Originally published in the Monadnock Shopper News

From November 1st to December 31st each year, Monadnock Buy Local works extra hard to ensure your holiday spending matches the community values you support.  To make our “think local first” message stronger, we participate in the Shift Your Shopping campaign.  This national movement encourages citizens to support local job creation and economic growth through their holiday purchases at locally owned and independent businesses.

Now is the perfect time to set goals for yourself around your holiday shopping pursuits.  Maybe you want to make all your gifts for loved ones this year.  Or perhaps, you want to give only services (like a massage) instead of stuff.  Every year, we offer you the chance to take the “Shift Your Shopping” pledge and commit to shift at least 10% of your holiday purchases from chains and online giants to locally owned businesses.  Add all your goals around holiday gift-giving to this pledge. 

Sign on to this year’s pledge today

Plaid Friday

Our first event -- to help you build and strengthen your commitment to reach your holiday spending goals -- is Plaid Friday.  Wear plaid on Friday, November 24th to show your support for our local economy and commitment to buying from locally owned businesses this holiday season.  Some Monadnock Buy Local members will serve as Plaid Friday Hubs.  These dedicated businesses will photograph customers decked out in plaid and answer questions about Plaid Friday and Monadnock Buy Local.

Discover the closest Plaid Friday Hub to you

Wearing plaid in Keene on Plaid Friday? Hop on into the Luxury Box Photo Booth at Ted's Shoe & Sport at 115 Main Street in Keene from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on November 24th. We’re also very excited that Kimberly Peck Photography will once again set up a Plaid Friday Photo Booth from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 4 Grove Street in Peterborough, outside of the shop Nest :: mother child home.

Monadnock Buy Local will add all the photos taken to our annual collage, celebrating everyone who wore plaid to honor the day.  Check out our gallery of over 370 photos from past Plaid Fridays.

In addition to hubs, some members will offer other special offerings to thank you for stopping in.  LuvInk&Paper in Keene will offer a free gift tag make-n-take project at their 103 Roxbury Street – Suite 306 studio and Beeze Tees Screen Printing at 117 Main Street in Keene will give all customers 30% off their in-store purchases on November 24th.

Cider Monday

On Monday, November 27th it’s Cider Monday.  Step away from your computer and pop on into participating businesses like The Toadstool Bookshops in Peterborough, Keene and Milford for a free cup of cider.  In response to Cyber Monday, a day when online merchants offer deep discounts to divert your attention away from buying locally, Willard Williams of the Toadstool Bookshops dreamed up this new tradition.

“Customers are promised cider and smiling servers that will not crash,” shares Willard.  “As always, we'll offer personal service, advice and the opportunity to touch and try items -- with no logins or passwords necessary!  Join us in taking a bite out of Cyber Monday.”

View the growing list of locally owned businesses participating in Cider Monday this year.

Shift Your Shopping Sponsors

A big THANK YOU to this year's Shift Your Shopping and Plaid Friday sponsors: Badger Balm, Beeze Tees, Brie & Vessie, CC&D's Kitchen Market, The Cheshire Horse, The Economizer, The Farm Concessions & Cafe, The Fitzwilliam Inn, Hannah Grimes Marketplace, Howard's Leather, The Inn at East Hill Farm, Korvin Appliance, Joan's Personal Chef Service, Katz Architect, Korvin Appliance, LuvINK&Paper, MB Massage Studio, Monadnock Food Co-op, Nest: Mother Child Home, Of Moose & Mountain, One Stop Country Pet Supply, Steele's Stationers, Ted's Shoe & Sport, Walpole Mountain View Winery, VizionZ and Yoga with Josephine.

Every time you Shift Your Shopping, and spend your dollars at locally owned businesses, you give a boost to our local economy.  The money you spend recirculates through our economy and generates a ripple effect -- joining with other local purchases to create new jobs, charitable contributions and more.  If everyone shifted just 10% of purchases from national chains to locally owned retailers, we would return $27 million to the regional economy.  Now, that’s all I want for Christmas this year!