IT'S time to get that Christmas list written and start shopping, there's only nine weeks left until December 25.
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And what better way to get a head start on all that festive fun than this week's Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI) Christmas Fair at the Murrumbidgee Turf Club?
From handmade decorations and artwork to hot water bottle and iPad covers, there's sure to be something for everyone, according to president of the Wagga CMRI committee Fiona Hamilton.
"It's a place where people come to find gifts that are unique," Mrs Hamilton said.
"A two-day window of opportunity to come and buy those different bits and pieces."
The committee has spent the past six months preparing for this year's 27th annual event, which will see more than 90 stalls from as far afield as Queensland and Victoria show their wares.
Wagga's Zoe Adams, the event's youngest stallholder at just 14, was putting the final touches on her array of handmade items yesterday.
"I just love craft and I'm inspired by nature," the Kildare Catholic College year 9 student said of her pieces.
"I don't really do it to make money, I do it to support the charity.
"I just do it because I love it."
Ten per cent of each of the stall's takings are donated to the CMRI and Mrs Hamilton said the aim was to raise $49,000 to purchase a specific piece of equipment.
The QIAGEN real-time PCR cycler - a vital piece of equipment for speeding up genetic research - will be placed in the institute's Sydney research laboratory recently named after the city in honour of more than $1 million the committee has raised for research into children's disease.
"We're looking to, every year, buy one specific piece of equipment," Mrs Hamilton said.
"It just adds to the transparency ... people can say 'this is what we've done'."
WHAT: Children's Medical Research Institute Christmas Fair
WHEN: Friday 10am to 5.30pm and Saturday 9.30am to 4pm.
WHERE: Murrumbidgee Turf Club
COST: $5, children 14 and under admitted free.