ArtReach Featured in KPBS Article About Local Holiday Gift Markets

November 6, 2026 | Julia Dixon Evans

Holiday shopping doesn’t have to feel like a seasonal chore. There’s even science suggesting gift-giving rewires our brain and activates happiness and pleasure pathways. But experts have observed a decline in physical gift-giving in recent years — with streaming and digital everything, it takes a little more effort to find the perfect present.

What do you buy for the person who has (or streams) everything? Try something unique, handmade, meaningful or local. The region has a surplus of artisan holiday gift markets, where local artists, creatives, makers and vendors showcase their goods. So why not reclaim your gift-giving joy, support the local creative economy and find some one-of-a-kind gifts? You might even find fake snow or a festive drink.

ArtReach Holiday Art Market

1065 University Ave, San Diego | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5

Local arts education nonprofit ArtReach will host a holiday art market at its Hillcrest headquarters and studio, with artists, makers, small businesses, ceramics, food, drinks, treats, and artmaking activities.

Read the full KPBS article >>
Learn more about ArtReach’s Holiday Art Market >>