Moab Holiday Craft Fair

The Moab Arts Holiday Craft Fair fills the first Friday and Saturday of December (Friday 4 PM to 9 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM) with handcrafted goods from local and regional makers displaying photography, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, glass work, woodwork, metalwork, candles, soaps, baked goods, and desert-inspired creations at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center (111 E 100 North). The free event features only handmade items crafted by neighbors, creating an authentic shopping experience where you can meet the artists behind wheel-thrown pottery with vibrant glazes, hand-dyed yarns from local fiber collectives, leather goods with rugged lasting style, and aromatic herbal blends made with regional plants. Valley Voices carolers perform throughout Saturday alongside cookie decorating and snowflake window cling crafts for kids, while food vendors including Magnolia + Mesa and Smoked Bowls serve hot cocoa and meals that turn shopping into a full-day festive experience.

The craft fair timing aligns perfectly with the tree lighting ceremonies (Thursday and Friday evenings) and Saturday’s Electric Light Parade, making it easy to build a complete holiday weekend around handmade shopping, festive lights, and the kind of small-town celebration that feels worlds away from big-box retail. Vendor booths consistently sell out, with artisans offering everything from stained glass suncatchers and hand-drawn wooden originals to polymer clay earrings and bike bags, ensuring your holiday gifts carry a piece of Moab’s creative spirit. Post-shopping dinners at Sunset Grill (opened 1993) offer views alongside hand-cut steaks, while Moab Garage Co. (opened 2017) serves New American cuisine in a historic auto repair building complete with liquid nitrogen ice cream that adds sweet finish to craft fair afternoons.

The Colorado River flows through town, providing riverside access perfect for morning paddles before afternoon shopping sessions that let you experience both Moab’s outdoor recreation and its creative community. Lake Powell lies 275 miles south (4.5 hours), offering houseboating and slot canyon exploration for travelers who want to extend their craft fair weekend into a full desert holiday adventure. Lake.com features vacation rentals near both Moab and Lake Powell for visitors seeking the kind of low-key, high-reward itinerary that combines handmade holiday shopping with mornings on the water and afternoons exploring the red rock landscapes that make southeastern Utah an ideal December destination when crowds thin and holiday spirit fills the desert air.