Appreciate a small business this Christmas

As many of you know by now, small businesses have experienced plenty of hardship through the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to do so.

Small businesses have seen it all from opening and closing their doors numerous times to financial strains and permanently closing and some government supports have simply been not enough. December is here and the Christmas season is in full swing — which means small businesses should be supported more than ever after what most of them have had to endure over the last 20 plus months.

If you’re the consumer, take the time to visit a small local business and look around at their ‘hard work’ that is on the shelves and maybe purchase that item to help the business out because they could be struggling to keep operations afloat and maybe having struggles with putting food on the table.

If allowed, donate to the small businesses during the holiday season — whether in the form of a monetary donation on top of your purchase or bring an item for their giving campaign because it just shows that small business matters and are an integral part of their communities.

A simple ‘thank you’ or ‘Merry Christmas’ could brighten a small business owner’s day because it’s them that are putting in the long hours during these trying times and are working around the clock to keep the doors open and that could mean doing so with little to no staff.

Small business owners could use some heartwarming messages of any kind during this holiday season.

Now, this might sound like a broken record, but the big-wigs — such as the Walmarts, Canadian Tires and Costcos — will all survive most of the struggles they face, but the little guys are doing everything on their own dime to keep the doors open. Most local businesses could use that act of kindness from consumers to keep a vital part the community going this holiday season.