Boston Christmas Festival, Boston

For more than 25 years, craft artists have gathered at the Boston Christmas Festival to showcase their handmade items just in time for the holiday season. The award-winning exhibition features more than 350 American artisans, who make everything from folk art and pottery to jewelry and clothing. Along with gifts for everyone on your list, the festival features a farmer's market aisle and plenty of holiday decorations, including tapestry stockings and seashell ornaments.

While vendors serve up gourmet bites, the sweet aromas of honey, ginger, and other spices waft from the gingerbread house competition, where top area chefs showcase their fanciest edible constructions for a celebrity panel. Proceeds from the competition benefit Housing Families, a nonprofit that helps house Massachusetts' homeless and very low-income families.