Late for a party, unwilling to give the birthday girl an unwrapped book or resort to the drugstore card aisle again, I realized for the umpteenth time how great these little shops are. Both are crammed with high-quality greeting cards, wrapping paper, ribbons and bows, stationery, and unusual gifts and novelty items.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Boston 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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