When: Saturday November 23, 2013
Where: Faneuil Hall Marketplace
Saturday November 30, 2013 is Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday was created by American Express in 2010. https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/Shop-Small/ The purpose of this event is to highlight local businesses and encourage people to shop small. In my opinion, this day is way more important than Black Friday. I think the craziness of Black Friday has gotten out of hand. Now stores are opening on Thanksgiving evening and shoppers are hurting each other to get to the biggest deal. Thanksgiving is about spending time with family and friends and giving thanks. I’m all about finding a bargain but these sales are insane! Many retailers are offering some Black Friday deals earlier in the week, no need to go crazy on Friday.
Like the shop small Facebook page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday
Back to my topic, Small Business Saturday is an annual event I enjoy promoting. Find a local shop to do some holiday shopping. I love to shop small businesses. Small shops offer unique and one of a kind items. Many small boutiques sell jewelry and other products that were designed locally. A friend of mine owns a store on Nantucket, Nalu. She has a great selection of women’s wear. I have written about the small businesses in the North End, Beacon Hill and Atlanta. Check out my posts for more information.
I’ve also discovered a new free app called Savione. This app will give you a map of local shops as well as show you some of the items available in the stores.
This past Saturday I did some small business shopping in Faneuil Hall Marketplace. I also visited Faneuil Hall to check out Blink, a light and sound extravaganza that kicked off on Saturday. This event surrounds the yearly lighting of the tree.
Here was the information from the website http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/:
It will include special performances by Tanglewood Festival Chorus conducted by Maestro Keith Lockhart as well as Grammy-Award winning singer Paula Cole, and The Sugarbabies Band.
Mayor Menino will be on hand to help flip the switch, and part of the ceremony will include a special tribute to the outgoing mayor. The light switch will turn on more than 30,000 lights and strobes on the 80-foot tree, the tallest in the northeast. That’s not counting the 350,000 lights that are part of the Blink! lights and music show that will light up all of Faneuil Hall.
When I arrived at the ceremony, the area was jammed packed. I found a small area and managed to see some of the show complete with music, lights and fake snow!
The lights dance seamlessly to the music, creating a spectacular not to be missed! Blink! is a must-see holiday show, perfect for all ages. The blink lights show continues through January 4, 2013.
After watching the tree lighting I visited two of my favorite local shops, FunUsual and Newbury Comics. These two shops are great for gift shopping and unique product shopping.
Here are some fun products at FunUsual: (great for gift swaps or stocking stuffers)
Newbury Comics: (Lots of fun products plus plenty of CDs, and DVDs)
It’s so FLUFFY!!
Here is a link to all of the shops in Faneuil Hall: http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/directory/all
A couple of Small Business Saturday perks: 1-use your American Express card and get $10 back when you spend $10 or more on November 30th. Sign up here to participate: https://enroll.amexnetwork.com/US/en/SBS2013/ 2-receive a $10 AMEX credit if you spend $10 or more on Uber this Saturday.
Try to visit a local store on Saturday but if you are unable to shop this weekend try to do some local shopping for some of your holidays gifts.
Related articles
- How Much Does Small Business Saturday Boost Main Street? (businessweek.com)
Lifestyle of a Fashionista 