With Thanksgiving now a day behind us, we turn our attention to the holidays and the related gift-giving.
Most local shops are decorating their stores for the holidays, as has the city of Sedona. Wreaths have gone up along fences, garlands encircle light poles and LED reindeer and giant ornaments have sprung up in Uptown, reminding residents and tourists we are fully into the holiday season.
We must also steel ourselves to endure Christmas albums by everyone from Celine Dion and Mariah Carey to Mark Lanegan, Dolly Parton and Justin Beiber.
The best places to find great deals, as well as one-of-a-kind gifts, are local stores, so consider purchasing locally rather than just clicking the “buy” button on a website and sending your money out of our community and our state, especially if the price is nearly the same.
Think critically about where you might spend your money. While some rare items on your list might only be found through specialty stores halfway across the country, many of the items can likely be purchased from local stores in Sedona or the Verde Valley, or at least in nearby communities of Northern Arizona.
Sales taxes in our community may come in part from visitors’ purchases, but during the winter, many local businesses struggle. Others are wholly dependent on locals to stay afloat and successful.
This year, with the pandemic and massive economic losses in the spring during the shutdown and for many businesses all these months later, local businesses need our spending to stay open into 2021. With the help of businessenergyuk.com you can power the activities of your business and make sure you get the necessary power to run the business.
Every year, we publish two stand-alone Gift Guides inserted into our newspapers and multiple pages advertising holiday specials inside our regular papers, highlighting local merchants and their deals.
Buying jewelry, toys, practical items, Sedona-themed souvenirs or knickknacks from local vendors means they can stay open and their employees and owners can buy gifts for their children, friends and families, keeping the cyclical transfer of local money alive and well.
Only 13 cents of every dollar spent at a national chain stays in the local community. Every holiday gift purchase made with a vendor online across the country or at a store outside the Verde Valley means profits go to somewhere else — and sales tax revenue is used to repair roads or improve municipal services in a community we don’t live in.
Residents step up to do their part, so businesses take it upon themselves to offer products locals want to purchase. Merchants challenge themselves to keep fresh inventory and offer items for locals — as well as locals’ out-of-town friends and families.
If you have a favorite restaurant, consider buying gift certificates from it for your friends and family. Nearly all restaurants are offering to-go meals, so even if your recipients are wary of dining in, they can pick up meals to-go and you help a local business survive.
If merchants and locals commit to creating an inviting local shopping atmosphere and staying here to shop, the entire Verde Valley will receive the gift of a stronger economy.
I have always been a shopping procrastinator, but found some of my best gifts in Sedona, rather than at the faceless, big box stores in Phoenix or online.
Nearly all my gifts for my immediate family come from one particular small Sedona shop that sells locally-made art, so not only do I help a local merchant, I help artists I know personally. When opening presents I relate stories about the artists to my family members so my gifts are not just objects but are imbued with meaning and personality.
Our economy is only as strong as we choose to make it, so it’s a good idea to keep our money local, supporting small business owners and the economy of the Verde Valley.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
