More Local Holiday Shopping Options, Easy Ways to Give

I meant to post this along with yesterday's local fashion tidbits, but I'm coming down with something and I have head cloudiness so I forgot.  While I chew gan mao ling and routinely neti pot my nose (or give myself face enemas as my friend Troy likes to call it), please consider these local shopping events this weekend:

Thursday, December 4th (that's tomorrow) 6:00pm-9:00pm: The Johnson Street Merchants Holiday Shopping Open House.  Enjoy treats, giveaways and discounts from some of your favorite Northeast shops, like Crafty Planet, Rewind, Dabble and Audubon Coffee.

Friday, December 5th 3:00pm-8:00pm & Saturday, December 6th 9:00am-5:00pm: The third annual No Coast Craft-o-Rama at Midtown Global Market.  One-of-a-kind gifts from local crafters.  I've gone the previous two years and there's always a lot of really cute stuff.

If you're not feeling any kind of consumerism this holiday season, consider making donations to local charities.  Really, if you think you're feeling the pinch of the current economy, try being homeless or hungry.

An easy way to donate to our local Animal Humane Society is by rounding up any unwanted media for their All Books Great and Small Book Sale coming up in February.  Bring your hardcover and paperback books, as well as CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes to any of the 5 AHS locations now through January 23rd.  The sale will be held at both the Golden Valley and Woodbury locations February 5th through February 8th.  Details are here.  Of course, the AHS also takes cash donations, and you can browse their wish list to see if you've got anything else lying around the house that the shelters really need.

Minnesota Viking Bernard Berrian is matching every dollar you donate to Second Harvest Heartland hunger relief nonprofit until December 22nd, up to $5,000.  Minneapolis Metblogger David is upping the ante by donating $1 for every comment left on this post to the Bernard Berrian Challenge.  Every one dollar donated to Second Harvest allows them to distribute $9 worth of food.

Comments

[kelly]

I love the No-Coast sale! Great creative gifts with ethnic food to boot!

[Chuck]

Craft-o-rama and Midtown Global Market? Two great tastes in one convenient sandwich.

Food = $$$$$$$ + comments

[Amy Rea]

I love No Coast, but can't make it this year, darn it. It's far beyond any other craft show.