Holiday Shopping Guide

An apron designed by Lynda Hester.

The phrase “shop until you drop” may fall short in describing the exhaustion felt after a trip to the mall during the holiday shopping season.

Crowded stores, long lines and short tempers are inevitable.

For those who may be looking to take a break from the madness or avoid it altogether, some hub organizations will be holding holiday shopping markets this winter as an alternative way to shop for gifts.

Discovery Roxbury, WWMI Events and the Dorchester Arts Collaborative are a few of the organizations hosting holiday shopping events in December.

Artsrox! Holiday Pop-Up Shop

Discovery Roxbury will kick off its ArtRox! Holiday Pop-Up Shop at noon Friday, Dec. 6 at 2201 Washington Street in Dudley Square.

The event will feature fine arts, crafts and designs created by vendors in the Greater Roxbury area.

The pop-up shop opens for business from noon to 5 p.m., Friday thru Tuesday, with the last day of the event on Dec. 24.

Items sold during the event will fit a wide-range of budgets and tastes.

For more information, visit discoverroxbury.org and click on “Holiday Pop-Up Shop” under the “Annual Events” tab.

Holiday Artmarket

On the weekend of, Dec. 7 to Dec. 8, Dorchester Arts Collaborative is sponsoring Holiday ArtMarket.

The event is from noon to 5 p.m. at The Erick Jeane Center for The Arts at 157A Washington Street in Dorchester.

Shoppers can purchase reasonably priced gifts, cards and holiday décor during the event.

The event will also feature a table for children to shop for gifts.

For more information, visit facebook.com/DorchesterArtsCollaborative.

The Holiday Bazaar/Festival In The City

WWMI Events is calling all to its family-friendly shopping event at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7.

The Holiday Bazaar/Festival in the City is being held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury and will include over 35 businesses for shopping.

There will also be games and activities for children, raffles and a photo booth.

Admission is free for the event.

For updates, visit facebook.com/wwmievents.

SoWa Holiday Market

On Saturday, Dec. 14 and Sunday, Dec. 15, SoWa, which stands for South of Washington, is holding its annual holiday market.

Open from noon to 6 p.m. on both days, the event will be held in the main building of the Benjamin Franklin Institute in the South End.

The annual market features independent designers, artists and crafters from across New England.

Admission is $5 for those 12 and older. Anyone under 12 is free.

For more information, visit sowaholidaymarket.com.

Downtown Crossing Holiday Market

For an earlier start on Christmas shopping, head to the Downtown Crossing Holiday Market, which will kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30 at the Summer Street Plaza.

Attendees will be able to choose from a wide-range of gift ideas created by locals, including jewelry makers, gourmet food makers, sculptors, photographers and woodcarvers.

After the start date, the market will open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, visit downtownboston.org.