Christmas shopping: How far along are you? Photo by Kimihito: Fotolia.When the usual parking lots get overwhelming, where else can you go Christmas shopping?

Here are five places in Clear Lake you might miss if you're in mall-mode:

• A feed store: Gulf Coast Equine and Pet on FM 2351 in Friendswood sells everything your favorite buckaroo ever dreamed of short of a pony. There are pink cap guns for cowgirls, slippers that look like cowboy boots and die-cast John Deer tractor miniatures. There are belt buckles for Dad and silver jewelry for Mom, although this mom preferred some very cool lavender Muck Boots. Her teen-age son inexplicably added a cow bell to his wish list.

• Garden center: Maas Nursery has lots and lots of green things to plant even in winter, but this Seabrook institution is worth a browse even if you don't have a gardener in the family. Among the recent finds more likely to show up in Ye Olde Curiosity Shop than a nursery: a WWII sword; antique Farmers Almanacs, bug-eyed gargoyles, shells by the scoop, rocks and fossils by the pound, Asian artifacts and a gaucho blowhorn. If your loved one's tastes aren't quite so eclectic, there are orchids and bonsai for a desktop, unusual home decorations, seashell wind chimes and bobble-head turtles that would make perfect stocking stuffers.

• Party-supply store: Have a lot of stockings to fill? Think party favors and visit The Party Store at 3508 FM 528 in Friendswood. There are glow sticks of all sizes and shapes, of course, along with air horns, rub-on tattoos and finger puppets (I liked the cobras). Sponge Bob has a line of sticky hands, and Hannah Montanta has lip-gloss rings. The pranksters in my house would go for the fake ketchup, fake car scratch and fake pet poop, I think. Pretty cool for $3.99: "Chinese yo-yos" that look like light sabers.

• Costume shop: Herbert's Fun Shop in Seabrook has Santa suits for Mr. and Mrs. Claus, their kids, their pets and his sexy mistress. Santa beards come in standard, deluxe and premiere. There are elf hats, musical reindeer antlers, festive gimme caps, plush penguin hats, a roasted turkey hat and Christmas trees you can wear on your head. Surely you will find something to help you stand out at your office Christmas party.

• Souvenir shop: Space City Souvenirs on the NASA Parkway in Webster may cater to out-of-towners in search of t-shirts of dogs wearing space suits, but you're allowed to shop here too if visions of rockets dance in your child's head. From mission patches to high-end spacecraft models, inflatable space shuttles to remote-control robots, there's plenty to leave under your tree here.