Finding joy in the local experience

A fledgling caterer lands a foundation gala and falls for her client's nephew, who is assigned to make sure the meal goes perfectly.

An owner of a farm and home goods store tries to convince a reporter for a magazine that her friends who help run the store are her family. 

A reporter moves to a small town in Alaska and takes over the local newspaper at Christmas time.

Yes, I am a sucker for sappy Christmas movies. From Thanksgiving to New Year's Day (with a few other days sprinkled in the rest of the year when I need some down time), they play regularly on my screen. Well, I take a break to watch NFL football, whenever it's on.

Many of the movies feature small businesses and small towns, just like ours. In the midst of the glitter and galas, fare and festivals, these movies showcase the local shops that make each community unique.

Community connections, holiday festivals, small businesses, and families: These are all things that I enjoy about Hallmark movies, and our small town. I appreciate all those who show up, whether they do the work behind the scenes, or bring their families to support a local business, cause or program.

A lot of businesses observed Small Business Saturday, which was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and they sure appreciated the shoppers who showed up.

Now let's up the ante. Supporting local businesses isn't just something we should do one day a year. It's "Small Business Season," and there will be plenty of opportunities to "show up" and let local businesses know that we want them to be successful.

Downtown Carrington will light up with the Christmas Around the Town and Christmas Light Parade on Monday. Take a Christmas Cruise later this month, and vote for your favorite holiday light display in both New Rockford and Carrington. The CP Holiday Train rolls into Carrington on Dec. 17, and the DPRCA show "The Christmas Survival Guide" runs through Dec. 18.

May local experiences bring you joy this holiday. As a business owner, I know your presence and patronage will surely bring us joy. But don't just take it from me. The writer of the piece I'm sharing my space with this week offers some solid reasons to shop local. It was shared with me by Laurie Dietz at the Carrington Chamber and Economic Development Corporation. My hope is that at least one resonates with each of you.

Why shop small for the holidays?

by Christina Metcalf

Small businesses add flavor to our area. There is a sense of adventure when you explore a small business. You never know what beauties you'll uncover or what scrumptiousness awaits. Sadly, that's also why a lot of people choose to patronize chains. With chains they know exactly what they'll get and there's a lot of comfort in that.

But comfort does come at a price and that price could be our community.

Large employers and chains are vital to our area, but this holiday season we're asking you to support small businesses to help ensure they're around in the coming years.

7 Reasons to Support Small Business This Holiday Season

1. Small businesses need you. While SCORE advises that businesses should keep three to six months of operating reserves, most small businesses have 27 days' worth. With inflation, rising costs, hiring issues, and a plethora of other challenges, that place our small businesses in a precarious position, where you spend your money this holiday could affect which businesses will be here in the new year.

2. It feels good to shop small. Supporting small business feels good because you can see the impact. The smiles and gratitude you receive for shopping with a small business feel special. You can tell you're making an impact and often they remember you when you return.

3. Small businesses support your causes. Small businesses are the first ones you turn to when asking for support for your beloved causes from your kids' sports to your favorite nonprofits. Their sponsorships improve the quality of life in the area. But they can't sponsor your causes if they're not in business.

4. Small businesses answer your questions. Chatbots are great but they are programmed to respond literally to your questions. They do not anticipate needs or ask follow-up questions like small business owners and employees do. Sometimes the conversation that comes from speaking with small business professionals leads to other opportunities, interests, and stories. That's less likely to happen with a chatbot or large-scale online retailer.

5. Small businesses give you an experience. Shopping small is about the experience and holiday shopping provides some of the biggest highlights of the year with seasonal aromas, delightful demos, delicious tastes, and happy melodies. Twinkle lights make everything more festive. Even an amazing website can't provide the same tantalizing shopping experience an in-person trip to your favorite small business can.

6. Small businesses rely on your holiday spending. As many as 20 percent of small businesses rely on holiday sales to offset slower times during the year. If you don't buy locally during the holidays, it affects their future.

7. You can be a gift-giving wizard. Times are tight right now and many of us are cutting back on what we're spending this year so that we can cover rising costs in essentials. While it's natural to look for the cheapest gift possible during these times, you don't want to forgo the holiday smiles from the perfect gift just to stay within your budget. Many small businesses provide unique, thoughtful items that you can't get in many places. You can spend less but give your special someone something that they'll cherish.

Shopping small this holiday season is a big deal. These past few years have been hard on local businesses. With smaller operating reserves, rising costs and lower sales, they need you this year. And if you enjoy those small businesses, you know where you need to put your holiday dollars.