Santa can avoid mall madness by filling that sleigh with imaginative gifts from nonprofit art centers’ holiday galleries. In Connecticut, wise men and women know where to find original work by hundreds of national and regional artists in November and December. In New Haven’s Audubon Arts District, the Creative Arts Workshop’s 39th annual Celebration of American Crafts brightens the two-level Hilles Gallery with blown glass, pottery, fish wall art, ornaments, furniture, jewelry, mirrors, and lots of kids’ items. Among eye-catching creations are Sideways & Askew’s clay-and-paper sculptural lighting and Hilary Gifford’s multi-fabric scarves.
About 14 miles east of New Haven, the Guilford Art Center moved its 29th annual event from its campus to a spacious building in town. At Artistry on the Green, jewelry covers a variety of styles and prices while a ‘‘wall of pottery’’ shows off functional and nonfunctional designs. The handsome Fairhaven Furniture does double duty as display spaces. There are ornaments, glass, men’s ties, wearables, toys, and paintings.
Billing the 32d Holiday Exhibition & Sale as the region’s largest, Brookfield Craft Center dazzles with glass, ornaments, pottery, jewelry, handwovens, and home accessories. We loved Adam Spector’s pottery, Jean Meinhardt’s porcelain bowls, and Kim Korringa’s playful polymer clay jewelry.

Holiday Exhibition & Sale through Dec. 31 at Brookfield Craft Center, Route 25, Brookfield Center, 203-775-4526, brookfieldcraftcenter.org.

Artistry on the Green through Dec. 31 at former Trailblazer Building, 102 Broad St., north side of Town Green, Guilford, 203-453-5947, handcraftcenter.org.

Celebration of American Crafts through Dec. 24 at Creative Arts Workshop, 80 Audubon St., New Haven, 203-562-4927, creativeartsworkshop.org.