A Small Business for Christmas

Nothing stops these days.

The times have changed, and we are told that it is best to change with them.

Growing up, our grandparents told stories of slow times and values long stuffed in boxes left in a corner of the attic. I went and pulled one down.

The year was 2013 and I found myself engaged to my best friend. I had a job at a local hospital, Seth was attending a nearby college, and we both had visions of our future that we knew for certain would come true. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Like many in their early 20s, Seth and I had moved in with my oldest sister to save some money. Being the youngest of four girls, I had always had a special relationship with my oldest sister. When she agreed to bring me and my burgeoning family into her home, I just knew that we were on the right track.

Sometime in the middle of 2013, as our wedding day approached, I began to do what every bride to be does; I began to plan our decorations. With a vision in mind, I sent Seth out to find the perfect pieces to decorate our most special day. I didn’t expect him to come home empty handed.

What is he thinking? I thought to myself. How was I going to decorate? He told me not to worry, and began his work. The work we didn’t know at the time would be the work that would turn into our family’s life.

Seth began to make our decorations himself. He told me that we didn’t need to waste our precious funds on overpriced items in the store; he could handcraft them and not only make them better quality, but also fill them with a sentiment only a man about to marry the love of his life could instill. Everything turned out beautiful. The wedding went off without a hitch.

But afterwards, we faced another problem. We had all these decorations and no need to keep them, and surely no place to store them. So Seth started an Ebay account to try and unload some of these increasingly burdensome decorations and to see if we could make some extra gas money. To the shock of both of us, people were loving the items! Everything sold! Seth and I shared a glance. We were onto something.

The month was November, the year 2013. Wedding done. Items sold. A demand for more was born. Seth kept making, and making, and making. The orders didn’t stop and we realized that we needed to rethink our life plans. I quit my job at the hospital and Seth put his education on hold, and we began this new adventure.

Today, on Small Business Saturday in 2019, I can’t help but think of that special time six years ago, when we started down a path neither of us ever planned on going down. On this day, six years ago, my wonderful husband and I took that dusty box from the attic, the one full of those old stories of slower times and lost values, of moms and pops around the country with eyes glistening with the sparkle of a dream only to be found in these beautiful United States, and we decided to unpack it for ourselves. We wanted to realize a dream built on those times and those values. We wanted to give people not just nice products, but products instilled with that same sentiment my wedding day was.

As Christmas approaches, and we head out to find those special gifts for our loved ones, let’s remember to stop for a second. Stop and remember all the people who dream of living not in a fast paced world of corporate greed and shareholder interests, and remember the moms and pops who have sliced for themselves a small piece of the pie that is the American dream. A gift bought from a small business is two fold. It is a gift full of family sentiment, and a gift back to the family who provided that product. A dollar spent in a small business makes an impact on a heart in a family. Spend your money in small businesses this holiday season and help spread the joy of the holidays.