|
|
|
|
 Off the Beaten Path
Unique Holiday Finds
By Robin Sauerwein
Are your kids looking for some neat things to buy for the family at a low cost this holiday season? Or perhaps you’ve grown tired of the mall scene and want to explore what other options are out there for gifts. Whether you are shopping for children or with children, finding low cost items that are fun and unique can be a challenge. But you can stretch your budget this year and have fun doing it. Try moving away from the mall circuit and shop off the beaten track for some cool treasures that will make everyone on your gift list say, “WOW! Where did you get that?” And you’ll have fun doing it at the same time.
Art Attack Art Sale
The Northrup King Building
1500 Jackson St. NE, Mpls
www.northrupkingbuilding.com/artattack
Friday, November 7, 5-10 pm
Saturday, November 8, noon-8 pm
Sunday, November 9, noon-5 pm
The 11th Annual Art Attack is back again. This is a great place to find unique items of art from sculpture, jewelry, oil painting and more. Over 150 artist and galleries. You’ll be surprised by the variety and the exercise you will get roaming through all those studios! Live music, free parking.
No Coast Craft-o-Rama Sale
Midtown Global Market
Lake & Chicago, Mpls.
www.nocoastcraft.com
Friday, December 5, 3-8 pm
Saturday, December 6, 9 am-5 pm
Voted by City Pages as the Best Twin Cities Craft Show in their 2008 edition. Find vendors for shoppers of all ages, infants up to grandmas. Fresh, modern handmade functional & gift-able goods. Watch the “Craft-a-thon” contest where teams will race to create something beautiful and wearable/functional out of recycled & discarded materials in a short time frame. A listing of vendors by category will be available on the website so you can find what you are looking for ahead of time. If you can’t make it for the sale, visit the Global Market anytime for a market full of gifts and groceries available from 25+ food and merchant vendors from around the world.
’tis a gift … 18th Annual Holiday Exhibition & Sale
Northern Clay Center
2424 Franklin Ave. E., Mpls
612-339-8007
www.northernclaycenter.org
The annual holiday sale starts November 16 and runs through December 30, leading off with a family-friendly Open House Sunday, November 16, noon-4 pm. Enjoy treats and coffee, tours, artist demonstrations and hands-on work with clay. Over 60 regional and national ceramic artists. You will find everything from mugs and cups to platters and sculpture that will be available for purchase.
Art of the Holidays
Minnetonka Center for the Arts
2240 North Shore Dr., Wayzata
952-473-7361
www.minnetonkaarts.org
Sale begins November 20, 6-9 pm with many of the artists present and runs through December 23.
Hours: Mon, Fri and Sat, 9 am-5 pm
Tues, Wed and Thurs, 9 am-8 pm
A great variety of media to choose from including: jewelry, ceramics, glass, multimedia, wood, sculpture, paintings, drawings, fiber, furniture, photography, and cards. This year enjoy giving an artful and unique gift and stay within your budget. Explore the Center’s 2400 square foot gallery and retail shop. Families can take a peek into the studios, watch students at work on their art and perhaps decide to take a class. MCFTA gift certificates are also available and can be used for classes of the recipient’s choice. Visit during the weekday between 11:30 and 2 and enjoy a treat from Graham Catering in their Art Center dining room.
Textile Center Holiday Sale
Textile Center Shop & Gallery
3000 University Ave. SE, Mpls.
612-436-0464
www.textilecentermn.org
Sales runs November 1–December 31
Grand Opening Hours:
Friday, November 14, 10 am-9 pm
Saturday, November 15, 10 am-5 pm
Sunday, November 16, 12 pm-4 pm
The Textile Center Shop is a retail venue where fiber artists can sell their work. Over 200 artists will participate in the show and sale. Enjoy a world of color and texture where kids of all ages can come in and touch and try on. Shoppers can find an amazing array of beautifully crafted linens, originally designed toddler and adult clothing items, felted and fleece hats, hand knitted mittens, and holiday decorations and ornaments, among their many offerings.
Watching the budget? There are many low-cost holiday gift ideas at the Textile Center:
Up to $10 - Handmade cards, felted cat toys, handmade buttons, ornaments
$10-$25 - Mittens, duct tape jewelry, quilted coasters, silkscreened retro tea towels, felted cell phone cases, quilted holiday banners, puppets
$25-$50 - Hand-dyed scarves, hand-felted hats, table linens, felted Santas/elves/reindeer, duct tape purses
$50 - Hand dyed vintage table linens, batiked wooden bowls, designer clothing, woven rugs, hand hooked rugs and wall hangings
Stevens Square Center for the Arts Holiday Sale
1905 3rd Ave. S., 2nd Floor, Mpls.
(above the Third Ave. Market)
612-879-0200
www.stevensarts.org
Saturday, December 6, Noon-5 pm
Art from local artists including jewelry, homemade soaps, photography, paintings and zines. Bring your kids in and make your own ornaments.
MCAD Annual Art sale
Minneapolis College of Art & Design
2501 Stevens Ave. S., Mpls
www.mcad.edu
Friday, November 21 &
Saturday, November 22
Thousands of original artworks will be available from students in MCAD’s degree programs as well as alumni. Paintings, prints, photographs, sculpture, toys, clothing, jewelry and more. Proceeds go directly to the artists. This sale has grown over the years because of the quality of the work and MCAD’s own reputation as a visual arts school. 2007 was their 10th anniversary and they offered more than 10,000 original artworks by 400 artists. Here you will find quality art at good prices – much of the work costs less than $100.
Wonderment Shop
4306 Upton Ave S., Minneapolis
612-929-2707
949 Grand Ave., St. Paul
651-291-5099
www.wondermentshop.com
Founded by three Waldorf moms in the heart of Linden Hills, this store and its new location on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, are loaded with toys, games and creativity boosters made of natural materials and designed to jumpstart a child’s imagination. Find marble towers, fairy skirts, modeling beeswax and wooden doll houses. No video games here. Real kids’ fun without a plug.
Besides finding wonderful gifts, come by with your kids to make a delightful handcrafts during the holidays:
Felt Bird Ornament
Stitch wool felt from Holland into a pretty bird with a feather tail. Participants will learn the blanket stitch and wool stuffing technique. For adults and 8+. $20
Saturday, November 15
Linden Hills: 10:30 am-12:30 pm
Grand Avenue: 2-4 pm
Window Stars
Kite Paper (sturdier than tissue paper) is folded into colorful stars. These stars create a stained glass effect hanging in a window with the sun shining through. Participants will go home with a handful of stars and materials to make more. Ages 6 and up. $12
Saturday, November 29
Linden Hills: 10:30-11:30 am
Grand Avenue: 2:-3 pm
Gingerbread House
Parent and child will create a magical gingerbread house together. Homemade slabs of spicy fragrant gingerbread, assembled with icing and decorated with pretty candies. Ages 4 and up accompanied by an adult. $30
Sunday, November 30
Linden Hills: 10:30-11:30 am
Grand Avenue: 3:30-4:30 pm
Advent Wreaths
Decorate a slice of birch with greens, berries and dried flowers and four red candles. A verse will be sent home for lighting the candles to celebrate advent.
Ages 6 and up (ages 4-5 with an adult). $5 donation to support Joyce Food Shelf .
Saturday, December 6
Drop in from 10:30 am-2:30 pm - no advance registration required.
General Store of Minnetonka
14401 Highway 7, Minnetonka
952-935-7131
www.generalstoreofminnetonka.com
Store Hours: Mon-Fri, 9:30 am-9 pm
Sat, 9:30 am-6 pm; Sun Noon-5 pm
Take the family for a visit to the General Store. 15,000 square feet of unique shopping experience awaits you. Personalized customer service just like it used to be over a century ago when people went down to their old fashioned corner store. Unique gift baskets, kid’s stuff, funky kitchen gadgets, tasty food items, Minnesota memorabilia, a gallery of handmade items from across the country. A gift and a price to fit almost anyone on your list.
Hub Hobby Center
6410 Penn Avenue S, Richfield
82 Minnesota Avenue, Little Canada.
612-866-9575
www.hubhobby.com
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-9pm
Sat 9:30am-5:30pm; Sun noon-5 pm
Founded in 1979, this hobby superstore with a personal feel offers toys that are made to last, classic games, and art supplies that spark creativity From wooden ships, trains, kites, plastic army men and chemistry sets, to radio controlled helicopters, brain teasing puzzles, and one of the largest collections of games in the city, the aisles are abundant with things that will engross any kid. Plus, the nostalgic retro component of the store gives parents a walk down memory lane as they re-discover items that trigger fond memories from their own childhoods.
Edina Art Center: Gifts, Gifts, Gifts!
4701 West 64th Street, Edina
612-915-6603
Sale runs: November 6-December 23
Open Mon-Thur, 9 am -9:30 pm
Fri, 9 am-3:30 pm; Sat 9 am-1 pm
www.EdinaArtCenter.com
Many gifts handcrafted by Minnesota artists and a few international ones as well. In addition to the sale, kids will enjoy their own special shopping area called KinderGifts where nothing is more than $5.
Or come and make holiday items and gifts at one of their special events:
Thursday Night Live
Family Chanukah Pizza and Art Party
December 11, 5:30-8:30 pm
Celebrate Chanukah by making a salt dough menorah, gift card and paper decorations. End the evening by playing with dreidels. Ages 4 and up with Adult $12 non-member/$11 member plus $5 supply fee each student.
Chelsea Herman’s Special gift Making Workshop
Saturday, December 13, 11 am-12:30 pm
Parents are welcome to shop while their children make a very special one-of-a-kind gift for a family or friend. $13 non-member/$12 Member plus $5 supply fee each student.
Many other classes and events can be found at www.EdinaArtCenter.com
return
to top
|
