At craft fairs, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

‘Tis the season for holiday arts and crafts shows, and half a dozen of them will set up shop in the South Bay this weekend. Craftsmen ranging from mothers with young children to senior citizens will display their labors of love at recreation centers and churches around the area.

Handmade angels, quilted Christmas stockings, hand-painted tree ornaments and colorful wooden cutouts of Santa Claus will be among the wares offered for sale.

Although the stores have been full of mass-produced holiday baubles for weeks now, the crafters hope that their personal touch and original design ideas will make their work especially attractive to people getting a head start on holiday buying.

“They’re unique, handmade and something you just can’t go out and buy,” said Dolores Emdee, chairman of the Torrance Craftsmen’s Guild Faire that unfolds Saturday and Sunday at the Torrance Recreation Center.

Although crafts will be the big attraction at the shows on tap this weekend, some will also include visits from Santa Claus and bake sales in the festivities.

* The largest event will be the guild fair at the Torrance center, 3341 Torrance Blvd. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and there will be free shuttles from various Civic Center parking lots for the 2,000 people expected to attend.

Along with holiday specialties, guild craftsmen will present an array of pottery and ceramics, enamel work and leather, needlework, jewelry, and woodwork. The fair will also feature a Santa Claus and demonstrations of weaving, needlework and painting. One man will dress in medieval costume, set up a miniature castle and demonstrate how he casts metal soldiers.

* Senior citizens at North Torrance’s Herma Tillim Center, 3614 W. Artesia Blvd., will sell ornaments, jewelry, baby clothes, colorful hand towels, mop dolls, decorated T-shirts and a variety of needlepoint work Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The annual event also includes a rummage sale and the sale of banana nut cake, chocolate cake and other baked goods. For a $1 donation to the center, people have an opportunity to win a handmade afghan.

* Hand-painted ceramic ornaments, dried flower arrangements, wreaths and Christmas bells will highlight the Holiday Crafts Fair Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Believer’s Family Fellowship, 2531 W. 237th St., in Torrance. The day also will include a bake sale with brownies, Christmas cookies and other sweets, plus a quilt-making demonstration.

Church secretary Charlene Grill said this is the first of what the church’s Women’s Fellowship hopes will become an annual crafts fair. “It is good for the holiday season and good for the women. There are a lot of women in the church who like to do crafts,” she said.

* If the Torrance church is a newcomer to craft fairs, St. Jerome Catholic Church in Westchester is a veteran. It will hold its 13th annual Crafts Carnival Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 7:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. A pancake breakfast accounts for the early hour Sunday. The church is at La Tijera Boulevard and Thornburn Street in Westchester.

The show will feature Christmas ornaments, baby blankets, crocheted items, doll clothes and T-shirts decorated with Christmas trees, dinosaurs and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Children can be photographed with Santa.

* In San Pedro, the Little Sisters of the Poor will hold their annual Christmas Boutique from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 2100 S. Western Ave. Handcrafted and ceramic items, collectibles, jewelry, plants and baked goods will be sold to support programs for the elderly.

* At the San Rafael Mobile Home Park, 1065 W. Lomita Blvd., Harbor City, handcrafted items will be sold Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Doughnuts, hamburgers, hot dogs, desserts and coffee will also be offered.

* Fabric stuffed dolls and animals, jewelry and a bake sale will highlight the Fall Festival of the Inglewood First Presbyterian Church Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The church is located at 100 N. Hillcrest Blvd.

* In Redondo Beach, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church will have a crafts fair Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the church, 2600 Nelson St. Handmade toys, ornaments and quilts will be among the attractions, and there also will be a clown and games for children.

During the week, the Neptunian Woman’s Club in Manhattan Beach will sell Christmas ornaments, knitting, jewelry, books and collectibles at its annual boutique Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will be at the group’s clubhouse, 10th Street and Highland Avenue.

Another large show will take place in Torrance on Nov. 17 with the Senior Citizen Holiday Arts and Crafts Sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the city Recreation Center. Craftsmen over the age of 50 will offer an array of work that includes clothing, ceramics, stained glass and needlework. There also will be entertainment at 11:30 and 1 p.m. by the Barlett Pipers, a senior singing group.

Laura Lockwood, who will display her crocheted blankets, stuffed dolls and other creations at the St. Jerome show, said the hours crafters put into their work are repaid by the compliments they get.

“It’s fun sitting there and having people admire what you enjoy doing in the first place,” she said.