With the holiday season approaching, explore shopping local

It’s the holiday season and shoppers are out looking for the best deals as they do their Christmas shopping. But like any other year, small businesses in your town, whether it be Taber, Vauxhall, Coaldale, Picture Butte, Stirling, Magrath, Cardston, or any of the other small towns in southern Alberta, owners would certainly appreciate your business this season.

Whether that means you buy your Christmas gifts from them, buy some Christmas snacks at the local grocery store, or pick up a local newspaper to read about local Christmas events going on — it helps everyone.

Keeping your community thriving is important and that sometimes gets lost in the world of Amazon, Walmart, and all the other big chains. And that doesn’t mean you can’t shop at any of those other places either — it just means you should be exploring what local has to offer.

There’s tons of value in supporting your local small business and the holiday season is arguably the biggest shopping spree of the season. Keeping the money within the community not only helps these businesses, but it helps the economy within your local area. And with inflation and the cost of living continuing to go up, it’s even better to try to keep that money within.

Several communities also run holiday promotions or shopping events during this season to promote that buy-local mentality. Taber hosted their Winter Festival in mid-November, Vauxhall is hosting its annual Snowflake Frolic on Dec. 7, Coaldale hosted its Night of Lights Festival last Friday, and these are just a few events that happen during this time of year.

These businesses not only offer goods for purchase, but they also employ your neighbours, friends, family, and other people within the community. Often what’s forgotten when thinking about local small and medium-sized businesses is the fact they also help keep people employed. According to Stats Canada, over 10 million Canadian workers work at small and medium-sized businesses. These are crucial cogs and many also give back to the community in a variety of ways. It’s a give-and-take system and by supporting them through the holiday season, it’s a win-win.

So, when you head out to do your Christmas shopping this season, make sure to check out all of your local stores. They’re close by and they will definitely appreciate any and all support you can give.