I have lived in Stillwater all my life, I was born here and I have a lot of pride in my community. In the last few years, I've noticed our downtown area really changing and thriving as new businesses were being added every year. I love going downtown, whether it's to eat breakfast at Granny's Kitchen or take a peek in the Stillwater Antique Mall, the feeling of community never ceases to amaze me.

Although I do rely heavily on Amazon for gifting for convenience. This last weekend my mom and I went downtown to finish up our Christmas shopping. It was a really great day of walking around and enjoying each other's company. The lamp posts were decorated with lights and greenery, all of the shops were open, and they even had a Santa on one of the corners to take pictures with. It was truly a scene from a Hallmark Christmas movie.

We stopped by the Antique Mall first, which is a wonderland if you're looking for a unique Secret Santa gift by the way. If you wander around long enough, you might see the cat that they let run around the store. Located right next door is Bliss Books and Bindery. Everyone is so friendly and they are very supportive of local artists. AND, they have a shop animal too, so stop by and say hello to Bliss the dog. Shopping and pet therapy? Count me in.

I think it's refreshing to shop from places that genuinely care about your business and ask how your day has been. The employees at Greige Goods happily informed us about the pop-up shops set up in the area and all of the activities happening in the next few weeks. My mom also ran into friends and we just chatted with people all day.

The best part about shopping local is that I found unique gifts made by local artists and vendors that are great conversation starters. Shopping for my in-laws, I love that I can share a bit of Stillwater with them. By supporting Stillwater businesses I also got to spend the whole day with my mom, which makes my heart happy. Even if you are usually an online shopper like I am, I encourage you to branch out and see what your community has to offer. Not only will you feel warm and fuzzy, but you'll also make small business owners do a little jig at the end of the day. Now that's the Christmas spirit!