Stephanie Pedersen: Let's shop local this season

If your family is anything like mine, you're trying to focus on the month of November. You're trying to remind your kids of the several thousand reasons they should be thankful for the things and people they have in their lives.

Some people during November post every day on Facebook why they're thankful.

For example, I'm thankful my grandmother still offers to cook Thanksgiving because my family would be lost without her. One year she wasn't in town and my mother, who's a nurse, had to work. We went to a hotel and ate their buffet. Yuck!

But if we're honest, in the back of most of our heads is one looming holiday Christmas.

Some moms have it all together and prepare throughout the year for this holiday. I'm not one of them.

I spend November and most of December scrambling to get all of the presents and make myself look like one of those super moms.

For the last few years after Black Friday has been Small Business Saturday. It's a chance for local businesses to get their share of the Christmas spending.

For a long time, I never focused on where I spent my money. I'm a frugal spender, always looking for the best deal. But in the last few years, I've tried to be more conscious of keeping my money in our local economy.

Living in Phenix City, I make an effort to buy what I can on the west side of the river. But, as you can imagine, we spend a great deal of money in Columbus.

So, for the next month in my column I want to talk about local businesses and how you can stay here for nearly every need. I know some items have to be purchased from big-box stores, but not everything.

For instance, teenage girls and women have a lot of options for clothing.

Women, don't think you're ever too old to shop at our local boutiques. I've purchased clothing across town for my sister, mom and grandmother. You can find options.

The Blue Door, The Buzz, The Posh Peach and The Southern Pearl are just a few stores in town that have good prices and a great selection of pants, tops, sweaters, scarves, belts, jewelry and more.

They all carry mostly junior size clothing but trust me that you can find something you need or want in one of them.

If you're looking to buy something for your significant other, bring a picture on your cellphone to one of these stores. I promise you they'll pick out outfits and give you a lot of options.

One thing I like about shopping local is the relationships you can build with the employees.

My dad has bought my birthday present from the same local boutique for years. He has his favorite saleswoman he looks for every time. She knows my style and size, so she can help make the right decisions.

You can't get that type of customer service on Amazon.

I know online and big-box shopping is sometimes more convenient. Sometimes I'd prefer to stay in my pajamas and not speak to anyone either.

But I challenge you this holiday season to at least try to shop local and keep your money in our economy.

Stephanie Pedersen, senior editor, spedersen@ledger-enquirer.com.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Stephanie Pedersen: Let's shop local this season ."