Just a reminder that The Handmade Market is back this weekend for a one-day event Saturday. For those of you who are not familiar, the market is a one-day craft extravaganza featuring dozens of artists and vendors, and it's a really good way to find unique holiday gifts.

The sale will run 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh. (201 E. Hargett St. near Moore Square and City Market.) The first 500 people get a free cotton tote bag.

And, this year, instead of charging an entry fee, bring a donation for The Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC. In exchange, you’ll receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a gift basket. You can also bring food to donate (click here for list). Three nonperishable items will get you one ticket. Five nonperishable items will get you two tickets.

The new Applebee's in Garner is hosting a fund-raiser event to benefit the Johnston Health Foundation on Saturday.

The restuarant, which opens to the public on Monday, will be serving a limited menu Saturday for lunch and dinner. All items will be half-price and 100 precent of the proceeds will go to the Jonston Health Foundation.

The event is open to the public, but reservations for lunch (noon to 2 p.m.) or dinner (5:30 to 8 p.m.) are required and can be made by calling 919-637-2118.

The Raleigh Ten Thousand Villages store is having its holiday Bag Sale on Saturday.

The deal is simple: 20 percent off everything you can fit into one of the store's big shopping bags.

I've been assured that all creative ways to make items fit into the bags will be accepted.

The Raleigh Ten Thousand Villages store is in Cameron Village. Other Ten Thousand Villages stores may be holding similar sales on different dates. Check with your store if you are interested in a different location.

The Triangle Noodles & Co. restaurants are hosting a candy swap for kids on Sunday.

Kids 12 and under are invited to swap in some of their Halloween candy for a FREE small bowl of noodles. The candy swap run all day, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Area stores that are participating include Cameron Village, Cary Crossroads, Pavilion in Durham and Chapel Hill.

But does anyone have any candy left?

On Saturday, the Fall Craft Festival will be held at the Western Wake Farmer's Market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market is located in the Carpenter Village Marketplace at 1226 Morrisville Carpenter Rd. in Cary.

In addition to the market's regular vendors, there will be additional merchants selling things like pottery, jewelry, cards, paintings, prints and gift items.

Shoppers are encouraged to bring canned goods and other non-perishable food items for the market’s Thanksgiving Food Drive. All donations will go to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, which picks up donations from vendors weekly.

It is definitely the time of year when folks start asking for donations, and you know I just hate to tell people no. So remember that savvy shopping can help you to spread your dollars and help others along the way. Here are two more food drives you can look out for locally:

*The Guitar Center stores will be hosting a food drive on Nov. 1 (that's tomorrow). Food will be collected and given to food banks. Anyone who donates a nonperishable item will receive a coupon for 10 percent off their next Guitar Center purchase.

*And the Harvest Feast Food Drive is back at Harris Teeter stores through Dec. 1. Look for collection bins and those tags at the register for monetary donations. They should be appearing in stores this week.

Starting Nov. 1 (that's Sunday), some of area Dunkin' Donuts stores will be participating in a "Coffee for Our Troops" promotion. Through Nov. 17, customers will be able to send a pound of coffee to troops overseas for $4, which is definitely discounted from the regular price. Customers who buy a pound of coffee will also be able to write messages to the soldiers, which will be displayed in stores.

At the end of the promotion, the coffee and messages will be packed into care packages sent to soldiers by Support the Troops, Inc. The participating Dunkin' Donuts restaurant that collects the most coffee will receive a flag ceremony and challenge coins – both military honors.

Picking back up on my theme of donating to charities (read my story from Sunday), here are two great ways to donate to area food banks.

First, for those of you who are planning to attend my coupon class on Nov. 21 at Meredith College, don't forget that we will be collecting nonperishable donations for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. All those who donate will receive a bonus ticket for the door prize drawing at the end of class. Only one bonus ticket per person. This is totally a great way to give back, and the door prizes are usually pretty awesome, including gift cards to area stores.

So if you are planning to come to class, please plan to bring a donation with you. Click Read More below to see the list of items the Food Bank needs most. Or click HERE to go to the registration page for class. Right now registration is open to N&O subscribers only. It will be opened to everyone on Nov. 4.

Second, now through Nov. 8, BJ's Wholesale Club is asking members to participate in its "25-ton food donation challenge." Bins will be set up in each of our local clubs, and if 25 tons of nonperishable goods are donated, BJs will donate the financial equivalent of 1 million meals to the Feeding America Food Bank network, which includes area nonprofits like the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

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The new downtown Raleigh Krispy Kreme will be hosting a Coffee & Kreme social on Wednesday from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

The little handout I got doesn't explicitly say there will be freebies, but I certainly would guess there may be some samples... 

Just a heads up on two upcoming events:

On Saturday, a number of area Dunkin Donuts stores will be giving free doughnuts to children 12 and under who come to the store in costume (watch this blog for a list of stores later this week).

And Wake County Public Libraries will have its annual booksale with more than 300,000 books this year from Nov. 14 through Nov. 22. It's in a new location this year: 1514 Garner Station Blvd. Again, watch this blog for details closer to the event!