You're already knee-deep in invitations to indie arts and crafts holiday sales, trunk shows, open studios and gift markets touting their local, sustainable and/or multicultural appeal — and that's a good thing. Besides supporting homegrown talent, you can get a little art, culture and party time in with your consumerism. Plus, shopping in your neighborhood artisan communities all but guarantees your excellent presents will not be upstaged or duplicated. Now in its eighth year, the Avenue 50 Studio Annual Holiday Sale & Party is one of the liveliest, friendliest and most diverse such marketplaces, showing dozens of painters, printmakers, craftspeople and jewelry designers from the studio's program and extended family. Thanks to the abundance of beautiful, haunting, charming, traditional and avant-garde visual and decorative arts stuffing the studio rafters, there's no need to spend the next two weeks fighting with your boyfriend in the mall or drowning in the Amazon. And if you aren't familiar with what Avenue 50 Studio is all about, this two-day (well, one night and the next afternoon) event doubles as a chance to explore its prolific slate of workshops, spoken-word events, film screenings and monthly art exhibitions celebrating the accomplishments of, and developing new audiences for, the legendarily vibrant Latino, Asian and African-American art community of Northeast L.A. Avenue 50 Studio, 131 N. Avenue 50. Sat., Dec. 15, 7-11 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 16, noon-4 p.m.; free. (323) 258-1435, avenue50studio.com.

Sat., Dec. 15, 7-11 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 16, 12-4 p.m., 2012

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