Shoppers who are planning to do the bulk of their Christmas shopping this weekend — or even just finish up their lists with stocking-stuffers — should take the time to visit local merchants for their holiday shopping.

Thanksgiving weekend has a myriad of special shopping days — from Black Friday to Small Business Saturday to Cyber Monday and more — but perhaps the most important one of all is the one taking place on Saturday.

Downtown’s across America will be filled with shoppers, and merchants will be offering tremendous specials in an effort to woo dollars from local wallets. That will be true in Elizabethtown — and the specials and wooing will continue into Sunday, when shoppers can shop, watch a good Christmas parade and then shop some more.

The bottom line is that folks need to support their hometown small businesses.

“Small business represents 99.7 percent of all U.S. employers, and they provide jobs for 58 million Americans,” said Gregg Thompson, state director of NFIB, the nation’s and North Carolina’s leading small-business association. “For many local retail businesses, the holiday shopping season is a make-or-break time, and Americans who want to support their communities and the economy should remember to shop small.”

NFIB is a partner again this year with American Express in a national campaign to promote Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday and the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. For many small businesses, the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are a crucial period that could determine whether they are profitable for the year.

NFIB and American Express have collaborated on Small Business Saturday since 2010. Last year, according to the post-holiday survey released by NFIB and American Express, 95 million Americans reported shopping at small businesses on Small Business Saturday, and they spent more than $16 billion, an increase of 14 percent from the previous year.

“Small Business Saturday has grown every year, and we are very proud to sponsor the promotion,” said Juanita Duggan, NFIB president and CEO. “Small Business Saturday is a very important day to recognize small business owners. We hope that more Americans participate on Saturday and they keep small businesses in mind throughout the year.”

We hope to see a vibrant downtown Elizabethtown through the weekend and beyond — and we hope stores throughout Bladen County will exceed expectations between now and the start of 2017.

And one more thing … unlike the depiction in the cartoon to the right, please be courteous.

***

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Put your money where your home is. Shop local.” (Unknown)