Shopping for unique, maybe even personalized, gifts for family and friends this holiday season? Look no further than your local neighborhood farmers market.
You can shop for gifts, clothes and decorations, as well as dinner, at this home-grown alternative to the shopping mall.
While you’re there, you’ll meet the people who made your gifts.
If your holidays are feeling a little impersonal, talking with these people who love what they do just could rekindle your holiday spirit.
As you would expect, the markets are a great source for local produce, meat and locally prepared fresh foods like the compound butters from Cumming-based Butter Sensations, which are sold at the Sandy Springs Farmers Market.
Almost every market has a local cheese maker or two, so if you’re buying a gift to be given the same day, or if there’s room in your refrigerator to store a few things until it’s time to trade gifts, there’s a wide variety of food gifts to choose from.
But there are plenty of gifts that don’t require refrigeration. For example, honey vendors abound, great news for those who enjoy local honey as an antidote to allergy symptoms. Among many choices, you’ll find Hometown Honey at the Marietta Square Farmers Market with jars of honey as well as pollen, candles and honey sticks available for gift giving.
The markets are filled with vendors like Lupa’s Kitchen at the Decatur Farmers Market selling packaged nuts and granolas at the Saturday market and coffee vendors like Fire Mountain Coffee at the Our Community Farmers Market in Peachtree City that sell locally roasted coffee beans both whole and ground.
Most markets have someone with handmade soap. Marci Scharko of Turnrow at the Decatur Farmers Market offers soaps made with vegetables from Fairburn’s Scharko Farms or with local craft beers. Craft beer soap? Now that’s a great idea for that guy who’s so hard to buy for.
Craftspeople and artisans are in abundance this time of year. At the Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Doc’s Woodturning of North Georgia will have spoons, cutting boards and bowls crafted from locally found wood. Bhutanese refugees will sell their locally made baskets at several markets including the Morningside Farmers Market.
You can find cocktail napkins, dinner napkins and aprons at Lisa Rochon’s booth at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market, or buy one of her tote bags to use as a reusable gift bag.
Babies on your gift list? Aromas by Johnette of Woodstock sells teething lotions at the Sandy Springs Farmers Market along with massage oils, body lotions and reed diffusers.
And you can do more than find locally made gifts. You can decorate your home with locally sourced greens. At the Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Paula Guilbeau of Heirloom Gardens of Dahlonega has wreaths, mailbox toppers and mantel pieces fashioned from North Georgia boxwood, magnolia and other greens.
Don’t forget the pets in the family. Many markets have vendors with dog, and some cat, treats. “Our customers buy for their own pets, but they also like to remember their hosts’ pets with treat-filled Christmas stockings and holiday ornaments like our menorahs and snowmen. Our dinner mints made with brown rice, flour, parsley, mint and activated charcoal make great hostess gifts for those who love their pets,” said Lauren Janis of Big Daddy Biscuits.
Take your time as you walk through the markets. Talk to the vendors about where they live, what they make and why they’re passionate about what they do. You’ll feel good knowing your family and friends are receiving gifts made from the heart, and you’ll feel good knowing your dollars are staying in the community and supporting small business and local entrepreneurs.
SIX LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS AND WHAT YOU’LL FIND THERE
Decatur Farmers Market
Open all year around.
Wednesday market: 3-6 p.m. 163 Clairmont Ave., Decatur.
Saturday market: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. 498 N. McDonough St., Decatur.
Special gift ideas from the Decatur Wednesday markets include canned kimchee, Korean barbecue sauce and spicy marinades from Atlanta-based Simply Seoul and jams, teas, dried herbs and body butters and salves from the Funny Farm in Stone Mountain. On Saturdays, Mealor Family Gardens of Decatur will have jams from local and organic fruit including flavors like strawberry-basil and blackberry-lemon, as well as gift cards and paintings. Savannah-based organic ginger growers Verdant Kitchen will have ginger honey, syrups and candies among other offerings.
Marietta Square Farmers Market
Open all year around.
Open Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon. 65 Church St., Marietta. www.mariettasquarefarmersmarket.com
The Marietta Square Farmers Market’s regular weekly vendors are augmented on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month with artisans and craftsmen. The Herb Garden of west Cobb County offers body butter blends, lotions, body oils and special pricing on packages of a dozen bars of soap. Atlanta-based Big Daddy Biscuits will have dog biscuits disguised as Santa, stars and snowmen as well as dinner mints and holiday stockings. Anisa’s Secrets of Atlanta will have Christmas baskets with their seasonings, salts and sugars. Mo’ Mint & Thyme of Atlanta will have three packs of its cocktail mixers and jerk seasoning. Copan will have gift baskets with chocolate bars and truffles, all made in Lawrenceville from cocoa beans it sources in Nicaragua.
Morningside Farmers Market
Open all year around.
Open Saturdays, 7:30-11:30 a.m. 1393 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
Most regular Morningside Farmers Market vendors will have holiday offerings. Hazelbrand Farm of Covington will have special winter soaps available like Winter Solstice and Frankincense and Myrrh. Uncle Dom’s will augment its regular offerings of handmade dried pastas with holiday baskets of Italian cookies. Doux South organic pickles have special gift boxes — choose any four jars and they’ll ship to your friends and family. Granola and energy bar aficionados will love receiving a gift box from Pure Bliss Organics of Madison, perhaps accompanied by a bag of coffee from Americus coffee roaster Cafe Campesino. Bhutanese refugees will have baskets for sale, ready to fill with local products.
Our Community Farmers Market, Peachtree City
Open all year around.
Open Saturdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. 2862 Ga. 54, Peachtree City. www.ourcommunityfarmersmarket.com
This is one of the Atlanta area’s newest farmers markets, and the holiday season finds it full of vendors with holiday gift ideas. For your favorite wine connoisseur, there will be lamps made from recycled wine bottles. Wanna Clay will have handmade pottery bowls and colanders and can take special orders for delivery after the holidays. Painted Lady Soaps of Douglasville will have handmade soaps, salts, salves, candles and fragrances, and Samara Designs will have felted, batik and tie-dyed clothing and accessories. Warm up with Tinyiko’s crocheted hats, gloves and jewelry.
Peachtree Road Farmers Market
Open Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon. Through Dec. 14. Special holiday markets: Nov. 30 and Dec. 14.
2744 Peachtree Road N.W., Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
Two special holiday markets will include 30 artisans in addition to regular weekly vendors. There will be jewelers, potters and artists working in paper, glass and wood. Regular vendor Buckhedge will have fiber arts including beverage napkins, party accessories and scarves. Atlanta-based Garlic Clove Foods will customize a gift basket with their jars of gourmet soup, oatmeal and chili mixes. With a few days’ notice, Athens-based Phickles Pickles will do custom cases with 12 jars. Choose from pickled green tomatoes, snap beans, okra and carrots among others.
Sandy Springs Farmers Market
Open Saturdays, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Dec. 7 and 14.
235 Sandy Springs Circle N.W., Sandy Springs. www.sandyspringsfarmersmarket.com
Two special late season December markets will include booths with handmade kudzu baskets perfect for packaging your gifts and custom sample packs from Chamblee-based NaturAlmond, which can include their maple-caramel, honey roasted or salt-free varieties. Indigo Bath & Body will have bath salts, berry butter lip and eye balm and soaps made from local peaches and wildflower honey. Sharon Crumley Studios of Roswell will have art books, artwork and greeting cards, and Eden Easy Beds from Atlanta’s Capitol View neighborhood will have handmade cedar boxes planted with a variety of succulents and ready to take a place of pride in a friend’s sunniest window.
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