Is anyone else kind of over Black Friday? It used to be fun to get up at 5 am and hurry to shop the deals, but now “Black Friday” starts on Thanksgiving Day (or earlier!) and, to me, that takes the excitement out of it.

But there’s also another reason that Black Friday has lost its allure for me. Over the past few years, and especially since I became a small business owner myself, Charles and I have come to the realization that it’s so important to support our small, local businesses. We have shopped almost exclusively small and local for all of our Christmas gifts for 3 years now, and it has actually been incredibly rewarding!

We’ve found that small businesses can’t always offer the big deals that Amazon, Target, WalMart, etc. can offer, but they can offer a sense of pride to their patrons for pumping money back into the local economy. Plus, when we shop on Small Business Saturday (or any day) at local shops, we always end up sticking around and chatting with the owners and learning stories about how they started, where their unique inventory comes from, and how they are supporting various organizations in our community.

My dear friend and executive director of our local Chamber of Commerce recently submitted a letter to the editor of our newspaper that talked about the importance of shopping small and local. It was a great piece, so I wanted to share a little bit of it with you!

“Supporting local creates a ripple effect, and this ripple effect creates change in a community for the better…As we approach the holiday season, may we open our hearts and minds to the realization that many neighbors are still recovering and the road ahead is long…I urge you to support your fellow neighbors by supporting local in any way that you can — not only this holiday season, but year-round. Buying locally recirculates your money through our local community keeping our economy growing. When we support local, we are saying ‘YES’ to a strong local economy.”

I also asked some of my favorite small business friends to weigh in on why shopping small is so important to them. Here’s what they had to say…

Lauren and Linda of Lauren Nicole Designs

“Being a small business owner has so many positives both from ours and our customers standpoint.  We get to build long-term relationships with everyone who shops with us.  We always like to know their names, their likes and dislikes and their decorating style.   It’s important to us to make their shopping experience with us special every time — even if they’re just stop ping in for something small. Being in the interior design business is very personal and shopping small is very personal — that’s why it’s the best way to shop.  We appreciate each and every one of our customers.”

Kristy of Design Chic

Small businesses are the heart and soul of our communities. They stimulate our local economies, provide jobs for our families and friends and become the fabric of our towns and cities. As an author, I always make a special effort to ask my readers to support their local, independent bookstores, which are often vital gathering places for the community–not to mention that bookstore owners always have a great suggestion of something that you would like to read! We know that our small businesses are what make our towns unique, what make people want to visit them. That’s why we always try to shop small first!

Meredith of Christenberry Collection

Now that I own my own business and friends and other small business owners support me, it brings to mind the importance of me supporting others. I try to shop local when at all possible and always appreciate when others do the same. After all, that’s what this life is all about…helping others!

I urge you to look to your own community this year when shopping for gifts, or goodies for yourself! We have never regretted shopping local and shopping small, and I know you won’t either. It takes a little extra planning, and a little more effort than clicking the checkout link on your computer, but it is SO worth it!