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With the passing of Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, the 2024 holiday shopping season has begun.
We hope as you attend to finding purchasing Christmas gifts and other seasonal traditions, you will consider taking two steps:, First, when possible, buying from small businesses and locally owned businesses. And second, please be patient and kind with retail staff.
Local businesses contribute much to the successes of our communities. They are deeply invested in the revigoration of our downtowns. The sustainability of our communities -- their direct creation of jobs, the ability to attract employers and employees alike, to encourage the investment in the building of new housing so families can choose to move to or stay in our towns, and more -- hinges in part on whether our commercial districts are perceived as healthy or not.
Local business owners often are the first to contribute to civic groups, charitable endeavors and youth sports and extracurricular activities.
Their presence and viability is an important aspect of a well-rounded future for our communities.
We understand that oftentimes the hustle and bustle of this season can be tiring -- even draining or exhausting. We understand that in the busy days and pressure to do so much for our families, we may well become frustrated, even angry, at the inconveniences we encounter.
But we plead with every shopper -- be mindful of how tiring, how frustrating, these busy days are for the staff of the stores and businesses we're visiting. Be polite, be kind -- be patient. Kindness and patience with the retailers helping you purchase those gifts for your loved ones, even kindness and patience for other shoppers, will make the hectic pace more bearable for everyone.
We believe it also helps keep us all grounded in what this season should truly be about: Not shopping, not a checklist of activities and tasks, but, in part, the virtues of patience and kindness themselves. The behaviors we want to emphasize for our children and the values we want them to take from these Christmas traditions and from the Christmas story.