Holiday Traditions

Many families look forward to the holiday traditions they have established with their loved ones. Every year growing up, my mother would take me and my sister to our city's Christmas celebration. We would sip hot Dr. Pepper while walking through all the pretty light displays, roast marshmallows in a huge bonfire, make a craft in Santa's workshop, and then meet the big guy --Santa-- to tell him what we just had to have for Christmas. It was what I waited for each December.

Starting traditions with your family and friends at the holidays can make the season just a little bit more exciting. Me and my husband like to use the holidays as a reason to buy handmade. While big box stores are packed with stressed out shoppers, there's probably a local craft show set up in your area, with hundreds of artists just waiting to sell you unique, one of a kind pieces.

There are several local craft fairs happening in the next few weeks as the holidays approach. A quick Google search of your area will most likely turn out at least one or two shows, while there are two large indie shows produced by local crafters this season, right here in Oklahoma.

The Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar is an indie craft fair and community event with free admission in Oklahoma City, where unique artists show and sell their work to enthusiastic shoppers from all over the region. This year's show will be on December 10, 2011, from 11am-5pm at the State Fairgrounds in the Centennial Building. There are over 80 vendors to shop from this year, and the line up is full of Oklahoma artists! You can find the full list of vendors here.


The Alliday Show is a free to attend, all handmade arts and craft show happening on December 17, 2011, from 9am-5pm in Tulsa, at the Ford Truck Exhibit Hall at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Expo Square. The Alliday Show believes that there is no reason why everyday can't be a holiday. Over 80 artists will be in attendance, and you can view the list here.


Also, there are artists all around the world working around the clock to produce the best holiday gifts you could give this season.. and you won't even have to fight an old lady for the last one on the shelf. The Oklahoma Etsy team is a great place to start when you are doing your online shopping. This is a current list of the OKetsy team members. Another way to find OKetsy team members is to search Etsy using the "oketsy" tag.


No matter what your holiday traditions may be, consider supporting your local shops and artists this season. They are working double time to provide the best gifts for you, while hoping to provide for their own families. Where can we find you shopping this season?

Casey Maute is a contributor to the OkEtsy blog and lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She has worked under the name Lollywood from 2008-2010 and recently opened a new Etsy shop called OSO handmade. She loves craft shows, eating from food trucks, finding cool local shops, and working with PR and social media.