Supportive Shopping

Christmas shopping, one of the most stressful parts of the holiday in my opinion.

Admittedly, this is coming from someone who worked retail for about three years and grew to hate the holiday because of it. Let me tell you, nothing kills Christmas cheer like being yelled at because you ran out of an item. I swear the way folks freaked out at me, it was like they thought I was personally hiding their precious items in the back just to spite them.

With Covid still posing a serious risk, like countless others, I am doing a fair amount of shopping online.

However, I have made a vow to try to get as many gifts as possible from small local businesses. Small retailers are likely to suffer due to Covid more than bigger shops, so my aim is to buy at least 70% or more from independent sellers.

If I need to get something from a bigger shop, I will try to get them from the High Street and from my favourite shops.

To be honest, so far it has been easier than I expected. At the time of writing, I have only four more sets of gifts to get and only two items have come from the High Street.

I don’t know about you, but I find more memorable gifts for the nerds in my life when I shop independent. I have found small businesses that sell book inspired candles, anime tea and wonderful artists.

I know that times are tough for all of us right now, including financially. I completely understand if you choose to shop on Amazon instead. If you do have the means to do so, I urge you to consider shopping with local small shops instead. They need your support, especially now.

I really hope I don’t sound preachy, but this is something I am passionate about. Again, I know this might not be an option for some shoppers which is fine but please try to help out your favourite small shops if you can.

After all, we need to support each other, now more than ever.