If you’re like me, you love shopping at the little boutiques. I like finding unique items for holiday gifts, and I like to support local businesses and local artists and designers. What I don’t like is the extra time commitment that boutique shopping involves, particularly during the always-rushed Christmas shopping season.

So tomorrow I’m going to bundle up, brave the cold, bitter weather, and head to the Crave Party “Holiday Flurry” at Belmar Center on Wednesday evening. From 5 – 10 p.m., a sort of one-stop-shopping independent holiday mart will form featuring tons of local designers. Vendors include clothing, jewelry, handbags, body care products, fitness experts, home decor and trinkets of all kinds; many of the products are hard to find in shops or only available directly from the designers during special events. Plus, since this is a trunk show, fashion show, and cocktail party all rolled into one, the party also includes a few special guests — some of the area’s hunkiest firefighters — selling the 2007 Colorado Firefighter calendar to benefit the Children’s Hospital Burn Center. I don’t care how cold it is outside. That sounds pretty hot to me.