A confession: I secretly take credit for Small Business Saturday.
I’ve been dedicated to getting as many holiday gifts as I can at locally owned shops for more than 20 years. I used to make it my own special day: Head out to those cool little shops were you can not only find something special for your giftee, but you can almost always get to know the shop owner as well. It’s great and I’ll not have it any other way. It had to be me who started it all, right?
I’m not totally wrong, because Small Business Saturday was created by all Bay Staters. In 2010, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, in partnership with by American Express, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Roslindale Village Main Street formally launched what is now an annual event celebrated in all 50 states.
This year, Small Business Saturday takes place on Nov. 30 (the day after Black Friday and Saturday before Cyber Monday, as is now tradition). If you’ve not committed to shopping local for the holidays before, try it this year. And even if you only do some of your shopping that way, you’ll walk away a winner, having helped local businesses thrive and treated yourself to a lovely day in one of the Bay State’s cozy, fun little downtowns.
Consider these for your Small Business Saturday:
Cityscape – Roslindale Square: Where it all began and where you can still enjoy a classic neighborhood downtown, savor some great food and yes, find gifts that definitely won’t be dupes.
Roslindale (https://www.roslindale.net) is quaint, walkable and has great parking. You can settle in for a full day, since the neighborhood goes all in on the holiday, with “Small Shop Bingo,” a game you play as you shop that enters you to win great prizes, street-side and indoor performances by local music and dance groups, and at dusk, a tree lighting featuring Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
They even put out a gift guide to help you plan your adventures and shopping.
North of Boston – Newburyport: Newburyport is a city worth visiting any day. The sparkling water, classic New England architecture, amazing dining spots and many unique shops make it destination worth seeing.
The downtown is pretty, quaint and fun.
Small Business Saturday means the 150-plus shops and restaurants that line the waterfront area of the town will be offering special discounts and special experiences.
Arrive early, park your car and let the day unwind: You can fuel up at Buttermilk Baking Company and then let your feet guide you. The town’s waterside walking and biking path – the Clipper City Rail Trail – is worth a meander – and will lead you to different shopping spots, as well as some historic signage that familiarizes you with the area.
To be prepared, you can download an app that guides you to all you may want and need at https://newburyport.com. Best advice? Make it a full day, including dinner.
There are other great North of Boston choices like Rockport, Ipswich and Salem. You can choose one or mix and match for a perfect shopping outing.
Down on the Cape: Cape towns are known for salty air, clam shacks and lighthouses, but there’re also great locales for shopping days. On Small Business Saturday consider a day all along the Main street of Hyannis, where you’ll find locally owned shops, great food and an abundance of history to take in as you go. Arrive and park for the day – as a tourist town they’ve got plenty of spots – and then walk all the way up Main and back down, popping into clothing boutiques, art galleries, stores with creative wares and more.
Do keep walking past the shopping area toward the ferries for a fun look at the artist shacks along the waterfront as well as a beautiful walking path.
You’ll find a perfect park and shop all day setting in Chatham as well, and of course, beloved Provincetown, as always, offers shopping deals, a festive setting and lots of fun.
Bonus: Little if any bridge traffic this time of year makes the drive there and back smooth. You can find all kinds of information at https://www.capecodchamber.org.
And while it’s not on Cape, downtown Plymouth, with blocks and blocks of locally operated shops and restaurants, is a quick swing off the highway and worth a full day in itself. More about what it has to offer at https://seeplymouth.com
