Please. Shop Local For The Holidays

   I’m a fan of local. Having lived in six different American cities I don’t believe I’m closed-minded or naive about the importance of local businesses. There’s no question that 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, and local, independent businesses have probably taken a bigger hit than most. After all, we’ve been encouraged (or ordered) to shelter-in-place, and that means we’ve spent less time getting out and stopping in at local businesses. And those local dollars are important. Which brings me to our headline: Please Shop Local For The Holidays. 

     Encouraging you to spend more time and money with our local businesses this month will not solve all problems. It may very well, however, help our businesses, and at the same time remind us of our friends and neighbors who’ve worked hard to create local businesses. We want them to be here when the pandemic has passed.

     So before you pick up the phone, go online, or in some other way send your money out of town, think about buying local. Better yet, make a commitment to spending local. Most of our local businesses can get you the exact same item. They may be able to get you a similar deal. And if it does cost an extra dollar or two, some of that money will find its way into the pocket of a local clerk, manager or shop owner. And that’s a very good thing.