Shop local this holiday season with two free events that offer opportunities to take in what two iconic Boston neighborhoods have to offer. On December 6 from 5–10 p.m., partake in the 13th annual North End Holiday Stroll, a jaunt through the Hub’s “Little Italy” that includes more than a dozen of the area’s independent stores. For a more stationary experience, check out the fifth annual SoWa Winter Festival (460 & 500 Harrison Ave., sowaboston.com, pictured) in the South End from December 6–8, which presents a winter holiday village complete with merchandise from scores of local artists and crafters, as well as food trucks, seasonal cocktails, beer, wine, ice sculptors, workshops, carolers and even snow—whether Mother Nature provides it naturally or not.