Holly Days back to combine friends, family, shopping

Holly Days was about friends and family first before it was ever about shopping.

But Jennifer Martin Lee said she likes to think it’s great for both.

“I started this show years ago with my cousin,” she said of the little annual shopping day she’s held for the past 14 years in her home at 117 Eastwood Drive. “At first it was a way for some of us new stay-at-home moms to transition from being workaholics to having a little pet project.”

But then Jennifer’s Kitchen — her business of selling pepper jellies made from fresh ingredients — “kind of got roots and grew,” she said, and she began showing and selling her products nationwide.

“But I’ve kept the home show because it’s where I began,” Lee said. “It means a lot to me to keep doing it and to just have fun.”

Holly Days is happening this year Dec. 2-3 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. with a Girls’ Night Out on Dec. 2 from 7-9 p.m.

New and returning artists who will show at Holly Days include Kerri Malone Jewelry, Elizabeth Hubbard Pottery, Becky Stayner’s Biscuit Leather Company, HomeTees, Paige Wilcutt Linens, Blake Bands by Wendy Ellison and her daughter Blakely Ellison, Karen Marcum Art and Redeemed by Colleen Conner.

Lee will of course show her pepper jellies, and her cousin Laurie Byrne — the other mastermind behind the start of Holly Days — will show a special selection of gifts.

“I look forward to just seeing everybody and catching up and having a cup of coffee with my friends,” Lee said.