Great Ways to Shop Local This Holiday Season

Missed the Black Friday pandemonium? Then check out these three Sacramento holiday shopping events taking place this weekend and later in December offering a pile of regionally made gifts, plus extras like ice cream sundaes, warm hot chocolate, and manicures. Happy (local) shopping! 

Holiday Art & Craft Festival (Nov. 30 and Dec. 1)
Shop till you drop this weekend at this annual event benefiting the Crocker Art Museum and co-organized by the Creative Arts League of Sacramento. More than 100 artisans, most of whom are from the Sacramento area, will set up shop at the Scottish Rite Center in East Sacramento, offering creative treasures like handmade jewelry, Christmas ornaments, holiday cards, ceramics, and a variety of artworks like metal pieces, textiles, paintings, sculptures and glass. Ambrosia Cafe will be on hand throughout the weekend offering tasty pick-me-ups for shoppers, and keep your eyes peeled for Santa Claus, who will stop by to visit and take photos with shoppers. $6 per day (free admission for museum members). Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Scottish Rite Center. 6151 H St. 808-7000. crockerartmuseum.org 

Good Street Food and Design Market (Dec. 7 & 8)
Satiate your sweet tooth with a custom beverage from a hot chocolate bar, pose for pictures with Santa in a photo booth, and visit with Buddy the Elf at the final weekend of this year’s “Good” street food and design market. Dozens of local vendors will gather in the main marketplace area, a warehouse owned by Limn furniture founder Dan Friedlander, on Del Paso Boulevard. There, you’ll find items like Saffron Fusion herbal teas, stylish duds by Kings Tribe Clothing, sustainable stainless steel CupsCo cups, and Compliment jewelry’s handmade baubles. Free. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7 and 8, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 1409 Del Paso Blvd. gooddesignmarket.com

Create in California (Dec. 10)
Hot Italian will host this annual showcase of creative goods made in the Golden State, including present-perfect items by Sacramento merchants like popular onesie maker Ana Apple and artist Navid Dehghan, who will offer copies of his Just Me and My Pizza children’s book and a variety of T-shirts, the sales of which will benefit the local arts education nonprofit I Can Do That. Free. Tuesday, Dec. 10, from 5 to 9 p.m. Hot Italian. 1627 16th St. hotitalian.net

Holiday Pop Up Shops at Building 212 (Dec. 14)
Downtown’s Building 212 near 13th and C streets becomes an emporium of local pop-up vendors. This event will offer a variety of treasures like handmade preserves by The Good Stuff, eclectic housewares by Schmitt Design and Graphic Anthology. Refresh with samples of fizzy Silk Road Sodas, grab a mid-shopping treat at Pop Cycle’s ice cream sundae bar, or grab something heartier from the Wicked ’Wich food truck. Free. Saturday, Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Building 212. 212 13th St. 692-5560. www.building212.com