The folks at the Blind Center in Washington are ready for a festive holiday season, with a well-stocked gift shop offering practically everything one needs to have a very merry Christmas.

Preparations are also underway for this year’s Kris Kringle Craft Show, an annual fundraising event benefiting the center. That event, planned for Dec. 4-5, will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Washington.

Chip Laughinghouse, the Blind Center’s new executive director, expects the show to draw an abundance of shoppers and local artisans selling their wares.

“It’s important to shop locally,” Laughinghouse said. “We’ll have a lot of Christmas decorations, seasonal items and some unique items. It’s going to have a Christmas theme to it.”

The show is also an opportunity to highlight some of the many items Blind Center clients make on a daily basis.

“We’ll have a Blind Center booth at the show; we want to show the items that our clients make,” Laughinghouse said. “It means so much more to buy something made by your neighbor, a classmate, someone you go to church with that has a handicap.”

The Blind Center gift shop just may be one of the best kept secrets in Beaufort County and Laughinghouse wants to change that. Shop hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. The shelves are stocked to overflowing with handcrafted baskets, woven footstools and chairs, toys and home decor items.

“Ninety-eight percent of the items in the shop are made by our clients here, with assistance from volunteers and Blind Center staff,” Laughinghouse noted. “Buying from the Blind Center means you are getting something a little extra special.

*Hours for the Kris Kringle Craft Show are noon to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. For more information about the Blind Center, call 252-946-6208 or visit www.theblindcenter.org.