'Tis the season to be jolly and spread some Christmas cheer, and as we all know ... go shopping.
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Whether its grabbing the ingredients for our favourite holiday meals or trying to find the perfect present for loved ones, everyone will be spending plenty of time in stores.
And after such a tough year for businesses, Christmas shopping provides the perfect opportunity to support local industry.
President of the Shoalhaven Business Chamber, Jemma Tribe, said when people are making spending decisions this Christmas, it's important they support local.
"It's obviously been a very tough year for businesses," she said. "We saw health concerns replaced by cost of living concerns and that's only worsened with every interest rate rise and cost increase. So it's very tight out there.
"Retail are certainly feeling that and they got a bit of a boost during the 'Love Local' campaign, and then again for Black Friday sales, but everything we're hearing is that people are really penny pinching ... hanging on to what they have, because times are very tough.
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"So, it's all the more important ... they support the shops that they want to see around next year and for the long haul, because that's the only way they'll stay in business."
Ms Tribe said if there are businesses people like and want to see remain open, they need to be the ones that support them.
"They need to buy goods and services for them to enable them to be here," she said.
"It's not an accident that anyone stays in business. It's a community getting behind them. And that goes both ways
"But the only way that we can have a vibrant CBD and vibrant offerings locally, is by supporting [local businesses], so they can grow."
There are a few event and locations Shoalhaven residents can show their support to local businesses, Ms Tribe added.
"The Nowra CBD has a Christmas shopping night, early in December and then the Christmas Wonderland opens from December 14, and that's every day until Christmas," she said.
"It's a great opportunity to make shopping fun, basically. Go and do your gift shopping, there's often free gift wrapping, there's presents, there's Santa and sometimes live music, lots of photo opportunities for the family.
"But there's also the weekly fresh fruit markets in Jelly Bean Park in Nowra CBD and that happens every Thursday from 2pm to 6pm.
"They've got quite a lot of new stores locked in for December as well, with local producers. There'll be some things that people can purchase there in a really fun kind of way. There's food stalls and music and decorations. It's just a great atmosphere."
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