Holiday Shopping 2020

Stay Local. ShopLocal.

It’s thetimeofyearwhen newspapers thickenwithsales circulars andholiday advertisements. Consumerslooking to beat thehustleand bustle and steerclear of thecrowdsthis year maywanttopay attention to localbusinesses.

Everytimeconsumers visit localcoffee shops to grab alatte, pick up adress at a nearby boutique or patronize

afarmer’smarketdownthe street, they aresupportinga small business. Thanksgiving weekendincludes some of the busiestshopping days of the season,and they also canbe some of thefriendliesttosmall businesses.

Shoppers cansupportlocal small businesseswithSmall Business Saturday.This is a counterparttoBlack Friday

andCyber Monday.Thefirst eventwas createdbyAmerican Express in conjunction with thenonprofit National Trustfor Historic Preservation.Since itsinception,many small businessgroups, merchants andpoliticians have touted theevent andthe Shop Small®mantra. The idea is that when smallbusinessesthrive, communities andindividuals

thrive alongwiththem.

The SmallBusinessAdministrationsaysthat, since 1995, small businesseshavegenerated 66 percentofall newjobsin theUnitedStates. There area number of bigreasons to shop small.One canstart around the holidaysand then continue all year long

NOVEMBER

14 ideas formaking

Counting down to Christmas Day means many different things to people acrossthe globe. Although families likely have severaldifferenttraditions they anticipate each year,itcan be fun to incorporate some newmerrymakers into thefestivities. Here aresome festiveideas to include in thedays leadinguptoChristmas —a special family calendaroffun finds

1. Annual memento: Have thekidsor adults make onenew handmade ornament each year.This way thetreeisalwaysevolving, and everyone cantrackmilestones.

2. Cookie day: Devoteone day to making Christmas cookies. Distribute to friends,familyand elderly neighbors.

holidaymemories

3. Holidayclassic: Spendanight in andwatch aclassic Christmas flick you’ve neverseenbefore. Streaming movieservices often putclassics andobscure titles into rotation during theholiday season

4. VirtualChristmas concert: Host avirtual gatheringofchildren wheretheycan sing or perform theirfavoritetunes forfriends andfamily.

5. Ordertakeout or delivery: Take a break from cookingand shopping andorder from arestaurant you’ve been meaningtotry.Keepitlocal to supportnearbybusinesses.

6. Adoptachild/family: Volunteer with acharitableorganization that provides forlessfortunate families.

SHOPPING

From previous page

•Shopping small businesses helps give back to thecommunity directly. AccordingtoCivic Economics, astrategic planning business,onaverage 48 percent of each purchasemade at inde-

Answer theChristmas desires of a needychild or family by purchasing an item on their wish lists.

7. Seethe sights: Pack thechildren into thefamilycar to tour nearby areasand look at Christmas lights displays. Bringalong cookies and hotchocolate.

8. Wilderness walk: Enjoythe crispair andsnowand seealocal park from awinterperspective.

9. Acts of kindness: Choose anyact of kindness andmakeithappenthis Christmas.Itcan include feeding thehungryorhelping adisabled person shopfor theseason.

10. Kids’SecretSanta: Spread thejoy of giving by having thekidschoose asiblingorfriend’snamefroma hat andpurchasingormaking agift for that person

11. Camp-in: The first nightthe tree is decorated, allow thekidsto sleepbeside it underthe glow of Christmas lights.

12. Scavengerhunt: Plan holiday-

pendentbusinessesisrecirculated locally throughtax moneyand othersupport

•Small businessownersoften strive to provide personalized, hands-oncustomer service. Repeat business is keytotheir survival,sotheywanttoensure shoppersare happy.

Shopping locally is nowmorecrucial than ever

The importance ofshopping locally hasbeenemphasizedwithincreasing urgencyinrecentyears.EventslikeSmall BusinessSaturdayandPlaidFridayhave broughtsomemuch-neededattentionto theimportanceofshoppinglocal,whichis evenmorecrucialnowassomanysmall businessestrytosurvivethepandemic.

AccordingtoNBCNews,smallbusinessesemploy60millionpeopleinthe UnitedStates,almosthalfofthenation’s private-sectoremployees.Inaddition smallbusinessesgeneratetaxrevenues thathelpcommunitiesbyfundingschools, maintainingparksandcontributingto

publicsafetyprograms.However,basedon researchfromtheFederalReserveBank ofNewYork,evenbeforeCOVID-19 spreadacrosstheworld,only20percent ofhealthysmallbusinesseshadsufficient cashreservestocontinuetooperateif theyexperiencedarevenuelossfortwo months.Somehavebeenshutteredfor muchlonger.

Individualslookingforeverything fromclothingtohomeimprovement servicestoofficesuppliescanlooktosmall businessestofillthoseneeds.

•Readilyproviderecommendations ofsmallbusinesseswithwhichyou

havedonebusiness.Toooftenpeople arequicktocomplainaboutplaces thathavefailedthem,butthosesame peopledon’tthinktosaykindwords aboutcompaniesthatwentabove andbeyond.Sharegreatexperiences onsocialmediaorthroughwordof mouth.

•Talktosmallbusinessownersfirst ifyouhaveanissue.It’stempting togodirectlytosocialmediato complainaboutsomething,butsuch complaintscanhaveadireimpact.

Alwaystakeissuestothemanageror businessownerfirsttoseeifaresolu-

People to tip and giftthis holidayseason

themed trivia questionsand hide small trinkets forchildren to find.

13. Surprise box: Puta gender and agenonspecific giftintoabox.On Christmas EveorChristmas Day, thepersonwho finds ahidden gift tagunder their chairatdinner gets to open thebox

14. Family portrait: Wear your holiday fineryand pose foraportraitthat actuallywill be printedand framed

•Small businesses,since they arenot beholdentocorporate oversightinterms of what they sell,havegreater flexibility. That allowsthemtooffera diverse productselection

•Small business owners often live nearby,and they’rethe people yousee in town,schools and

Afterachallengingyear,people intheserviceindustrymightbenefit fromaholidayboostthisyearmore thanever

Areyoumakingalistandcheckingittwice?Ifso,don’tforgettoadd afewextrapeopletothatlistwho areworthyofagiftthisholidayseason.Certainlyfriendsandfamilyare inmindforpresents,butwhatabout theserviceproviders

OFFERAVAILABLEONLINEONLY.

Purchase$100ingiftcards,receiveonebonusvoucherfor2waterpark wristbands.PurchasedgiftcardsarevalidforstaysstartingJanuary1,2021and donotexpire.Promotionalbonusvouchers(wristbands)arevalidforstays January1-December31,2021.

PLEASENOTE: Ordersareprocessedoff-siteandwillbemailed.Allow7daysforprocessing. Orderscannotbepickedupattheproperty.ToguaranteedeliverybyDecember 24,ordersmustbeplacedbyDecember17.

Waterparkwristbandsmustbereservedpriortoarrival.Limitedwristbandsare available.Waterparkhourswillbepostedonlineastheyareavailable.

elsewhereinthe localcommunity.Manyconsumers arecomforted to know they’resupporting their neighbors, especiallyduring theholiday season Supporting localbusinessesiseasy. And shoppers wholikewhattheysee canshare thegood news with others on socialmedia

Santaletter-writingsecrets Santa letter-writing secrets

TheUniversalPostalUnion,anintergovernmentalorganizationthatcoordinatespostal policiesacross192membernations,reportsmillionsoflettersaresenttoSantaevery year.Toaccountforthestaggeringnumberofletterssent,variouspostocesand postalprogramswereestablishedtohelpSantawiththetaskoftacklingchildren’s wishlists.

In2016,theUSPSinstitutedanewletter-writingoptionthatenablesparentsor guardianstoincludeapersonalizedresponseletterbacktochildrenwhoaddress letterstoSanta.Thepackagecanbepostmarkedto:NorthPolePostmarkPostmaster 4141PostmarkDrive,Anchorage,AK99530-9998.

ParentsmayalsoinvestigateanumberofservicesthatwillprovidelettersfromSanta, Mrs.Clausorelvesfornominalfees.Theseletterscanbepersonalizedwithdetails. Santahasevengonehigh-techwithpersonalizedvideosandpicturesaswell.Aquick websearchcanyieldtheinstructionsonhowprospectivehelperscangetstarted. Childrencanimprovetheirchancesoflettersbeingreadandreceivedwiththesetips.

•Identifywhoiswritingtheletterandsharesomedetailsaboutyourlife.

•Makesureyou’vebeenniceandwell-behaved.

•AskSantahowhehasbeenandengageinsomepoliteconversation.

•Politelyaskforthetoysyou’dlike.UnderstandthatSantaisbusy,sokeepthelistbrief.

•ThankSantainadvanceforhiskindness.Hopefully,he’llhavetimetoreply.

•Writeandmailtheletterasearlyaspossible,asthingstendtogetbusyasChristmasnears.

Individualscan usetheir discretion concerningservice providersintheir liveswho may be worthy of some extra cheerthis holiday season.Here’swho you maywanttospread some cheerto this holiday season Hairdressersandnailtechs Ittakesalotofefforttolook one’sbest,andtheseindividualshelp peopleputtheirbestselvesforward idertippingtheamountyou dnormallyspendononevisit ugetyourhairornailsdone uentlyandconsiderthisperson riend,optforagiftinstead, suchasagiftcardtoanice restaurantorapampering serviceforhimorher. Babysitterorcaregiver

Thispersonis likelyclosewiththefamilyandmaybedeserving ofmorethanatip.Pickan age-appropriategiftyou knowthispersonwilllove Whataboutacovetedpairof Bluetooth-enabledearbuds orheadphones?Agiftcard

toastoreyouknowthisperson frequentsalsocanbefitting,ora year-longsubscriptiontoastreamingmusicormovieservice

Landscapers

Ifthesamepersonorcrewservicesthelawnorclearsyoursnowy drivewaymostofthetime,atipof $20eachisanappropriateamount

Teachers

Classparentsmaytakeupacollectionfortheteacherandofferone classgift.Ifyourstudentiseducated bymultipleteachersandtheschool staffistop-notch,considerstocking thestaffloungewithsnacksand beveragesorcateralunch

Mailcarrier

The mail is deliveredsix days of theweekinany andall weather. Treatyourmailcarrier to anice gift, but sticktothe rules of the U.S. Postal Service. Mail carriers arenot allowed to acceptcash, checksorgift cardsthatcan be used like credit cards. Sticktoagift of no more than $25.

tioncanbereached.Amanagermay notbeawareofanissueatall.Give smallbusinessesachancetomakeit rightbeforetakingthingspublic. •Ifyouownasmallbusiness,relyon othersmallbusinessestofulfillyour needs.Ordersuppliesfromfellow smallbusinessowners,seekthehelp oflocalfinancialadvisorsandtax professionalsanduselocalsuppliers anddeliverypersonnel SmallbusinesseshaveexperiencedunprecedentedsetbacksduetoCOVID-19. Bysupportingsmallbusinesses,communitiescanhelpthemregainstablefooting.