If the thought of trudging through a mall on Black Friday to buy overpriced perfume for Grandma or a video game of dubious value for your nephew sends shivers through your wallet, you could surprise them with a tagua nut carving, a tin of fair trade coffee, or a heifer under the tree. And you could sleep easy, knowing your unique gift will also help someone in need.

St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 1965 Ferguson Road in Hampton, will host its first Mission Mall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the church's Fellowship Hall. There isn't likely to be a video game, flat screen TV or Disney-themed anything on the premises. Instead, shoppers will find more than a dozen nonprofit vendors selling handcrafted items made by local artists and by artisans in developing countries, including books, artwork, musical instruments and more. All profits will go to the vendor's mission charity. The church will not profit from the sales but is hosting the mall to benefit the charities it supports.

Kate Neville, 56, of Ross, a member of the congregation, presented the idea to the church's Mission Committee and helped organize the "mall." She had planned a similar sale at another church before joining St. Paul's.

"People want something different. There's so much more to this than going to a store," Mrs. Neville said. "I think of some wonderful woman in a developing country knitting, making beads, carving wood, and doing it with so much love."

One vendor, BeadforLife, supports Ugandan women who have HIV or AIDS and who create intricate jewelry from handmade paper beads. "These women are providing food for their families or uniforms for their kids to go to school," she said.

Some of the vendors help local people. St. Paul's table, for example, will allow shoppers to make donations to North Hills Community Outreach's gas and electric funds for local families in crisis.

HEARTH, a local group that helps homeless women and their children become independent by providing safe, affordable housing and life-skills training, will sell its handmade house pins.

Anchorpoint Counseling Ministries, formerly Youth Ministries, will sell used books and CDs to help North Hills youth and families improve communication and cultivate spiritual values.

Other vendors will include Heifer International, a nonprofit that provides Third World farmers with livestock; Hope Ministries International, selling items from Kenya; and Coalition for Christian Outreach and Stacey's Helping Hands, both selling cards and prints.

All of the vendors will have information about volunteering or other ways to help, Mrs. Neville said. Mission Mall and similar sales widen the audience for stores such as Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade retail shop in Squirrel Hill that has 200 counterpart stores across North America.

"We work with artisans in 38 developing countries, giving them a marketplace outside of [their] homelands," said Pat Barbarino Perego, manager of Ten Thousand Villages. "We buy the products outright for a living wage for their economy." The shop carries ornaments, jewelry, Nativity sets, home decor and more.

Sales such as Mission Mall give Ten Thousand Villages exposure to other neighborhoods, she added. "And sales like this give people opportunities to help the greater population -- you're contributing to the greater good.

"People shop here because they want to help artisans, and some just like the products," said Ms. Barbarino Perego, of Forest Hills. "Our gifts give twice; the giftee is getting a unique item, and the artisan -- you just made their life better."

In Pakistan, for example, artisans have built better, more earthquake-resistant houses with the money they make selling their products, she said. "In the Philippines, we've been able to help artisans send their daughters to nursing schools and the daughters come back and create health centers ... so there's that a continual sense of giving back."

Mary Sheehan, of McCandless, has helped run the Olive Branch, a mission of Salem United Methodist Church in Pine, for 35 years. The Olive Branch also sells fair trade items made by artisans in impoverished countries, including handmade musical instruments and toys. Proceeds benefit local and international causes, including Nothing But Nets, which provides mosquito nets in malaria-stricken countries, and the Church of Our Savior in Pittsburgh's Northview Heights.

"Last year, the first year people got hit by the economy, we fully expected our sales would be lower, but they were higher than ever," Mrs. Sheehan said. "We attributed it to people trying to do their gift giving in a way that means something. They're watching their spending, but they can fulfill a dual purpose -- finding a nice gift as well as helping other people."

The Olive Branch, at 350 Manor Road in McCandless, is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 19 and on Dec. 20.

During St. Paul's Mission Mall, a Cookie Walk will be held to benefit the church's mission and outreach for women, children and youth, Mrs. Neville said. The walk will run from 9 a.m. until the cookies run out.

Space is still available at Mission Mall for nonprofit vendors. All proceeds must go to the vendor's charity. For information, call Mrs. Neville at 412-580-6679.

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