Buy Local Holiday Gifts

Did you participate in Small Business Saturday last month? I did and got a great head start on my holiday shopping as I perused the little shops in my downtown, looking for gifts. While of course I wanted to find frugal presents, more importantly I wanted to support the small businesses that are the lifeblood of the town where I live—and where more storefronts are turning up empty with "for rent" signs in them. It's a terrible sign of the economy.

Chances are you still have some gift buying to do. According to the National Retail Federation, less than half (46.5 percent) of all Americans have finished buying Chanukah gifts and Christmas presents. That means that more than half still have shopping to do.

I'd like to make a suggestion as you finish up your gift buyng. Even though there is no official moniker attached with this last week before Chanukah and Christmas—no Cyber Monday, Black Friday, Free Shipping Friday—would you consider participating in Buy Local Week? What I mean is finishing buying your holiday gifts by shopping locally.

I have 3 ways that you can occupy Main Street—figuratively, of course—to buy the rest of your presents

1. Don't discount your local bookshop when it comes to e-Books. I've written in the past about how you can borrow books from the library using your e-reader. Who knew such a thing was possible? Well, it turns out that you can also buy books from your local independent bookstore and download them to your e-reader. A website called IndieBound has brought together hundreds of small bookstores from across the country and allowed them to offer e-books via their own websites. So if you get or are giving a Kindle or a Nook for Christmas or Chanukah, you can alert the gift recipient that they don't have to buy a copy of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or any other book they want to read from Amazon and Barnes & Noble only.
2. Give gifts that reflect where you live. In my books Gifts Anytime: How to Find the Perfect Present for Any Occasion, I have a chapter devoted to what I call "gifts of place." That is, when you're stumped for a good gift to give someone, give a gift that reflects where you live. Most often this is possible by choosing locally sourced food, and in my book food is always a great gift. I know that any friends who live in maple syrup-producing states can always feel comfortable giving me the gift of maple syrup, and that people who live in wine-producing areas (whether it be Napa and Sonoma valleys in California, or the wine trail in Virginia) have ready-made gifts at their fingertips via their local wineries.
3. Ask for a local's discount. Shopping locally can be affordable. Many shops don't advertise that they offer a local's discount, but I've found that when I ask, there is a discount to be had. This was true when I was stocking up on gourmet olive oil—one of my favorite hostess gifts to bring to holiday parties—on Small Business Saturday. When I mentioned I lived locally and had walked to the shop, the owner informed me that he was going to knock 10 percent off my purchase, just because I lived nearby.

Because so many small businesses are struggling to stay afloat this holiday season, I hope that you'll take this "buy local" advice to heart as you finish buying holiday gifts. I know these companies would really appreciate getting your business for the holidays.