Sara Rubin here, on this national day after Thanksgiving, which has come to be defined as its own distinct holiday: Black Friday. This is the “official” start to the Christmas shopping season, and a day famous for deals and notorious for crowds at big box stores.
I suggest you avoid all of that.
Not that I suggest you avoid shopping. I am an avid believer in gift-giving, striving to find that balance between practical and frivolous, splurgy yet reasonable (and within budget). Shopping for gifts is a bit of a game and an art, and giving people things they like really does feel satisfying.
So to back up, it’s not that I am opposed to holiday shopping. It’s that there is a better alternative to Black Friday, an occasion known as Small Business Saturday, the antidote to the big-box craze. That day is tomorrow, and it’s an invitation to shop small and shop local.
There are lots of reasons to do this, but I’ll start off with the obvious reason not to. Convenience is not in your favor. Yes, it’s easier to shop from your laptop on your couch while still digesting Thanksgiving dinner, but this is an argument for the less convenient option—get out, whether today, tomorrow or any time, and visit local merchants face to face. You might be surprised by what you find.
I met Renée Flanders, owner of the consignment store Generation Ave in Seaside, for a story about her business before I ever shopped there. She described to me part of why she decided to open a brick-and-mortar, instead of the virtual consignment store she ran before: “There isn’t much time that goes by in the store without me asking about family or laughing—that’s what is special about a small business…This is about relationships.”
When I went in a few months later to go shopping, Flanders pulled a few suggested items off the rack for me that I would never have chosen for myself. A dress with fluttery sleeves and a splash of too-bright colors? Surprisingly, it worked (and got a lot of compliments!). A sweater that was wonderfully soft, but way out of my price range? I didn’t love it, so I didn’t splurge.
Of course not every item works, whether shopping for yourself or for others, but the experience of shopping in real life, from real people, who are local residents—and who recirculate the dollars you spend back into the community, building their business—is fulfilling.
In some cases, like an upcoming book fair at Olivia & Daisy in Carmel Valley, there’s an opportunity to meet authors and shop for their books if you’d like. (Bonus if you’re buying gifts: You can get them signed.) This event features six writers with distinct voices and styles: Meredith May, Scotty Cornfield, Diane Danvers Simmons, Roxanne Langer, Ann Shepphird and Nicki Erlich. This open house starts at 5pm on Tuesday, Nov. 29. Maybe Small Books Tuesday is a new holiday for our calendars?
Shopping locally keeps our spending dollars and sales taxes local and helps local businesses thrive, in turn contributing to the types of downtown environments we all like to hang out in. Beyond that, it also gives us a chance to see and touch goods—feel the weight of a book in your hand, or go ahead and choose the book by its cover—and also to meet the makers and vendors of many products.
The chance to walk away with a story to tell—about your chat with the local author behind a book, or the consignment shop owner who urged you to try on the dress you thought was too flashy but was actually perfect—is part of what makes shopping fun. And it’s a chance to impart meaning to the objects we buy, whether they are gifts for ourselves, or for others.
Happy Small Business Saturday, and good luck getting through your shopping list.