Whether you celebrate Christmas or another religious or secular winter holiday this time of year there are plenty of things to get you in the festive spirit.
There are songs, decorations, special foods, community celebrations, sail pasts, lights, favourite movies, TV specials, smiles, family and friends.
And then there's the shopping.
Whether you love it or hate it, we recommend you take a few minutes to consider where you want to spend your hard-earned money, as BC Buy Local Week prompts from Dec. 2 to 8 this year (though it's never too early or too late to ponder the question).
BC Buy Local Week (bcbuylocal.com/bcbuylocalweek/) has seven suggestions to go along with the seven days.
First up is buying local online, instead of giving your money to far-flung multi-nationals that currently take two out of every three dollars Canadians spend online. It's a big chunk of change, too, as Canadians spend $4 billion a month on the net. Imagine if only a fraction of that was spent on websites of local retailers instead, what that would mean for the retailers themselves and the money circulating in the community.
Number two is shopping in store. Physical shops contribute jobs, taxes and support for community causes. They're also just really fun to visit. Mom and pop shops contribute to the fun festive atmosphere in Duncan, Mill Bay, Cobble Hill, Chemainus, Crofton, Cowichan Bay, Shawnigan Lake, Lake Cowichan and Ladysmith. And $63 of every $100 spent at local shops is recirculated back into the local economy, according to Buy Local Week. That's huge.
Third, they suggest giving experiences. Maybe that's a meal at a nice restaurant, whale watching, a trip to the Malahat SkyWalk or a massage. Cowichan has it all, right here in the Valley.
Fourth is to visit our local shopping areas to support or friends and neighbours, because, after all, that's who the shop owners are.
Fifth is an easy one in Cowichan: buying local food and beverages. From meat to cheese to pasta, vegetables to beer, wine and spirits, there's nowhere better than the Cowichan Valley to find local purveyors of all our favourites.
Sixth is buying stuff that's been made by local people. Easy places to access such things are the multitude of craft fairs that are everywhere this time of year, along with the regular farmers markets like the one in Duncan. There's plenty of great, unique things to choose from.
And for those tough to buy for people on your list, a gift card to a local shop is just the ticket.
Buy Local Week encourages people shift just one per cent of the $1,600 the average Canadian spends on the holidays to local purchases. That's just $15. We're betting Cowichan can do better.
