By Meghan Streit
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

During the holiday season, with dozens of gifts to buy for family and friends, finding a personalized and meaningful present for everyone on your shopping list can be a challenge. Between the chaotic crowds at shopping malls and the dizzying array of choices for the hottest new toys and the latest electronics, it can be enough to make you want to buy gift cards for everyone and call it a day!

One-of-a-kind gifts
Monarch Landing residents and staff had a chance to get a jump start on their holiday shopping at the Naperville retirement community’s first-ever arts and crafts show and sale. Resident artists and crafters of all varieties set up booths to show off their wares, giving their neighbors a prime opportunity to buy unique holiday gifts that could not be found at the local shopping mall.

Residents didn’t even have to leave their own homes to shop because the fair was held in Monarch Landing’s clubhouse, which is a short indoor walk from residents’ front doors.

Virginia Weathered has been sewing since she was 12 years old and has expertly crafted everything from wedding gowns to suits. The creative Monarch Landing resident seized the opportunity to show her goods at the fair, where she sold custom-made purses and scarves. Weathered had a variety of materials and patterns on display so customers could order their very own one-of-a-kind item.

"They are all different," Weathered says of her hand-made purses and scarves. "I don’t make any two alike."

Talent on display
Other goods for sale included painted porcelain art, carved-stone sculptures, knit sweaters, and hand-made jewelry. The members of Monarch Landing’s wood shop group also displayed some of their handiwork and took orders for custom-made occasional tables and stepstools.

Resident Sarah Martin showed some of her colorful handmade clothing at the fair and also took some time to browse the goods for sale by her neighbors. "It’s an amazing mix of things," Martin says.