2E COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL NOVEMBER 23, 2016
Remember to
use cash
T
here’s one important
step to remember be-
fore heading into town
and hitting all those
lovely, local shops to buy
Christmas gift s: Hit up
the ATM fi rst. Shopping
with cash has myriad
benefi ts, but it can really
be a huge help for small
businesses around the
holidays.
Stick to your budget
It’s so much easier to
know what you’re spend-
ing when you can literally
look at the cash in your
wallet or purse. Pull out
what you’ve budgeted
for gift -buying and get to
shopping. By setting your
limit and not bringing
any extra cash with you, it
can help you stay focused
while shopping and help
you stay on budget. Of
course, just be cautious of
carrying too much cash
around with you. Make
sure you have it secure
and safe when strolling
around.
Save businesses process-
ing fees
Th ose little credit and
debit card machines aren’t
free for local businesses to
use, and most businesses
have to pay a fee with ev-
ery swipe. Th at means you
can actually help support
your local businesses, and
keep a few extra dollars
in the local economy, just
by shopping with green
backs. It might not seem
like much to you, but with
potentially hundreds of
purchases fl ying through
each day during the holi-
day season, those fees can
really add up for a small
business with tight profi t
A chance to
get quirky
margins.
Score a better deal
It doesn’t just work on
car dealers. Most vendors
prefer cash, and a bird in
the hand is worth two in
the bushel, as they say.
It’s not a guarantee by
any means, but especially
when you’re talking about
bigger ticket items, shop-
ping with cash can also
help shave a few dollars
off the sticker price. Since
it saves vendors money
and is easier to deal with,
some are willing to have
a bit of wiggle room on a
price when dealing with
cash.
I
f you’re looking for
something quintessential
about your hometown or
area, hitting a local shop
is probably your best bet.
Th e nearest big box retailer
probably won’t be carrying
jewelry from a local art-
ist, or T-shirts for the local
football team. Shopping lo-
cal for the holiday opens up
a whole new arena for gift -
buying, outside the usual
hustle and bustle of cookie-
cutter catalog options.
Check out the art
If you look close enough,
many towns have local
art shops — or at least an
artist or craft guild — that
organizes things locally.
Track down the near-
est one and see what the
creative minds in your
community have to off er.
From mixed media art to
paintings, buying from
local artists helps support
their work, while also of-
fering a gift that is one of
a kind and truly unique to
the area. Some can even
do work on commission,
if you’re looking for some-
thing extra personal.
Th e same thing
goes for jewelry
With the rise of platforms
such as Etsy and Pinter-
est, there are more small-
town artists than ever just
trying to make a living
and off er up something
unique. If you’re shopping
for jewelry, check around
for local jewelry makers,
and you could fi nd the
perfect, quirky gift for
your loved ones. If you’re
looking for something
with a local tie, too, this
also could be your best
bet.
Don’t forget the toys
Locally made toys are a
bit harder to pull off , but
many local shops stock
toys — and the off erings
can be very diff erent from
what you’ll fi nd in the toy
aisle at a big box retailer.
From toy train sets to vin-
tage toys that have been
around since the 1950s
(but may not be
in easy circula-
tion these days),
local shops oft en
carry a much
more diverse set
of toy options.
Take a risk and
go for something
old school this
year.
© FOTOLIA
2016 Inaugural
Cottage Grove Main Street Turkey Drop
Designed aft er the histori-
cal Turkey Drop featured
in the ‘Morelock’ fi lm
“Cottage Grove -Snapshot
in Time”
We will be dropping
turkeys from the IOOF
building!
Christmas in Cottage
Grove
December 3rd at 3pm
317 E. Main Street, Cot-
tage Grove
For each $10 spent at any
participating business
between now and Decem-
ber 3rd you will receive
an entry token. Fill out
the back of the token and
give it back to the busi-
ness owner. Entry tokens
will be picked up from
the businesses on Fri-
day (12/2) by 5pm. Each
participating business will
have a Turkey poster in
the window. So keep your
eye out for the Turkeys.
During Christmas in Cot-
tage Grove on December
2, 2016 at 2:15 PM, in
front of City Hall, we will
draw 50 eligible partici-
pants to enter the Turkey
Drop arena. You must be
present to play. At 3pm
we will start to toss the
Turkeys from the IOOF
building.
Each Turkey will have a
number. Th e number is
associated with a prize. All
50 entries will be winners!
(No live Turkeys will be
harmed during this event)
Please contact Shauna
Neigh @ 541-767-4119
with any questions or
concerns.