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from At Home in Arkansas | December 2020

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I’ve never been a big fan of online shopping. As a tactile person and an experience seeker, I enjoy walking through a store to pick up and touch the things I might buy. Even for groceries and toiletries I prefer to skip online delivery, since I just know there’s something I’ll forget if I’m not physically in the aisle

Photograph by Rett Peek to tick it off my list. Of course, I’ve had to change my ways since March; no one wants me idly wandering their stores in a pandemic, after all. Online shopping has been the way to go for new clothes (mostly lounge wear!) and birthday gifts, though I’ve tried hard to steer myself toward the websites of those local stores I love who are missing foot traffic most. These are the places that make my neighborhood so interesting and my hometown feel vibrant. When loved ones visit Arkansas and ask for recommendations, I don’t send them somewhere they could find in Mississippi or Texas—I send them to the places that make us unique.

A family friend posted on social media recently that he aims to do all of his holiday shopping locally this year, and I plan to follow his lead. I encourage you to do the same. To get you started, we have 24 local businesses represented in our annual Holiday Gift Guide (page 63), many of whom sell online or can offer curbside delivery. As you gather around your tree to open presents this Christmas, it will feel good knowing your thoughtful shopping turned out to be a gift to more than the person untying the bow.

Happy holidays,

Stephanie Maxwell Newton, editor stephanie@athomearkansas.com

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