You might have noticed my bigger focus on sharing small businesses this holiday season. Or at least I hope you’ve noticed! This year more than ever, it’s important that we all band together to help small and local businesses get through COVID and help them stay open. That can mean so many different things, especially given how many types there are! So I wanted to take a minute to share some ways you can support various different types of small businesses while shopping for holiday gifts this year — especially before we get caught up in the hullabaloo of Black Friday and Cyber Week sales (that post is coming later this week, btw!).
7 Ways to Support Small Businesses During the Holidays This Year
Ask your community
I now live in an incredibly remote place, but I am blown away by the community here because we have a Facebook group. People use it for all kinds of things from weather updates to reminders about events and even to share handmade things for sale. I encourage you to find your area’s local group and join — you just might discover a new amazing gift idea to help support your local small businesses! Follow the posts, but also consider posing a question to the group for recommendations.
Looking for local delivery
When it comes to gift giving in Seattle, my go-to source is The Stemmery because I love that I can help support a wonderful, woman-owned business and treat loved ones to fresh flowers! She offers both one-off deliveries and a subscription. If you’re not Seattle-based, definitely dig into Google and search for local businesses offering local gift delivery. There are so many more boutiques and specialty businesses offering local delivery now!
Gift the gift of an experience
I think it’s important to remember that stay at home orders won’t be forever (I HOPE), so you can still give the gift of an experience to your loved ones. Here’s a great example that one of my Instagram followers suggested: find a local chef who offers lessons or who could even prepare a private meal experience. The restaurant industry has been especially hard hit because of the pandemic, so searching for this type of service is a great way to help them out — especially if you’re able to find someone offering services that happen online via Zoom!
Order your holiday meals
This year, I am taking a break from cooking and instead ordering pick up from a local restaurant for our Thanksgiving meal… and I will probably do the same for Christmas, too! My thinking is that I’d be spending the money regardless and instead of giving it to Whole Foods (for example), I’d rather it go to a restaurant that could really use my dollars right now. Check if your favorite restaurants are offering take away meal kits, cocktail kits, or even just some side dishes to complement what you’re already making.
Gift cards
Even if a business is temporarily closed due to COVID, chances are they still offer gift cards for their services. Purchasing a gift card from a small business right now is a great way to help them get through this rough time financially, while also ensuring a gift that your recipient will be able to enjoy in the future.
Don’t forget curbside pick up
By now, I’m sure we’re all aware that curbside pick up from restaurants and boutiques is the new norm. But what about for your holiday meals? I don’t feel like cooking this week for Thanksgiving and wanted to put my money towards helping a local restaurant stay afloat. So I searched for local restaurants offering complete Thanksgiving meal kits and reserved one. When I calculated what it typically costs for me to buy food for a full Thanksgiving spread, it was actually more cost effective for us to order and pick up! Some restaurants are also offering cocktail kits, wine pairings, sides, and desserts.
Follow and share your favorite local businesses on social media
And lastly, it’s all about social media! Help small businesses reach new customers by sharing their posts and profiles on your own social media accounts — even if you’re not a blogger or influencer! Even simply following a local biz can help them be shown to more potential customers because it all goes back to an algorithm.
I hope these tips help you and inspire you to support local businesses this holiday season! If you have any additional ideas, leave a comment and let me know.
