Community Chat

[Allegheny]

Did anyone Shop Small Saturday today?  I did.

Well I needed something anyway, so I drove into the small town near our house.  Its an old steel town whose businesses have suffered greatly due to all the malls.  A lot of vacant store fronts, but its slowly making a come back.

It was fun.  In talking with some of the shop owners I learned there are a few new and interesting shops/businesses coming.

I came home with a box of cherry cordials from the chocolatier shop for DH for Christmas, and a bottle of Dreaming Tree Chardonnay, but not the original item I went for.

[Buck-i-Nana]

Yup.  I did quite a bit of shopping local small businesses today.  I stopped at my local coffee roasters and got a couple bags of coffee and a gift basket.  Then off to our local old fashioned 5 and 10 type store.  They have so many unusual items and a lot of locally made crafts.  Picked up a few items for my grandkids to take to school to help decorate.

Stopped at our locally owned little hardware store and found some really wonderful battery powered mini-lights that have different lighting modes and a 6 hour timer.  They're beautiful and supposed to last 30 days on a set of batteries.

Lastly, stopped in at a little tea room/desert shop in town where we enjoy a tasty little break before heading home.

[mac116]

I did. I went to a local nursery/gift shop and bought some plants and decorations for Christmas.

[charvale]

Yes we did @Allegheny.

Went to several locally owned shops for goodies.

Seems like there wasn't as much promotion for the event as past years.

[Annabellethecat66]

If I could walk around I would have.  Then I started thinking and I only know of one flower shop where there is a single owner.  Most around here are large stores.

I hope others did but my guess is a lot of people never gave it a thought, sadly.

[Julie928]

We have the greatest resale shop near our home.  I swear, some of my best Christmas decorations came from that shop.  I just got a beautiful 4-foot white Christmas tree, pre-lit with pastel lights (looks beautiful in our den).  I also purchased a smaller flocked tree that fits perfectly in our hallway.  You never know what you'll find there.  All the money goes to their charity.  :-)

[Allegheny]

@charvale  I agree.  I saw a few commercials only within the past couple of weeks.  I remember when American Express used to subsidize it by allowing all card holders $25 toward small business purchases.

But in my experience today, while not crowds, just people strolling around enjoying themselves visiting the different stores and mentioning they were there to support their small businesses.

[Blahblahvampemer]

I did small online.  I'd love to shop independent stores locally, but there aren't a lot of them within 20 miles in any direction.  The few that are close have generic stuff that's mostly made in China.  

[LTT1]

Today I purchased lipsticks from an independent business person that DD knows.

I have been noticing that amongst their "group," they support each others' efforts.

I will go to our local Hallmark for fudge and a few goodies before long, too!

[Catty2]

I was planning to stop by a local cafe/bakery but got so busy with errands that I totally forgot about it.  Maybe I'll stop during the week to make up for it.