It's easy to give gift cards and even money for holiday presents. But sometimes those can feel a little cold and dull. And the gifts don't often deliver an "ahhhh" effect.

A gift with a personal touch - no matter the size or cost -can often be found in an antique or jewelry store. You just have to think about what your loved-one treasures. Even hard-to-shop-for folks typically covet something. 

"There's something you collect even though you may not know it," Salesperson Delores Matousek said. "Everybody collects something."

The owners of the Huntley Antique and Jewelry Mall, located in the Huntley Outlet Mall, have been in business for 42 years.

For 18 years, the family owned and operated “The Estate” at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. They also had stores in Long Grove and Chicago’s Water Tower Place. Since then, the company has consolidated into two store locations: Huntley and Valpraiso, Indiana, said Delores Matousek, whose children Tracy and John own the store.

They settled on Huntley because “this is where the demographics are,” Delores Matousek said.

Huntley Antique and Jewelry Mall sells new jewelry, as well as antique jewelry. The store is home to 25 individual antique dealers and offers a variety of finds from tiny salt cellars to large, antique model airplanes, strung from the ceiling.

One unique focal point in the store is an antique bicycle, with the giant front wheel and small back wheel. The bike has a price tag of $1,800. What doesn’t sell simply adds to the decorative ambiance in the store, Delores Matousek said.

“We’re busy 12 months a year,” Delores Matousek said.  “People love antique malls. This is a destination experience. People aren’t going to shop for antiques online. They may go online to look up an address and get directions. But they’ll drive here because they want to see what they are buying.”

What’s selling this holiday season?

• New jewelry.
• Restoration services: Tracy and John Matousek are gemologists. The store does a lot of restoration work.
• Anything people want. Shoppers come into the store looking for a variety of items, Delores Matousek said. On Tuesday, one shopper adamantly needed tea cups with oriental motif – and she found them. The store also sold old records, a fountain pen and a pipe.

“This is the place to go if you truly want an old-fashioned Christmas,” Delores said.

Huntley Antique and Jewelry Mall

11800 Huntley Outlet Center #875 (facing the Illinois-90 Tollway), Huntley.

847-515-1100