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This Year, Make a Big Difference to Our Small Businesses

Keeping your holiday dollars local will make a difference today, and tomorrow

November 30, 2020 6:00 am
Shop, eat and stay local this holiday season. With the pandemic reducing tourism and keeping us all close to home, local small businesses really need your support.
Shop, eat and stay local this holiday season. With the pandemic reducing tourism and keeping us all close to home, local small businesses really need your support.

Personal service, unique products, supporting social change, reducing one’s carbon footprint, keeping money in the community to enhance our local life – these are all good reasons to shop locally. This year, with the pandemic reducing tourism and keeping us all close to home, our small businesses really need your support to stay afloat.

Now more than ever, the good will and loyalty of locals makes a huge difference to our shop owners, restaurant owners, entertainment venues and lodgings.

“Shopping locally and supporting small businesses generates large rewards,” says Inge Morascini, Langley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director. “Not only do the dollars you spend support local business owners, artisans and their families, they stay in the community, supporting our town, our schools and our Island. And what’s better than shopping with your friends and neighbors, who’ve stocked their stores with unique items you won’t find elsewhere?”

All our local merchants have taken great care to make their shops clean, safe and in line with COVID-19 guidelines. Many of our small businesses offer curbside pick-up, direct mail and special shopping hours, and have websites where you can shop from home too.

South Whidbey is home to many artists, jewelry makers and crafters whose beautiful work is on display in our galleries and shops. With the pandemic, many of their usual sales venues such as fairs, markets and trade shows, have been shuttered. Most of our local artists have websites, and our galleries also have websites where you can shop from the comfort of your home.

“Amazon is convenient, I shop there too, but please, in the next few weeks when you’re holiday shopping I ask you to think about your community,” says Suzanne Guttman Healy, who owns Artisan Crafted Home in Langley. “Remember that by buying from your local merchants this holiday season, either in person, through private shopping or online, you’ll help them remain your favorite places to shop. If you don’t, they might not be around next year.”

We are all in this together, and together we can help our communities thrive.

To access our Shop Local Holiday Guide, “Home for the Holidays,” go to www.visitlangley.com or www.whidbeycamanoislands.com. Thanks to a grant from Island County, this handy guide is chock-full of ideas for supporting local businesses and finding unique gifts this holiday season.

Local merchants have taken care to make their shops clean, safe and in line with COVID-19 guidelines. Many also offer curbside pick-up, direct mail and special shopping hours, and have websites where you can shop from home too.

Local merchants have taken care to make their shops clean, safe and in line with COVID-19 guidelines. Many also offer curbside pick-up, direct mail and special shopping hours, and have websites where you can shop from home too.

South Whidbey is home to many artists, jewelry makers and crafters whose beautiful work is on display in local galleries and shops. Many galleries also have websites where you can shop from the comfort of your home.

South Whidbey is home to many artists, jewelry makers and crafters whose beautiful work is on display in local galleries and shops. Many galleries also have websites where you can shop from the comfort of your home.

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