Lifelong Learning Institute’s Skills Bazaar

Whenever Christmas comes around, we get swamped with articles on the internet, telling us about the best deals for Christmas presents or recommending unique gifts. 

And while all these provide us with useful options, we know that the best gifters are those who don’t get generic mass-produced items off the shelves – their gifts are a tip of the hat to your relationship, a hint at how much they know you. 

And this brings us to just why Lifelong Learning Institute’s (LLI) Skills Bazaar happening on 8 December from 1-7PM is so important: it has $10 DIY workshops where you can Learn a Skill, Give a Gift and bring home gifts like personalised snow globes, fairy light glass jar, as well as Christmas Cards. 

Craft workshops to make personalised gifts

Make a leather coin pouch for your giftee with LIENSTUDIO

Image credit: Almost Makes Perfect

If your giftee is male and above 25, I can guarantee you he’s losing money on a weekly basis without a coin pouch. Lien Studio’s workshop on how to upcycle leftover leather into super cute coin pouches cost $10 per person, but they’ll save you money in the long run. 

In this workshop, you’ll learn basic techniques associated with creating leather accessories. Tips on how to trace, cut, and form your own pouches will be provided every step along the way, and you’ll leave with a personalised coin pouch crafted with personality. 

The next time someone asks about the scruff on your pouch, you’ll be able to proudly explain how you made the pouch yourself.

Upcycle Leather Coin Pouch Workshop
Organiser: LIENSTUDIO
Price:$10
Time: 5-6PM

Make your own snow globes with SgArtClass

Snow globes have a magical quality to them. Because I grew up in sunny Singapore, snow globes were the closest thing I had as a kid to help me picture myself in a winter wonderland. Pick it up, give it a shake, stare at the “snow” fall gracefully, rinse and repeat. 

The best part of this workshop is that the instructors will show you how household items you’ll have at home can be repurposed into decorations for your globe, meaning if you’re a packrat, you’ll be able to turn old toys into incredibly personalised gifts! 

DIY Snow Globe Workshop
Organiser:SgArtClass
Price:$10
Time: 3-4.30PM / 5-6.30PM

DIY fairy light LED glass jars with FloraClay

Image credit: FloralClay Singapore

If LED lights are your thing, drop by for this workshop where you’ll find out firsthand how to make them prettier than they already are. This workshop by FloraClay shows you how to upgrade fairy lights by artfully putting them in a jar.

Fairy Light Glass Jar Lantern Workshop
Organiser:FloraClay
Price: $10
Time:5-6PM / 6-7PM

Ready-made gifts

Christmas-themed scented candles from Flowermaker

Image credit: Flowermaker

Flowermaker decorates all their Christmas-themed scented candles by hand, creating pretty flowers with their own personalities. You’ll be able to find flowery-scented candles like lavender or rose, as well as more traditional ones like sandalwood and lemongrass here.

Handmade bath soaps from Alletsoap

Image credit: Alletsoap

Following on the theme of handmade accessories, the soaps available at Alletsoap are all handmade, using ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter, and Vitamin E. Founded in 2015, Alletsoap ensures that all their products are scented with essential oils.

Their normal scents include blended scents like Cedarwood Lavender and Grapefruit Apricot, and they’ll be coming up with new soaps for Christmas.

Bottled cold brew coffees and teas from 1degreeC

Image credit: 1degreeC

Tea and coffee aren’t conventional presents, and that’s quite sad because we all have coffee-loving and tea-loving friends. Enter 1degreeC. With cold brew coffees and teas with shelf-lives of up to 14 days, if your Christmas party is any time between 8-22 December, this is now a legitimate consideration to bring as a potluck contribution or even a present. 

You might have seen 1degreeC around as they’ve made it a point to participate in pop-up events like Farmers’ Markets and coffee festivals. If it’s your first time trying one of their cold brews, get their Almond Milk and Masala cold brew coffees – they say no other cafe in Singapore offers them!

Family-friendly activities

Grab hotdogs and finger food from Be Frank and HelloFoodieSG

Image credit: @travlim

It ain’t a proper bazaar without good food, and you’ll find Be Frank and HelloFoodieSG at Level 1 of the bazaar, among other vendors. 

Be Frank’s hotdogs come in innovative flavours, including Mac & Cheese, Bacon & Cheese, Foie Gras, and Tempura Enoki. You’ll also have a choice of pork or chicken hotdog.

If hotdogs aren’t your thing, head over to HelloFoodieSG’s booth, manned by super friendly makciks, where you can get Fried Mashed Potatoes with either mayo spicy tuna or cheese mushroom and sausage, or their crowd-favourite Tofu Pops.

Get a free face painting by the pros at Party Parlour

Image credit: Party Parlour

If your kids still harbour dreams of one day being a beautiful fairy or a superhero, bring them to the LLI Skills Bazaar. Here, professional face painters are on hand to give your kids a makeover, using professional-level face paint.

The paint used by Party Parlour is easily removable with wet wipes or just water, making it easy to get it all off when you’re home.

Meet and greet with Santa

Image credit: Santa Claus Academy

Hohoho! Children will be able to tell Santa firsthand what they want for Christmas at the Bazaar. So if you’re still looking for gift ideas, keep your ears open when they whisper their wishlists into Santa’s ear. 

Time: 1.30pm – 2.30pm | 3.30pm – 4.30pm | 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Bonus: Storytelling with Santa and Chloe the Cloud Fairy

Isn’t Santa warm in Singapore, so far away from the North Pole? What super exciting adventures has he been on?

Santa and Chloe the Cloud Fairy will be on hand to weave a tale to enchant the children. Spoiler: Santa’s secret to keeping cool in summery Singapore? A magical potion concocted by Chloe the Cloud Fairy. As a treat, everyone listening to Santa and Chloe’s tales will get a serving of the magical drink Santa drinks to keep cool under his big red coat. 

Time: 2.30pm – 3.10pm | 4.30pm – 5.10pm

Learn a Skill, Give a Gift this Christmas 

This time of year is special. Few other occasions inspire appreciation for your friends and family, and rarer still do we get opportunities to show it. At LLI’s Skills Bazaar, you’ll get the chance to show your friends that you care for them. Not at the buying-a-gift-off-the-rack level, but at the willing-to-spend-time-making-personalised-gifts level. 

And while we keep getting reminded over this month to show appreciation for others, don’t forget to apply the same to yourself. Spend some time learning something new for yourself. It could be crafting a snow globe or a leather coin pouch, but the important thing is that you set aside time for yourself to learn – and keep learning. 

After all, you are the most important person to invest in. And you can start on 8 December at the LLI Skills Bazaar.

Note: You can choose to donate the personalised gifts to LLI’s adopted beneficiaries, AWWA and MINDS.

LLI Christmas Bazaar
When: 8 December 2018, 1pm – 7pm
Where: Lifelong Learning Institute, 11 Eunos Rd 8, Singapore 408601

Find out more about LLI Skills Bazaar here

This post was brought to you by Lifelong Learning Institute.