Christmas street decorations went up this week in Bainbridge, and retailers have had stores decorated for the season since before Halloween. Even before Thanksgiving arrives, churches will hold bazaars and downtown merchants will host the Holiday Open House.

It is obvious the city is gearing up for a big Christmas shopping season.

It will soon be Thanksgiving, and everyone knows the biggest shopping day of the year follows Thanksgiving on so-called “Black Friday.”

So, where will you be spending your dollars on “Black Friday” and the rest of the Christmas shopping season?

Will you be putting them back into our local economy to help our merchants stay in business and keep local people employed? Will your sales tax dollars go into our city and county coffers to help provide the local services we have come to depend on? Or will you be spending your hard-earned dollars on expensive gasoline to take off for the traffic and crowds of neighboring cities, where you help the big retailers make more bucks and put your sales tax dollars into “foreign” economies?

Bainbridge merchants make a big effort to stock their shelves with the latest, well-priced items. There are also many unique gifts to be found here, many the product of local artisans and craftsmen. Bainbridge merchants know and care about satisfying local customers—the people they see regularly throughout the year.

This year “Buy Bainbridge” and keep your dollars well spent and invested in your own community.