Hand-made gift ideas from Craft Fairs in the run up to Christmas

There’s an alternative Christmas shopping experience in craft and design fairs, where products and coffee stops are all under one roof, writes Carol O’Callaghan. 

THE thought of looking for presents and negotiating an umbrella and multiple bags at the same time, while wondering if anyone will ever invent windscreen wipes for spectacles, makes many of us take refuge in shopping centres.

That, and having the personal experience a few years ago of my grocery shopping bursting through the bottom of a rain sodden paper bag, and standing by helplessly as the ingredients rolled down a hill at such speed that I couldn’t pursue them.

So, another dry and less stressful alternative, and a wholesome step in the right direction to avoid winter weather, is Christmas craft fairs and pop-up shops, which, in addition to selling unique products, offer a cosy shopping experience with plenty of stops, usually involving home baking from local artisan food producers.

The National Craft Fair at the RDS, 30th November - 4th December.

It also means supporting small businesses, where you get to meet the makers and hear the stories of how their products were crafted. And that story goes into the gift, too.

The biggest event in the lead up to Christmas is The National Crafts and Design Fair 2016, which opens at the RDS Main Hall on Wednesday, November 30, and runs until Sunday, December 4, from 10am each day.

Over 600 stands will offer everything from textiles, ceramics and woodcraft, to leatherwork, jewellery, paintings and photography.

With over 40,000 expected to attend over four days, it’s clearly going to be busy, so to avoid the hustle and bustle of big crowds, try to get there on the opening day when it’s a bit quieter, and at the same time avail of the one-day-only, 10% shopping discount.

Black and gold detailed planters from KaroArt (€39.50).

Star buys include tableware which always makes a lovely gift, especially for a recipient who loves to entertain.

Fawn Prints offers the Fox bone china cup (€15) as a stocking filler, or buy a set for a more substantial gift.

Anyone who has ever complained about coffee going cold in a cafetière might welcome the coffee pot cosy from Green Gorgeous. Made from grey felt with little red inserts for a festive finish, it costs €20.

In anticipation of warmer, brighter days ahead, salad bowls in native Irish wood are made by Glenn Lucas Woodturning, and can double up as fruit bowls in the meantime (from €75).

Wooden bowls in native Irish wood from Glenn Lucas Woodturning (from €75).

Karo Art clay planters are beautifully finished in black and gold detailing, and just need a little winter herb added as a gift for a cooking enthusiast (€39.50).

Alongside the craft fair is the Christmas Food Emporium, with over 120 artisan food producers, just in case you can’t face baking your own cakes and pudding, but want that homemade flavour, without additives and preservatives.

Meanwhile in Cork, the City Hall hosts the 25th Craft and Design Fair from November 24 to 27.

Among the lovely buys are Artwood’s Moon Suncatchers (from €20), which are multi-functional decorations to either hang on the Christmas tree, or in a sunny window all year round.

‘Fox’ bone china cup from Fawn Prints (€15).

Check out prints too, as they’re an affordable approach to buying art. So for a friend living abroad who would like a reminder of home, Jando Prints has works with subjects like Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral and the Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse as their focus (from €18).

With Christmas being the one time of year where we’re all allowed — if not encouraged— to stay in our pyjamas all day, jigsaws and a few board games are almost obligatory.

Alphabet Jigsaws, made by an Irish and Sri Lankan family and designed in the West of Ireland, have wooden pieces produced in rural Sri Lanka, in a process certified by the Ethical Trade Initiative so it adds an extra worthy dimension to buying a crafted product.

Finally, check out this list of fairs and events taking place from now until December 18.

Felt cafetiËre cosy from Green Gorgeous (€20).

City Hall Crafts and Design Fair 24th-27th Nov, City Hall, Cork. www.cityhallcraftsfair.ie

National Crafts Fair, 30th Nov – 4th Dec, RDS, Dublin. www.nationalcraftsfair.ie

Glow, A Cork Christmas Celebration, weekends 25th Nov – 18th Dec, Grand Parade, Cork, www.corkchristmascelebration.ie

Ballymaloe Craft Fair, 19th – 20th Nov, Ballymaloe, Co. Cork www.ballymaloe.ie/events

Cork Craft & Design, all year, Douglas Shopping Centre, Cork. www.corkcraftanddesign.com

Design & Crafts Council of Ireland’s pop-up shops, 7th – 24th Dec, The Doyle Collection’s Westbury Mall, Dublin. www.dccoi.ie