The holiday season is a crucial time for small businesses. In fact, holiday shopping can account for up to 30% of annual sales revenue. Black Friday has become an extremely popular in-store shopping day, with many stores opening on Thanksgiving and some deals starting even weeks earlier. Online retailers also lean into Cyber Monday deals to boost ecommerce sales.
What is Small Business Saturday?
Since 2010, American Express has promoted Small Business Saturday®, an initiative that encourages consumers to “shop small” and support local businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has also cosponsored Small Business Saturday since 2011 to help drum up business for the 32 million independent businesses in the U.S.
When is Small Business Saturday?
This year, Small Business Saturday falls on November 26. It’s always the Saturday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
How to support a small business this holiday season
At Bluevine, our mission is to empower and support small businesses all year long. And, with the holidays being such an important time for companies in all industries, we’ve curated a list of small business Bluevine customers you should consider supporting while checking off your holiday shopping list.
See how you can support some of the amazing businesses below in these categories:
- Specialty
- Custom gifts
- Delicious treats
- Fashion and jewelry
- Beauty and self-care
- Home goods and candles
- And don’t forget about your pets!
Specialty
Espacio Handmade
Based in Texas, Espacio Handmade offers handmade leather goods like wallets, coozies, luggage tags, and much more. Browse online or contact Katrina through the website to shop in person by appointment at the East Austin workshop.
Millennial Falcon Designs
Pick up uniquely designed dice and tabletop gaming accessories for that board game enthusiast on your list. Based out of Washington, Millennial Falcon Designs specializes in laser cutting and 3D, featuring unique dice cups, trays, and more.
Paper Standards
Organization never looked so good. Paper Standards offers beautiful agendas and planning accessories, including premium stationery, deskpads, and notebooks for people who don’t play around when it comes to their paper.
Tall Roots Woodcraft
Tall Roots Woodcraft is where pop culture, woodworking, and whimsical designs intersect. High-quality coasters, key racks, and wall-mounted bottle openers would make the perfect holiday or housewarming gift.
Custom gifts
Built By Brando
This California-based Etsy shop makes one-of-a-kind stuffed animals that are great for children––as well as bereavement and therapy. Brando does all of the knitting, crocheting, and sewing to perfect every detail, and you can request a custom order through the online shop.
CNY Engraving
Based in Syracuse, New York, CNY Engraving can help you create personalized gifts for holidays, birthdays, housewarmings, and more. Choose from a wide variety of customizable signs, plaques, and name tags––great for all ages.
RRMetalArtist
From metal bookmarks to wrist cuffs and jewelry, this Colorado-based Etsy shop can help you find the perfect gift for a loved one. Can’t quite find what you’re looking for? Contact Rachael to design a custom piece.
Delicious treats
Not Just Cookies
Have a special someone with a sweet tooth? Treat them to cookies, pies, and brownies made with natural ingredients––and support the city of Chicago while you’re at it. As a family-run business, Johnathon Bush and his sister Joy employ inner city youth from Chicago and donate leftover cookies to local churches and the homeless.
Fashion and jewelry
ANDI
ANDI uses sustainable fabrics to create stylish, high-quality bags inspired by the streets of New York City. Each bag comes with a lifetime warranty and promotes a productive lifestyle. Most products feature a minimalist design, but you can also find limited-edition collaborations with artists.
Earth Stone Jewelry
This hobby-turned-business offers high-quality bead bracelets and copper-wrapped jewelry made only with natural materials. Founder Marie Parker handpicks every stone and bead to make sure final products are both beautiful and functional.
The Finery Place
Give a gift that makes someone feel like they’re living every day like it’s a special occasion. The Finery Place creates quality, luxury jewelry pieces for every style of woman, inspiring confidence that can make heads turn.
Wandering Child Co.
Little wanderers rejoice! Wandering Child Co. creates timeless clothing for children, touting a unique style that’s simple but far from ordinary. For each piece of clothing purchased, Wandering Child Co. donates 12 meals to a child in Kenya.
Beauty and self-care
AyeSee Beauty
AyeSee Beauty can help you find the ideal gift for the women in your life who value quality and simplicity in their beauty products. Check out some gift sets or browse the rest of their natural, handmade collection. There are also a variety of products for men.
Handmade Suds by Nic
Encourage a little self-care with artisanal soap, body butters, and more. Since Nic started making her own ‘suds’ in 2020, she’s brought clean soap to many happy customers, and more recently expanded her offering to include candles, lip balms, and delectable sugar scrubs.
Marie Hunter Beauty
Nature’s most potent ingredients combine to create innovative beauty and skincare products that prove “clean” doesn’t mean sacrificing luxury. Formed in Wisconsin, this woman-owned business seeks to boldly empower people to feel like the best version of themselves––inside and out.
Home goods and candles
Something To Say
Give a gift that’s sure to make someone smile with home decor and more from Something To Say, an Illinois-based Etsy shop. Something To Say features a number of adorable designs for towels and throw pillows, including familiar holiday sayings.
Stephanie’s Scents
Inspire your senses with high-quality, handcrafted soy candles from Stephanie’s Scents, based in Massachusetts. These small-batch candles feature only three ingredients: 100% biodegradable soy wax, all-natural cotton wicks, and premium fragrance oils that are free from toxins and other harmful chemicals.
Three Oaks Candle Co.
Support this veteran-owned business and buy premium, coconut soy candles that are handcrafted and poured in South Carolina. All scents are nature inspired and transport your senses to the beach, a coffee shop, an apple orchard, and more.
Virginia Mercantile
This family-run business offers a rotating selection of sustainable home goods that are all locally sourced. Stop by their charming shop in downtown Clifton, Virginia, or order online for curbside pickup or local delivery to Clifton or Fairfax Station.
XO Candle Co.
Support this Nebraska-based company that specializes in clean, vegan coconut-soy wax blend candles and wax melts. Every candle is hand poured and made with pure cotton and wood wicks, with phthalate-free fragrances.
And don’t forget about your pets!
Angela’s Treat Stash
If you’re looking for healthy, natural pet treats for your favorite furry friend, look no further. Dedicated to foster-fail Angela, this Michigan-based business is the perfect gift option for people who feed their dogs and cats only the best. All treats are made to order in small batches.
