Shopping Locally for Christmas This Year

I'm not a big shopper. I honestly have never enjoyed shopping. So for the past few years, most of my Christmas shopping consisted of ordering everything online or getting things at Target, since we're there every week anyway. But this year, I decided to try to buy as much as possible from local stores.

Because my kids and I love books so much, I decided to get books for all the kids we buy for at Christmas. I did lots of research online to put together a list of books I thought would work well for each child. Then I went to the website of a local bookstore (Quail Ridge Books & Music) and ordered all of the books. See, you can buy locally and still take advantage of the convenience of online ordering!

My experience with Quail Ridge was great. After placing my order, I realized that one of the paperback books I had ordered won't be published until after Christmas. So I sent an email and asked if I could change it to the hardcover version. I got a personal email back saying that was absolutely possible and that they'd take care of it. I was also told exactly when they'd be shipping out my order. On the day it was shipped, I received another personal email telling me it went out, and also telling me that I was being given a complimentary Reader's Club membership for a year since I spent so much! And on top of all that, she also mentioned an upcoming signing with Kevin Henkes, author of one of the books I bought. How's that for personal service?

Of course, books aren't the only thing I buy for Christmas. We also have to have toys under the Christmas tree. So on Black Friday, I ventured out to a local toy store, Brilliant Sky Toys and Books. I had a list of the things I was planning on getting the kids, and tried to stay on track despite all the other great toys I saw in there! I managed to get almost everything on C's list from that one store, and a few things for M as well. Unfortunately, they don't carry Barbie, My Little Pony or video games, so I still had a few things I had to get at other stores. But I got most of the kids toys at Brilliant Sky.

Again, it was a great, personal experience going into the store. The service is just different when you go to a locally owned store. I got a gift certificate for spending so much there, too! So I've already made a list of things I'm going to get some other kids on my list, and I plan to go over there again to finish up my shopping.

I will admit that I probably could have saved some money if I had shopped around more and gone to the discount stores or taken advantage of the low prices at online retailers like Amazon. But I feel so good about spending my money in these local stores. And the personal touch was great in both cases. Next up is the gift baskets I send to a few out-of-town relatives, and those will be coming from another local store: Southern Season.

What about you? Have you discovered any great local stores in your area? Do you shop at locally owned stores often, or do you get pulled into the discounts at the big box stores?

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