By Meredith Moss\ Dayton Daily News
WORTH A STOP: DAYTON MALL\ * If you love candy, you'll be overwhelmed by the candy maze at Candyland Warehouse . Both kids and adults will love making their way through 60,000 pounds of candy: Bull's-Eyes and Tootsie Rolls, Mary Janes and wax bottles, red hots and circus peanuts. Pick up a basket and fill it; you'll pay $3.99 per pound. Old-fashioned candy sticks are 10 for $1 and come in 30 flavors; there are sugar-free varieties as well. The "world's largest Hershey Bar" is $29. This company, based in Florida, also has set up shop at Fairfield Commons, but that store is fancier and not as much fun.
* A new trend in mall entertainment is the climbing wall and Start Climbing Walls set up at the Dayton Mall and the Mall at Fairfield Commons. The mobile walls are 24 or 32 feet high and have four auto-belay routes ranging from beginner to difficult.
Staffers say kids as young as 3 and as old as 75 have climbed the walls. Climbing sessions are $5, you can also get T-shirts and photos of your climb. The wall is portable and can be rented for parties and festivals. Gift certificates also are available.
* Marc Dillon of Centerville has been collecting autographs since he was 11. When his collection got out of hand, he decided to open The Autograph Store. Dillon matches famous autographs with posters and photos, then frames them, though you can also buy them unframed. A Grease poster signed by John Travolta and Olivia Newton John is $499, an Arnold Palmer photo and signature is $450, a Sarah Michelle Geller is $149.
Dillon estimates he has 15,000 autographs, ranging from Neil Armstrong to members of the University of Dayton Flyers basketball teams. The shop also sells unsigned photos kids can take to a Reds game when they're hoping to collect autographs themselves.
* Embroidery Creations offers lots of gift possibilities: You can have a logo or name added to any type of clothing. The shop stocks blankets and throws, sweat shirts, hats, or you can bring in your own item to be personalized. Lettering runs $1 per 1,000 stitches. A personalized cap, for example, will run $10 to $15. The custom service takes two to five days; at holiday time, plan on a minimum of five days.
* Jim Delph of Xenia has set up a Bear Factory where you can create your own stuffed animals. It's not as slick as Build-A-Bear shop at Easton Towne Center, and the stuffing is done by hand rather than machine, but kids will enjoy picking out and stuffing a bear. Prices run from about $15.99 to $24.99.
* Shoe fanatics are finding their way to the DSW Shoe Warehouse, where Imelda Marcos would get a run for her money. There are clearance racks with even greater bargains and plenty of options for holiday dressing.
* A 30,000-square-foot Linens & Things will open in the spring.\
WORTH A STOP:
THE MALL AT FAIRFIELD COMMONS
* Romantic Embellishments is a lovely little shop owned by Amy Monaghan of Dayton. Along with her manager, Kara Clemens, Monaghan creates many of the shop's unusual items. They make dried wreaths ($20-$200), use dried and freeze-dried vegetables to make oil candle vegetable jars and also make night lights from vintage wallpaper ($34.95). The shop stocks candles, handmade quilts in sizes from baby to king and a variety of christening gowns. The handmade bunnies are adorable ($50-$145).
* Occasionally Yours , locally owned by Todd Bettman, is chock full of collectibles including Lladro, Swarovski, Just the Right Shoe and more. The shop sells the popular Vera Bradley handbags and Lang boxes ($3-$9). The candy-cane baskets are unique and taste good, too ($9.95 to $27.95). Big Belly Banks are cute; choose from dinosaurs and pigs.
* Fairfield has two appealing candy stores: Harry London Chocolatier and Godiva. At Godiva, you can have fresh fruits and glace fruit hand-dipped in chocolate.
* You're bound to find a neat gift in two of Fairfield's specialty stores: Natural Wonders and The Museum Company. Natural Wonders stocks telescopes and world music CDs, wind chimes and fountains. At the Museum Company, you'll find Van Gogh and Monet art-glass cutting boards ($19), kaleidoscopes ($9.95 to $225), Baltic green amber jewelry ($19 to $300).
* Casino Equipment and Supplies carries everything from slot and pinball machines to bingo supplies. The shop also sells cards, dice, chips for gambling and rents equipment for private parties.
* Abercrombie , which brings the popular line to younger boys and girls, opened in August and sells clothing in sizes 7 to 16.
* Ye Old Farmstead stocks country crafts ranging from placemats and pillows to candles.
* Teddy Wu goes to China to buy furniture for his import shop, Jade International. It carries everything from furniture to accent pieces and accessories. Oriental paintings are done by his wife, Kee Hee Lee. Here's the place for pretty chopsticks, tea sets, jewelry boxes, colorful Chinese dresses - for kids and adults - and lacquer screens.
* The hot items at Elder-Beerman's Christmas Shop are the fiber optic angels and trees that change colors. The Dancing Snowman, Willie Winter is $29.99. You can meet the artisan who designs Polonaise collectible ornaments from 7-10 tonight and at the Elder-Beerman Christmas Shop at the Dayton Mall from 1-4 p.m. Sunday.
* The Kil'n Time Cafe is a great addition. The paint-your-own-pottery studio offers kids' items, decorative pieces and dinnerware as well as birthday party packages.
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WORTH A STOP: SALEM MALL
* There are always enticing treasures in Shelly Kirby's window at Sassy Upscale. The boutique, which has been at the Salem Mall since 1988, stocks dressy church suits, cocktail dresses and accessories for women. You'll find fashions from Soline, Eva Polim Couture, head boas from Veruccie, long boa stoles in fox or mink ($399-$450).
* Next door is The Shirt Shoppe , also owned by Kirby and her husband, George. Here's the place for hard-to-find sizes for men: Dress shirts go up to size 20, knit shirts to 3X. The tone-on-tone Regis-look shirts and ties range from $49 to $125 by Assante; there also are cobra snake print suits and lots of sweaters.
* C Gifts is the place to find a wide variety of collectible black dolls. The Millennium Santa sells for $350. You also can have a portrait painted at the shop in 15 minutes on weekends.
* Diane and Carl Wagner create all of the nifty little gifts at Country Crafts and More, a cart set up for the holidays. There are lots of ponytail scrunchies ($2-$2.50), old-fashioned stick hobby horses ($15.99) and cute dolls that are actually vacuum-cleaner covers.
* Stock up on greeting cards at G.Thanks , where all cards are $1. Everything else in the shop is currently 25 percent off.
* There are lots of snazzy fashions at Fifth Avenue Menswear, including an amazing array of colors in everything from men's dress hats to shoes and leather pants.\
THE MEAL DEAL
Each mall has plenty of restaurant options in its neighborhood. If you're looking for a full-scale sit-down restaurant located inside a mall, the choices are Ruby Tuesdays at the Dayton Mall (a nice salad bar is $5.69 for all you can eat, and there's a kid's menu) or MCL Cafeteria at the Salem Mall. All three malls have pleasant food courts with a variety of eating options. The Dayton Mall has a nice sit-down area at Sbarro Italian Eatery. [ILLUSTRATION] PHOTO: SHOPPERS CAN ENJOY elaborate decorations at area malls. Santa waits for children to pay a visit at the Dayton Mall.\ PHOTO CREDIT: LISA POWELL/DAYTON DAILY NEWS\ GRAPHICS: Map of Dayton area\ CREDIT: JOHN HANCOCK/DAYTON DAILY NEWS\ [EDITION] CITY [SOURCETAG] 0012020053