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Stumped for a Christmas gift? Try homemade

Nov 15, 2015 | 7:14 AM

Christmas is still more than a month away, but it’ll be here in the blink of an eye.

That means last-minute gift shopping and everything that comes with it: packed Wal-Mart’s, cranky customers, tired cashiers and full parking lots.

If you want something more unique for a Christmas gift, try buying something locally made.

That was the point at Saturday’s Christmas gift sale, put on by the Cooperative Health Centre at the Union Centre.

“I think a homemade Christmas gift is something that people really appreciate,” Connie Dochylo, Executive Assistant at the centre, said.

“It means they put time and energy into it, and it’s very unique and says ‘you’re very special.’”

29 tables filled the Union Centre, carrying everything from handmade wool sweaters, plush stuffed animals which doubled as heating pads, and jewelry supportingartisan women in remote villages around the world.

Dochylo said a gift that gives back to the community is one of the best kind of gifts, and she doesn’t mean a charitable donation on behalf of the gift-getter.

“Not only are you buying a gift for someone, you’re providing some financial reward for people around the room.”

Gayle Knudsen was at the Colour by Amber table, which sold eco-friendly jewelry partially made by women around the world. As well as buying the goods from those women, 10 per cent of the profits also return to the women who helped make the pieces.

That was the reason Knudsen joined the company, because she believed in what they stood for.

“It helps them get education, micro-savings accounts, teachers, clean-water, wells, maybe new looms, anything that would benefit the women in these villages.”

All proceeds from the Christmas sale go towards relay for life.

Anyone looking for a local homemade Christmas gift could also visit the Evergreen Artisan Market at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre Friday or Saturday.

The market focused on showcasing local artists, and providing Christmas gift inspiration.

One of the artisan market organizers, Carolyn Carleton, relayed this anecdote from when she was a vendor at the market last year:

“I remember last year I had someone come to my booth and she bought a few items and she said ‘I’m done!’ and I said ‘you’re done?’ and she said ‘yes, I’ve done all my Christmas shopping for the year.

“She came here and this was her venue, and she shipped her gifts all over the world. Some of the pieces I’d made are now travelling across the world and are now going to be under someone’s tree in Europe, and that’s incredible.”

Carleton said at the market you could get a unique gift no one could get at a chain store. “They want something unique and there’s something here for everyone.”

 

ssterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit