The Breeders: Shop Local This Holiday

I was up at 4 a.m. on Black Friday, but rather than elbowing shoppers away from doorbuster deals, I was trying to convince the kid to go back to sleep ... again.

I've never participated in the Black Friday consumer extravaganza since I'm not really that big on shopping to begin with. Department stores are overwhelming and I have yet to be convinced that the deals are worth digging through the overstock discount stores.

Sure, I do love a good Target run (one-stop shopping!), but if I had the choice I would do all my shopping online. Amazon's free shipping has led to something of an addiction.

But, this year we've decided that we will eschew Target and Amazon and do all of our holiday shopping here in Alameda. We can reduce our carbon footprint by walking to the stores and not having anything shipped. And, we can support the local economy by doing what we already enjoy: walking through our adorable (albeit temporarily treeless) downtown, saying hello to friends and supporting our neighborhood businesses.

Of course, with a husband who is an artist, my love of holiday baking, and one very cute new expense, we'll also be giving a few homemade gifts.

...speaking of that artist husband of mine, if you want to join us in our local economy boost you can do that and support our schools this Saturday at the Alameda Education Foundation's Holiday Fair. Come by the Elks lodge and get really local by supporting your local mommyblogger's family economy and buy paintings and ornaments from her husband. The kid and I will be there between naps.

Also posted at Alameda Patch.