Buying local at Christmas?

[rurallib]

I was wondering if folks here were making an effort to buy locally this Christmas? One of the things Ed Fallon's group is pushing very hard is to buy from local artisans and merchants.
For our part, this Christmas will be smaller than more recent ones. The shopping we do will be a mixed bag of local and mall. No Walmart for at least the third year in a row.
We will get our books from a local bookstore in Muscatine that is owned by a couple of fine Democrats. We are also on the prowl for some locally made items that scream 'local'. For West Liberty we may be looking for some true Mexican artifacts.
Our family drinks little alcohol, so I may purchase a couple bottles of wine from the winery in West Branch.
Got any thoughts?

[Blue Gardener]

1. Went to a craft show yesterday

And bought some beautiful stained glass made by a woman from West Branch. It's better than any gift I could have picked up at the mall. Last year I bought pottery made in Williamsburg. It's available at the Amana store at Tanger Outlet Center. They also have nice Amana Woolen Mill blankets.

[youthere]

2. But of course...

We look for stuff made locally (Natural Therapy in Tipton features some things made by local artists), the one exception was the stereo we bought for the 13 year old...she's been asking for it all year. And I am proud to announce for the third year running WAL-MART has not gotten ONE RED CENT of my holiday shopping money!