I have celebrated Christmas in three U.S. cities, four different countries, and on three continents.

My least favorite flavor of Christmas is the crass, commercial version I seem to experience in the U.S. Black Friday, Cyber Monday... Yech! I find the U.S. version frought with obligation and expectation. Who do I have to give a gift to? Who must I send a card to? Rush, rush. Buy, buy. Wrap and stack and send and ... I end up frazzled and unhappy.

My favorite flavor of Christmas is the hand-made, gluh-wine, Weinachtmarkt German version. Granted, I lived in a very small town in Germany and it was nearly three decades ago. Perhaps Berlin would have been different. But in Julich, I found it fabulous to focus on the beautiful hand-made gift-wrap in addition to the gift; to sip warm, mulled wine while wandering through quaint markets packed with local artisans.

Buffalo actually offers markets much like those I so fondly remember in Germany. The Western New York Book Arts Center's Last Minute Panic Holiday Marketplace is first and foremost among them, only indoors, on Friday and Saturday, December 19and 20. The Saturday Holiday Artisan Market on Canalside also approximates that European ambiance, and it's outdoors. The Foundry is having a last minute Holiday Sale, as is Flying Bison. Use your imagination...

Still have shopping to do? Instead of the Mall, go to the Burchfield Penney, the Albright-Knox or the History Museum. Give yourself a cultural break and then shop at the fabulous gift shops hidden in these cultural gems. For Buffalo-themed goods to make your favorite folks homesick, shop at Buffalo Adore, Spoiled Rotten, Thin Ice or the brand new BFLO Gallery & Gifts - it's at the Eastern Hills Mall and in the 'burbs, but it's 100% Buffalo. Prefer to shop online? Find lots of BuffaLove at Yeah Buffalo. Check out Citybration.com for some interesting Buffalo Stuff, too.

Shop, but also stop. Bake some cookies and bring them to the City Mission. Hang some mittens and scarves on a few trees in our parks for those in need. Stop by your favorite house of worship, just because. Take some time to share and give thanks.

'Tis the season in the City of Very Good Neighbors.