On giving thanks and sharing what we have left

Traditions with family and friends have a way of pushing us forward even when strong forces would hold us back. The holidays — Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s celebrations — all work to pull us out of ourselves, opening our worlds to others and sharing more with one another than at other times of the year.

It’s the time of the year we pause, give thanks for what we have, and reach out to others in many different ways. We love our children, we love our families and friends, and we want to show them this and share the joy of the season with them with some tokens of our affection.

Never would this newspaper suggest anyone should go into debt at holiday time, nor should anyone overspend, thereby putting the regular bills at risk of being paid in January and February. But the U.S. economy has a strong consumer basis, and without keeping some purchasing going, we will put our financial structure at even greater risk than it’s already experiencing in the current downturn. Of course, right now, with the economic slowdown and lack of cash flow so many are feeling, even with the holiday season approaching we may not want to think about buying anything at all.

However, while many of us will surely be cutting back from what was purchased at holiday time in previous years, shop we will. And as we are considering where to shop and what to buy, it’s worth remembering that for the independent, locally owned businesses that line our Main Streets throughout the region, the end-of-year buying season is the most important time of the year, defining whether the year has been good enough to continue a business into the next year. The largest percentage of annual bankruptcies occur in January every year.

We all need to take a close look at the shops and services available in each of our towns, and to think about which ones we’d like to see continue into next year. Then, we need to realize that if we want them to continue, we need to support them by purchasing items there. We need to shop locally.

It’s a mantra that’s been repeated again and again, sometimes in this very space, targeting area consumers, especially over the past several years: Shop locally. Shop locally. Shop locally. If we hear it too much, it may bounce off our consciousness, minimizing the importance of what is behind the thought. Don’t minimize it, but rather, give it the attention it deserves: If we like where we live, and want to continue to have certain amenities available here, the shops and merchants who provide those amenities need to be able to make a go of it.

The objections to buying locally generally have to do with the cost of items as compared to lower pricing available at chain stores, which can buy in quantity. For the big-ticket items, such as appliances, it may sometimes make a difference in the out-of-pocket cost to the consumer to buy at a large discount store. But will customer service follow the purchased item, which can save money in the long term? Most likely not. And for smaller items, often a shopper can find more individual gifts, more unique items when browsing through an independent, individually owned shop. Inspiration can come from the talent of the store’s buyers, and the recipients of the gifts are the beneficiaries. Don’t assume that because a store is small, or one-of-a-kind, that one cannot find reasonably priced treasures inside.

As we look forward to a year ahead that will be challenging, let’s give thanks for what we do have that’s good in our lives and our communities. And for what you will be buying during the holiday season — and beyond — shop locally.