Check out locals first




 

 

Remember when the first Christmas ads came out on Thanksgiving Day?

The paper would weigh about 10 pounds with all the holiday inserts advertising specials on everything from Barbie dolls to GI Joes, televisions and other electronics, and the TV was lit up with images of snowflakes and Santa Claus.

Of course, Santa made his first appearance of the season at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

That was then, and this is now.

I saw a Christmas commercial a week ago Wednesday (I confess I don’t watch a lot of TV, so there could have been others aired earlier). For those of you who are calendarconscious, that was a week before Halloween.

That goes against the grain of traditionalists, such as I. However, for the practical among us, which also includes me, it would be impractical for many of us to wait until after Thanksgiving to begin shopping for Christmas. When you have a long list and a full-time job, waiting that late makes for a logistical nightmare.

So, I’ll join the chorus of those singing that it’s time to start your Christmas shopping.

Longtime readers of this column will know what’s coming next: Shop at home first.

Port Aransas shops probably can’t fulfill your entire shopping list. I won’t begin to try to convince you of that. What I do want to convince you of is the need to support your friends, neighbors and your community.

If you don’t do anything else, please pay at least one visit to our local shops. The selection will surprise you, and so will the prices.

You can park right in front of most shops, you won’t have to fight crowds, and you’ll get personal service – most often from the shop owners themselves.

A big advantage of shopping at home, whether for Christmas or at any other time of the year, is the return we as a community get on the sales tax you spend.

If I have a choice of buying an item at about the same price in Port Aransas, out of town or online, my first choice is to make the purchase in Port Aransas. We get a return on every taxable dollar spent in our town. That return comes from the city’s portion of the state sales tax. The other return comes from supporting people who have invested in our community by opening and operating a business here. That’s a huge investment with no small amount of risk.

So here’s an invitation to spend next Saturday morning perusing Port Aransas shops. Then, have lunch at one of our wonderful restaurants.

If you haven’t filled your Christmas shopping list, visit the rest of the shops in town (you really can’t see them all in one morning). After you’ve looked at our local shops and if you haven’t finished your shopping, go ahead and shop elsewhere or online.

If you did fulfill your list, take a nap, watch some football, go fishing – just enjoy the gift of time that you just gave yourself by shopping at home.

Just think of the good that would come from each of us spending $50 with a local merchant, not to mention the good feeling you’ll get for having invested in your community.

So, go out this Saturday and shop at home!

Mary Henkel Judson is editor and copublisher of the South Jetty. Contact her at southjetty@centurytel.net, (361) 749-5131 or P.O. Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX 78373.


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