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Opinions
Christmas is not a humbug
BY BRIAN K. FINNICUM, EDITOR
Thursday, December 18, 2008 3:19 PM CST
With the American economy in the shape it’s in right now, many people are spending less on Christmas gifts this year.
Many are trying to find other ways to economize by coming up with creative methods to cut expenditures.
That being said, Christmas is fast approaching. If you’re anything like me, in spite of efforts to cut down, I can’t forgo giving gifts - that smacks too much of an Ebenezer Scrooge attitude, and, whatever Scrooge might say, Christmas is not a humbug.
So, perhaps you’re in need of some last few gifts, for Christmas is bearing down upon us at full tilt. By the time you’re reading this, it’s probably too late to order anything, so what’s a poor procrastinator to do?
If you haven’t already done so, and even if you have, let me offer this suggestion - visit our local merchants.
“Wait a minute,” you might say. “You just said this is a tough economy and we’re trying to cut expenses. Aren’t the local shops expensive?”
Well, if you think that, I can tell you haven’t been shopping locally. Although they might be a few cents higher than the big box down the road, consider this.
Everybody knows what the big box down the road has. It’s the same stuff every big box has. That is to say, its just the same old ordinary stuff everybody already has. No unique gifts there.
And, consider other expenses. It takes a couple of gallons of gas to get to the big box down the road and back. Now I will grant you that gas prices have come down quite a bit from where they were a couple of months ago, but that still adds several dollars to the cost of whatever you might purchase at the big box down the road.
On the other hand, if you visit our local merchants, I can feel confident in saying you’ll find a wide variety of items unlike anything the big box down the road carries - with a better than good chance that you will find that special gift that no one else has given.
Our local merchants pride themselves in finding the unusual, the different, the little something no one else has.
And that’s not all. You can count on the local merchants to throw in cheerful friendly service - to remember that you are a neighbor and not just a wallet - at no extra charge.
But those aren’t the only reasons, nor are they the most important reason.
From Light Up Blue Ridge, the Halloween Safe Zones, Fourth of July fireworks and any number of other civic activities; to supporting our children and youth in recreational, scholastic and extracurricular activities; to a hundred and one other ways, these local merchants put back into the community they are a part of.
They are in this community; they are of this community. You can’t say that about the big box down the road.
And, economic hard times play no favorites. These merchants who put so much into this community depend on us, and our business, to stay in business.
So remember our local merchants, not just now at Christmas, but throughout the year. You’ll find it a pleasant, relaxing way to shop, and you’ll find it an economical way to shop.
But best of all, you’ll find that by shopping locally and patronizing our merchants here, you’re making an investment in our community, too.
Brian K. Finnicum is editor of The News Observer. He can be reached at 706-632-2019, or by e-mail at brian@thenewsobserver.com
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