For a little something special, hand-made made holiday gifts

Two good reasons to seek out a hand-made gift:

1: It affords the artist a little extra holiday cash.

2: It provides the recipient a one-of-a-kind present that, all things being relative, is better than a Snuggie or a fruitcake.

Happily, Atlanta is brimming with places to buy unique and affordable treasures — from a private-school benefit at Saks Fifth Avenue to the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell.

Christmas trees turn trash to treasure

Susan Bridges' storybook Victorian home in Inman Park has long been a destination for holiday gift-seekers. For 15 years, Bridges' Big Angel Blowout was a kind of open house/art tour that allowed patrons to wander from parlor to basement in search of treasures created by Atlanta artists. Since 2009, however, the focus has shifted to Bridges' backyard gallery, Whitespace, where the grounds are transformed into a special kind of Christmas tree lot and the interior is trimmed with fanciful ornaments (plus a survey of new work by gallery artists). The For-Ever-Green Eco-Friendly Tree Lot will be stocked with artist-made trees crafted from recycled objects such as automobile tail lights, glass bottles, shiny silver keys and plastic holders ripped from soft-drink cans. The trees-- by Tracy Wagner and Scot Montgomery, Justine Rubin, Richard Sudden, Hailey Lowe and others -- range in price from $150 to $1,500. Expect a jolly opening night party, with small $20 to $100 pieces by Michele Schuff, Roberta Cochran and Katy DeMent and other artists. "Many of the ornaments are being made by SCAD students so you know they are going to be wacky," Bridges says. Dec. 3-Jan. 1. 814 Edgewood Ave., Atlanta. 404-688-1892, whitespace814.com

Over the river and through the woods

Marietta artist Mike Snowden makes electric guitars from cigar boxes and exotic hardwoods. Cobb resident Barbara Costello creates wearable splendor from silk yarns and ribbons. Both will sell their wares — and Snowden will pluck out a tune from his new CD — during the Chattahoochee Nature Center's appropriately green, one-day-only Back-to-Nature Holiday Market on Dec. 4. You may purchase one-of-a-kind gifts, toys, candles and clothes from some 40 on-site artists; sip pumpkin soup or nosh on a panini from Douceur de France restaurant and take a free tour of the center's nature trails. Who knows, you might even glimpse Rudolph (or one of his cousins) lurking about the 127-acre riverside park and animal habitat. 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell. 770-992-2055, chattnaturecenter.org

Wonderful things can come in tiny packages

The Swan Coach House Gallery's "Little Things Mean a Lot" has become a perennial crowd pleaser. For artists who don't always work on a small-scale, creating small pieces can be fun, too. "It challenges them," curator Marianne Lambert says. Artists love it so much that Lambert now has a waiting list of two or three years. This season, "Little Things" celebrates emerging artists from Beep Beep, Eyedrum, Young Blood and Kibbee galleries. Some fresh faces to watch: Jaynie Crimmins, Amandine Drouet, Karl Kroeppler and Kati Kulcsar. Some familiar names to consider: Corinne Adams, Mario Petrirena and Paul Hagedorn. Lambert was also thrilled to discover 12-year-old Hope Lennox, who makes tiny, intricately detailed birthday cakes. A total of 110 artists are on the roster, with prices ranging from $50 to $500. Through Jan. 8. 3130 Slaton Drive N.W., Atlanta. 404-266-2636, swancoachhouse.com

Ingrates sue Santa for failing to deliver

The subversive young hipsters at Beep Beep Gallery recently riffed on Atlanta Celebrates Photography with a show called "Atlanta Celebrates Pornography." Now they are taking on Santa with "The State vs. Kris Kringle: Letters to Santa." Artists Sam Parker, Heather Elder, Mike Germon, Matt Relkin, Ashlee Oliver and others will throw the book at the merry-bearded one, creating representations of pieces they asked for but never got. "We'll hang the show to look like we're presenting evidence against Santa Claus for neglecting promises," says Beep Beep co-owner James McConnell. All pieces are under $100. Dec. 11-23. Beep Beep Gallery, 696 Charles Allen Dr., Atlanta. 404-429-3320, beepbeepgallery.com

Trinity School and Saks get the gifts on

The quality of art and the spirit of volunteerism at Trinity School's Spotlight on Art so impressed Sak's Fifth Avenue that it invited the school to stage a holiday gift sale near the women's shoe department. From Dec. 1 to Feb. 7, shoppers can get a taste of things to come at the 30-year-old fund-raiser, coming to the school gymnasium Jan. 31 to Feb. 5. Collectors in pursuit of the next big thing will appreciate the history of the Trinity benefit, where artists Benny Andrews, Howard Finster and Robert Rauschenberg participated before they became superstars. At Saks this year, look for pieces by artists Mark Boomershine, Gregor Turk, Maria Louise Coil, Kirsten Stingle, plus many others. Saks Fifth Avene, Phipps Plaza, 3440 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. 404-261-7234. Spotlight on Art: 404-231-8100; spotlightonart.com

Y’all have a warm and fuzzy time at Spruill

The Spruill family farmhouse in Dunwoody will be a cozy retreat for Barbara O'Connell's adorable plush reindeer and hand-knitted finger puppets by blabla's Florence Wetterwald. Families can spin the dreidel and trim the tree at Spruill Gallery on Dec. 4; there's a $10 food-and-wine tasting courtesy of McCormick & Schmick's on Dec. 9 and a jewelry trunk show on Dec. 18. Through Dec. 24. 4681 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. 770-394-3447, spruillarts.org

SCAD students sell treasures on Peachtree and online