Here come the holidays!

I'll bet most people are still nursing their Halloween candy hangovers right about now, but I'm ready to start thinking about the holidays -- namely holiday craft shows!

Atomic Holiday Bazaar 2009

First up is GLAM Indie Craft Show, taking place Sunday, Dec. 5 from 1-5pm right here in downtown Gainesville.

Each year, GLAM serves up a veritable smorgasbord of handmade gifts just in time for the holidays. We'll even have a few delicious sides for you -- a DJ spinning tunes, tasty treats for sale, and a few surprise guests to entertain you. Think of it as the crafty version of a meat-and-three.

Head on over to the GLAM website to check out the full vendor list, which was announced this week. If you happen to look closely, you may notice that yours truly isn't listed. That's because I'm going to be busy busy busy running around behind the scenes helping make sure that everything goes smoothly for all of the crafters and shoppers. Putting on a craft show is takes a lot of work, and this year I figured I'd be better off focused just on the show and not on selling things in my own booth.

But never fear -- I haven't retired my scissors and sewing machine yet. A week later, I'll be selling my own creations at Atomic Holiday Bazaar in Sarasota. For those of you who don't know, Atomic is the mother of all craft shows here in Florida. It's in its fifth year (wowza!) and has morphed into two whole days of crazy craftiness, music, and all-around fun.

I'll be set up during the day show on Saturday, Dec. 11 (11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), which my dear friend and Atomic producer Adrien describes as the "dysfunctional to well-adjusted family-friendly show." Then my man and I plan to stick around for the night show on Saturday (6 p.m. to 11:45 p.m.), which includes a few live bands, edgy crafters, and even a burlesque show. It's funny to me that the show is scheduled to end at 11:45 -- I guess the place must turn into a pumpkin at midnight or something! Actually, the Sarasota Regional Auditorium looks more like a spaceship than a pumpkin, but I digress.

So anyhow, I hope to see you at one or both of these great events this holiday season!

And if you live farther afield and want to find craft shows in your area, check out the brand spankin' new website Indicative Indie, which includes a listing of craft shows from across the country. It was put together by one of the gals who'll be at GLAM -- Stephanie of Chirping Bird Press. I'm tellin' you, the craft community NEEDS a centralized resource like this. Thanks, Stephanie!