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Scott Begbie: Give the gift of shopping, eating and drinking local this Christmas

The secret of Christmas cheer? Shopping local to help out business owners who live and work among us, writes Scott Begbie.

Supporting small, local businesses is a win-win for everybody involved (Image: DeAndre Holland/Shutterstock)
Supporting small, local businesses is a win-win for everybody involved (Image: DeAndre Holland/Shutterstock)

The secret of Christmas cheer? Shopping local to help out business owners who live and work among us, writes Scott Begbie.

One of the joys of a spur-of-the-moment decision to book a bargain hotel room for a night away is the hunter-gathering in the morning.

You know what I mean – why pay hotel prices for breakfast when you can pick up an Americano and a bacon roll for tuppence ha’penny round the corner?

The flaw in my grand plan was being unfamiliar with the pristine streets of Perth, and wandering around looking for somewhere to pick up some grub.

It seems that the Fair City likes to lump its eatery chains together, because I eventually found a street with a Greggs, a Costa and a Starbucks all vying for my attention. I didn’t go to a single one of them, though.

Scott Begbie talks about shopping local this christmas: "If you’re planning a night out, why not make it at a locally-owned and run restaurant, rather than a UK-wide chain? You can have your pre and post-drinks in a local pub, too."

Mainly because, just along the road, there was a wee independent cafe that looked cool and funky but, also, because I couldn’t help thinking: why give my hard-earned cash to a chain when I can help a small, local business instead?

And, right enough, the lady in the cafe was far more pleased to see me than a Saturday shop girl would have been – no offence to Saturday shop girls or boys.

Sure, I paid a bit more than I might have done at one of the high street fixtures, but isn’t it better to put money into a wee business being run by someone who lives and works in the community? And isn’t that a principle which we should all try to follow everywhere we go – especially here in the north-east?

Shopping at chains is easier – but at what cost?

Our local shops, restaurants and pubs have had a rough time of it, between the pandemic and now the cost of living crisis.

They need all the help they can get, and we are the people who can give it to them – especially in the run-up to Christmas.

If you’re planning a night out, why not make it at a locally-owned and run restaurant, rather than a UK-wide chain? You can have your pre and post-drinks in a local pub, too; there are plenty to choose from.

Stalls at Aberdeen Christmas village, decorated with fairy lights and pine branches, where you can shop local this Christmas
Check out – and support – the local traders at Aberdeen’s Christmas Village. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

And, if you’re picking up Christmas presents, why not do it the old-fashioned way, by actually going to a shop and buying stuff locally, instead of sitting at a keyboard and having things sent to you?

Check out the stalls at the Christmas Village – there are plenty of groovy gift ideas there, all from local businesses and creatives.

Let’s use this Christmas period to spread cheer and goodwill to the local businesses which desperately need it

There’s no denying that online shopping is cheaper and easier, on the face of it, and that looms large as we all struggle with rising prices. But, look further, and you will find there is a cost to be paid for disappearing local shops and firms.

We all know just how dire Aberdeen city centre has become. Would that have happened if we had all been mindful of the need to shop local, to use our city centre, and invest in its restaurants and pubs?

At the very least, let’s use this Christmas period to spread cheer and goodwill to the local businesses which desperately need it. Give the gift of shopping locally.


Scott Begbie is entertainment editor for The Press & Journal and Evening Express

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