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.