Online shopping is easy, but if you’d rather be a hands-on Santa, why fight the mall hordes when you can find perfect one-of-a-kind holiday gifts on the way home from work or on a walk through the park. From classic neighborhood favorites to clever newcomers, this list should cover just about everyone on yours.

Union Square, Columbus Circle

The Union Square and Columbus Circle Holiday Markets are the biggies. They’ve been keeping the elves overworked for more than 16 years. They’re open through December 24, and you’ll find everything from edibles to wearables to trimmings for the tree. At Columbus Circle, look for the Hermès shop, where a retro diner setting offers a full floor of Hermès-inspired games like a miniature golf course that uses enamel bangles as hoops and a hopscotch game featuring silk scarves.

Uptown in Morningside Heights at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for its 18th year, Crafts at the Cathedral will offer quality handmade goods from over 60 artisans.

In Midtown, the Grand Central Holiday Fair and the Holiday Shops at Bryant Park (the Google Winter Wonderlab is a highlight this year) guarantee that you’re never far from a shopping opportunity.

In Chelsea, if you’re looking for the creative and unique in the form of handmade arty goodies, don’t miss Artists and Fleas at Chelsea Market. It’s part designer showcase, part maker’s market, with over 30 independent creators and designers of art, jewelry, home accessories, vintage clothing, and all things indie and funky. The WIRED Store at 353 West 14th Street at 9th Avenue will wow you once again with all manner of gadgetry from cars to computers and cameras.

For the especially discerning giftee, Divine Details Shop in the Flatiron District will be presenting a curated line of 33 uncommon versions of common goods: Accompanying each designer product is an original fictional story, inspired by the object, and commissioned from some of New York's most acclaimed writers (Aiga Gallery, 164 Fifth Avenue from November 2 to December 28).

In the Lower East Side, the Hester Holiday Market brings crowds back to the site of the popular summertime street fair. Over in NoHo, the Birchbox Holiday Pop-in at Dagny + Barstow at 264 Bowery from December 6-21 will offer holiday hair touch-ups, manicures and other treatments for frazzled shoppers as well as a collection of coveted products for beauty junkies.

In Williamsburg, spend a day at the new Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg indoor market at 80 North Fifth Street at Wythe Avenue; the food is as good as the shopping, and they’re open every weekend, all winter long. The Holiday Handmade Cavalcade is a popular go-to for completely unique items from Etsy New York’s finest makers. For night owls, the season wouldn’t be complete without some after-hours shopping at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar, with live music and local food to add to the fun.

For the Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair on December 7th from 11AM to 5PM, independent booksellers will fill Park Slope’s Old Stone House with rare, vintage and out-of-print books in a celebration of Brooklyn’s rich history of printing, reading, and writing. A highlight this year will be a reading by Paul Auster of his Brooklyn holiday classic, “Auggie Wren’s Christmas Story” at 4 PM.