Small business Saturday put a song in my heart
Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays
‘Cause no matter how far away you roam
When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze
For the holidays you can’t beat home sweet home!
I love this holiday song, and I don’t care who sings it — Perry Como, Robert Goulet, Garth Brooks, or the Carpenters — it is always one of my favorites.
It reminds me how special “home” really is, and what it means to have a home or a town to call your own. I know this song is especially popular with our service men and women serving our country far away who miss the comforts of home, especially at this time of year.
We have a pretty special home town right here in Newcastle, Wyoming. It’s small, we literally know almost everyone, and we have several unique shops where we can find the perfect gift for just about anyone on your list. Our hometown merchants have gone above and beyond this year — even more than they usually do — by decorating their shops and joining together other community businesses to roll out the red carpet for their sales on Small Business Saturday last week.
Our merchants went the extra mile to “officially” welcome in the Christmas season at Saturday’s lighted parade by offering everything from crafts for the kids and warming stations complete with hot chocolate to sip and chase the chill away, to drawings for great items from their businesses.
Let me join those who are saying thank you!
It really was exciting to hear so many local business owners excited about the opportunity to keep us home, and our holiday dollars right here in the community. I for one dread leaving town, especially at this time of year! I hate sitting in the car, the slippery winter roads, the traffic, the crowds — and sorry to be a little “grinchy” here, but the noise, noise, noise is just too much!
I do everything I can to shop at home, because you don’t have to look too hard to find some pretty cool gifts without driving 70 miles and contributing to South Dakota’s tax base.
Best of all - we get to stay home! I love my home, my town, my community, my stores and shopkeepers, and I hope you do, too. Remember how hard they have worked to make shopping local easier and a lot more fun because you get to do it with neighbors and friends you know. Please shop local as much as you can this season, and support our hometown merchants, because…
If you want to be happy in a million ways
For the holidays you can’t beat home sweet home!