Take the stress out of holiday shopping by forgoing shopping malls, long lines and combative consumers. Holiday markets offer one-of-a-kind gifts that show a level of care and extra thought, bypassing fast fashion for fair trade.

There are unique finds for the person who has everything and the people on your list who are just plain hard to buy for. This year there's a healthy offering of holiday markets where guests can leisurely browse items from local artisans who make jewelry, clothing, food gifts and other handmade items.

Many also offer entertainment, specialty beverages and a Santa sighting.

Here's a sampling of local markets:

A HANDMADE HOLIDAY MARKET: Noon-5 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 16. Lakes and Legends Brewing Co., 1368 LaSalle Av. S., Mpls. mplscraftmarket.com

ART AT HIDDEN RIVER: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 2. Hidden River Middle School, 1700 Summit Av., St. Paul. artistscircle.org

AUXILIARY HOLIDAY SALE: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 1-2; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 3. $15. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska. arb.umn.edu

BLACK FOREST INN CHRISTMAS MARKET: Noon-7 p.m. Dec. 9; noon-5 p.m. Dec. 10. 1 E. 26th St., Mpls. blackforestinnmpls.com

CHRISTMAS POP-UP MARKET: 4-8:30 p.m. Dec. 11. The Meeting Point, 14537 Dodd Blvd., Rosemount. themeetingpointmn.com

WINTER MAKERS MARKET: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon-Sat.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. through Dec. 30. thedaytonsproject.com

DECEMBER GIFT MARKET: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. & 5-10 p.m. Dec. 9; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 10. $15. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska. arb.umn.edu

EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS MARKET: 4-9 p.m. Nov. 24, Dec. 1, 8 & 15; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 25, Dec. 2, 9 & 16; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 26, Dec. 2, 10 & 17. Free. Union Depot, 240 E. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul. stpaulchristmasmarket.org

EXCELSIOR CHRISTKINDLSMARKT: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 24-25; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 26. Excelsior East Public Parking Lot, 421 3rd St. S., Excelsior. excelsiorchristmas.com

FAIR STATE BREWING HOLIDAY POPUPS: 5-8 p.m. Fri.; 1-5 p.m. Sat. through Dec. 16. Fair State Brewing, 2506 Central Av. NE., Mpls. fairstate.coop

FAIR TRADE HOLIDAY MARKET: Noon-4 p.m. Dec. 10. The Dream Shop, 3701 Fremont Av. N., Mpls. thedreamshopmpls.com

FIELD + FESTIVAL HOLIDAY MARKET: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat.-Sun. through Dec. 18. Wagners Garden Center, 6024 Penn Av. S., Mpls. mplscraftmarket.com

HAUS HOLIDAY MARKET: Noon-5 p.m. Dec. 3. Schram Haus Brewery, 3700 Chaska Blvd., Chaska. schramhausbrewery.com

THE HOLIDAY MARKET AT MALCOLM YARDS: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 9; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 10. 501 30th Av. SE., Mpls. malcolmyards.market

HOLIDAYS ON NICOLLET: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; Tue.-Thu. through Jan. 5. IDS Center, City Center, U.S. Bancorp Center and 50 S. 6th St., downtown Mpls. mplsdowntown.com

HOLIDAY SATURDAYS AT NORTHRUP KING BUILDING: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., Dec. 2 & 9; noon-4 p.m. Dec. 16 & 23. 1500 NE. Jackson St., Mpls. northrupkingbuilding.com

HOLIDAY VILLAGE: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun. through Dec. 24. Young-Quinlan Building, 81 S. 9th St., Mpls. mplsdowntown.com

JULMARKNAD MARKET & FESTIVAL: Scandinavian marketplace with handmade goods from 60 regional artists. 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 2; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 3. $6-$18. American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Av. S., Mpls. asimn.org

JUNK BONANZA CHRISTMAS: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 30; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 1; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 2. $10. Canterbury Park, 1100 Canterbury Road, Shakopee. junkbonanza.com

MINNEAPOLIS MAKERS MARKET & BAR HOP: 1-6 p.m. Nov. 25. Indeed Brewing, Padraigs Brewing, Tattersall Distilling and Dashfire Distillery. indeedbrewing.com

MINNESOTA MERRY MARKET: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 16; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 17. North End Event Center, State Fairgrounds, Falcon Heights. minnesotamerrymarket.com

MINNI DAZZLE: 5-9 p.m. Dec. 14-15; 2-7 p.m. Dec. 16; 1-5 p.m. Dec. 17. Fulton Taproom, 414 6th Av. N., Mpls. fultonbeer.com

MN CHRISTMAS MARKET: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 25. $1. Quincy Hall, 1325 NE. Quincy St., Mpls. mnchristmasmarket.com

NO COAST CRAFT-O-RAMA HOLIDAY SHOW: 4-8 p.m. Dec. 1; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 2 Midtown Global Market, 920 E. Lake St., Mpls. nocoastcraft.com

NORDIC JULEMARKET: 4-8 p.m. Dec. 1; noon-8 p.m. Dec. 2; noon-6 p.m. Dec. 3. Utepils Brewing, 225 Thomas Av. N., Mpls. nordicjulemarket.com

NORDIC VILLAGE MARKET: Noon-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun., except Dec. 24 & 31 through January. Four Seasons, 245 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. fourseasons.com

NORTH LOOP WINTER MARKET: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 16th. 501 Royalston Av. N., Mpls. eventbrite.com

OLD FASHIONED HOLIDAY BAZAAR: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 30-Dec. 1; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 2. $5. Landmark Center, 75 W. 5th St., St. Paul. landmarkcenter.org

OLD ST. ANTHONY HOLIDAY BAZAAR: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 10. Machine Shop, 300 SE. 2nd St., Mpls. mplscraftmarket.com

PALACE THEATRE HOLIDAY MARKET: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 9; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 10. 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul. palaceholidaymarket.com

POP-UP JULEMARKET: Noon-8 p.m. Dec. 5. Norway House, 913 E. Franklin Av., Mpls. norwayhouse.org

REDHOT ART MARKET: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 16. Chicago Avenue Fine Arts Center, 3749 Chicago Av. S., Mpls. cafac.org

TATTERSALL WINTER MARKET: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. & Dec. 9-10. 1777 Paulson Road, River Falls, Wis. Tattersalldistilling.com