Holiday gift solutions that boost YOUR economy

By Christy K Robinson

You’ve certainly heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Buy! Buy! Buy!

Buy big, expensive electronics

(and figure out how you’ll pay for it later)!

Save hundreds of dollars 

(by spending thousands of dollars)!

Some companies, in their ever-expanding greed, have decided to open their stores on major holidays like American Thanksgiving or Christmas, forcing their employees to give up family time or much-needed rest.

But maybe you’ve heard of Small Business Saturday. Instead of enriching the “one percent” or a foreign nation this gift-giving season, I urge you to do the patriotic thing and buy local or at least national, from a small business or artisan, and keep that money in your own circle of friends, self-employed entrepreneurs, and small-business people. Do something nice for the hard-working people around you, and stimulate the economy for the creative community. Don’t restrict yourself to Saturdays. Do it any day of the gift-giving season.

Here are a few suggestions from among my entrepreneurial friends. I hope you’ll share the link to this article in Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social media. Even better, copy and add your own friends, and post it in your blog! Make the idea go viral.

Although you can buy these products on the internet from anywhere in the world, if you’d like to keep your money local, I’ve listed United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia as suggestions.

Books

Here are some pages with book lists from some really fantastic authors, including me (haha!):

UNITED STATES

Christy K Robinson (five-star historical fiction, historical nonfiction, devotional/inspiration)

http://amzn.to/18zlbtt

Jo Ann Butler (historical fiction, colonial America)

http://www.amazon.com/Jo-Ann-Butler/e/B008I5N05G/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1385404826&sr=1-2-ent   

Susan Higginbotham (historical fiction, late-medieval England)

http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Higginbotham/e/B0028OC748/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1385404661&sr=1-2-ent   

Christy English (medieval historical fiction, Regency romance)

http://www.amazon.com/Christy-English/e/B002RF8Q52/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1385417269&sr=1-2-ent

CANADA

Patty Froese or Patricia John (inspirational/sweet romance, and biblical fiction)

http://pattyfroese.com/my-books-2/

Trudy J. Morgan-Cole (nonfiction, inspiration, historical fiction, biblical fiction)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Trudy+J.+Morgan-Cole&search-alias=books&text=Trudy+J.+Morgan-Cole&sort=relevancerank 

AUSTRALIA

Alison Stuart (historical fiction, time travel)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_13?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=alison+stuart&sprefix=Alison+Stuart%2Cstripbooks%2C600   

KL Clark (historical fiction, fantasy)

http://nevillfeast.wordpress.com/my-books/

UNITED KINGDOM

Deborah Swift (historical fiction)

http://www.amazon.com/Deborah-Swift/e/B003OJQT4K/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1385417760&sr=1-2-ent

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Nature photography

Dick Duerksen, world-famous nature photographer recently featured by National Geographic, offers a 2014 CALENDAR featuring 12 large photos along with a few smaller ones each month. He has included some of the most "liked" nature photos from his Facebook pages, along with a few brand-new photos he’s taken on recent travels. The calendar is 12” x 12” and is $25 delivered. To order, please contact him at this link.  (California, United States)

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Jewelry

Paula Isenbarg and Dust Devil Ranch, a nonprofit horse rescue and sanctuary, sell horsehair bracelets that will help provide veterinary care, training, and rehabilitation of starved, abandoned, or neglected horses. These gifts are very lovely, handmade, and each bears the 'legend' of the rescue horse the hair came from. You are doing more than buying a gift, you are saving a life. (Nevada, United States)

http://www.dustdevilranch.org/DDRS4H/Items_for_Sale/Items_for_Sale.html  

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Artisan Crafts

The Chandler's Chest
Julie Warrington and
associates create
hand-cast, hand-dipped,
perfumed candles.
(United Kingdom,
can ship internationally)
http://bit.ly/18Gb8rh

Martin Williamson, landscape artist. (United Kingdom, can ship internationally)

http://www.cobbybrook.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/cobbybrook/galleries.htm  

Laura West Kong, artist. 2 Cute Quilts has patterns and guides for lap quilts. (California, United States)  http://www.2cutequilts.com/shop/

Christine Crocker, Hand-made dolls, 18^th-19^th century reproductions. (Oregon, United States)

http://www.deerfieldfarmhouse.com/Past-Workes.html  

Doreen Piechota, Ye Country Mercantile, antiques, primitives, reproductions (Massachusetts, United States)

http://www.yecountrymercantile.com/