotch make for great people watching, and there’s light fare on the menu in case all the smoke in the air doesn’t kill your appetite.

Burke in the Box
Bloomingdales
1000 3rd Ave. (@ E. 59th St.)
Upper East Side 212.705.3800
David Burke is slapping his name on the most properties these days, from davidburke & donatella (soon to undergo a name change to davidburke townhouse) to the new Fishtail by David Burke to David Burke at Bloomingdales, a.k.a. the slightly funnier-sounding Burke in the Box. Wine and beer are a little pricier than the area’s after work bars (try the Subway Inn for cheapies), but when you’ve just spent the afternoon shopping at Bloomingdale’s, a couple of extra dollars for a glass of shiraz shouldn’t faze you.

Café SFA on 8
Saks Fifth Avenue
611 5th Ave., 8th Fl. (E. 49th & E. 50th Sts.)
Midtown 212.940.4080
There’s more than one place to stop for a breather at Saks Fifth Avenue, but Café SFA on 8 gets our vote simply due to its placement—right in the middle of the shoe department. It’s like Hooters for women, a place where you can gaze lustily at all those Christian Louboutins and Jimmy Choos. There’s a good wine list and a fine $6-$9 beer selection, but nothing says post-holiday shopping like a hot alcoholic drink. Try the Twisted Hot Chocolate (with Frangelico, hot chocolate, and whipped cream), or treat yourself like the high roller you are with the Millionaire’s Coffee (with Bailey’s, Frangelico, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, coffee, and whipped cream). They’re all $12, which will seem like a drop in the bucket after you see your post-drunken shoe-shopping credit card statement.

Astor Court
The St. Regis New York
2 E. 55th St. (@ 5th Ave.)
Midtown 212.753.4500
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