Searching for those perfect holiday gifts at reasonable prices?
Aptos United Methodist Church will host its seventh annual Holiday Boutique Saturday, Nov. 30, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., on the church campus. The boutique will feature unique handmade gifts for all ages, and all items are made by local crafters.
The church is located at 221 Thunderbird Drive in the Seascape neighborhood of Aptos. Signs will be placed to direct shoppers from Highway 1 to the campus. The event is a part of Santa Cruz County’s Small Business Saturday, occurring each year during the Thanksgiving weekend.
The boutique crafters will present a wide variety of gift items. Jewelry will include seaglass creations, hand beaded necklaces and earrings, sterling silver pieces inset with stones, and window jewelry. Original fused glass plates, dishes and plaques and Deerhaven Farm soaps will be on sale.
Knitted hats, scarves and shawls will be featured along with handmade quilts, oven mitts, placemats, and tote bags. Sculptures and watercolors, photography, paper lanterns and a variety of handmade cards will be offered. Handcrafted ornaments, gift tags, and decorations will be available for holiday decorating.
For children there will be blankets, books with sketches by Steven Kellogg, seaglass books by Kirsti Scott, fabric dolls, creatures, and monsters, and stuffed animals.
Food sales will include English toffee made by Doris Carlisle, jams made by Sheila Vaughn, and breads, cookies and pies produced by the Aptos UMC bakers. Succulent dish gardens and large, beautiful poinsettias and cyclamen plants will be available for purchase.
Volunteers from the county voter registration project will staff a voter registration booth during the boutique for shoppers who are not registered to sign up to vote in the 2020 election.
The Holiday Boutique is an annual fundraiser that supports the church and its work in mission outreach. Aptos UMC feeds the homeless through the Association of Faith Communities and the Salvation Army, participates in the homeless shower project through the Mid-County Homeless Coalition, participates in Second Harvest Food Bank food sorts, participates in Project Connect serving the homeless, provides food for families in the Families in Transition program, is a member of COPA (Communities Organized for relational Power in Action) and participates in LGBTQ Pride days.
Aptos UMC also helps to sponsor missionary Katherine Parker who is currently in Nepal advising villages on how to obtain clean water.
•••
For more info: https://www.aptosumc.org