Arts and Crafts

November 29

Vendor and Home Decor Fair: The Elgin Junior Woman's Club will present its annual Vendor and Home Decor Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29 at Epworth United Methodist Church, corner of Randall Road and Highland Avenue, Elgin. Vendors will display designer handbags, jewelry, handcrafted holiday decorations, homemade cards and linens. Also offered will be Tastefully Simple, Watkins, Cookie Lee, Mary Kay, Tupperware, Surprise Parties, Longaberger, and more. The fair will include a bake sale. All proceeds benefit the Renz Addiction Counseling Center of Elgin.

November 29-30

Christmas Craft Show: Marmion Academy's two-day Christmas Craft Show will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29 and 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30. The juried craft show will be held at the academy, 1000 Butterfield Road, Aurora. Admission is $3 for those 12 and older. Complimentary baby-sitting service is offered both days. For information, contact the Alumni Office at (630) 897-6936, ext. 228 or visit www.marmion.org/alumni/alumni.html. Last year's show featured 158 crafters and drew more than 3,400 paying customers.

December 5

Cookie Walk: The Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva is hosting its annual Cookie Walk from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5. Now in its 26th year, this Geneva holiday tradition raises money to support the work of the church and the social justice programs it sponsors, including a youth trip to a Habitat for Humanity homebuilding site and donations to local nonprofit organization such as Lazarus House and the Northern Illinois Food Bank. As customers enter the church at the corner of Second and James streets in downtown Geneva, they are given a box to fill. They then walk along long tables filled with 400 to 500 dozen cookies of all kinds. Customers fill their boxes any way they choose - all one kind or mix and match. Each box holds one to two dozen cookies and cost $13. Reservations for Cookie Walk are not required but lines do form early and favorite varieties sell out fast.

December 6

AID Holiday show: The Association for Individual Development is holding its ninth annual Holiday Bazaar and Craft Show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at AID's Keeler Center, 309 W. New Indian Trail Court in Aurora. Applications for crafters are being taken on a first-come, first serve basis. The table fee is $30. Proceeds from the fees are used for activities and outings for individuals who participate in AID's Developmental Training program offered at the Keeler Center. For details, call MaryAnn at (630) 966-4252.

Sugar Plum Holiday Market: The Bell-Graham Elementary School PTO invite you to attend the Sugar Plum Holiday Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6. The show will feature more than 50 booths of handmade crafts, specialty vendors and artists. There will also be a bake sale, raffle and mini business expo. Admission is free. All proceeds go to programs for students to supplement their learning experience. The school is at 4N505 Fox Mill Blvd., off Route 64, three miles west of Randall Road in St. Charles. For details, call Laura at (630) 587-5707.

Holiday Express: The Hoover Wood Elementary School PTO is hosting the second annual Holiday Vendor Mart, "Holiday Express," from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 in the school gymnasium, 1640 Wagner Road in Batavia. All proceeds for this event go directly to programs for students to supplement their learning experience. If you are a small business or vendor and would be interested in promoting your products or services, call Jennifer Jansson at (630) 879-0172. Not interested in going to the malls or navigating online? Then stop by Hoover Wood Elementary School on Dec. 6. You will find great gift choices, no large parking lots, no traveling from store to store and no long lines. The PTO will also have gift cards available for many national retail chains. To tie it all up, gift wrapping will be available for a small donation.

Marklund Holiday Craft Fair: Marklund's 2008 Holiday Craft Fair will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Marklund Hyde Center, 1S450 Wyatt Drive in Geneva. There will be many vendors selling their handmade holiday ornaments as well as items created as gifts. In addition, there will be a Marklund booth featuring items handcrafted by Marklund's developmental training clients. The Holiday Craft Fair also will include cosmetics and food vendors such as Avon, Mary Kay, Tastefully Simple, and Pampered Chef. All vendors have donated one item valued at $10 or more to Marklund for a raffle to be held during the Holiday Craft Fair.

December 13

Breakfast with Santa craft show: A handmade craft show will be an added attraction to the traditional Breakfast with Santa which has been held at West Aurora High School for over 20 years. The arts and crafts show will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 13, the same time as the breakfast. It will feature original artists and crafters displaying their handmade products. The school is at 1201 W. New York St. in Aurora. For crafters wishing to receive information on the show, e-mail Kadie O'Connor at kd3627@hotmail.com to request an application.