Christmas Shopping in Oregon

When it comes to gift giving, I like to buy local. While living in Yellow Springs, I tried to purchase most of the items in town.  YS isn't very big, so it was a challenge, but I did shop for most of the children on my list t Mr. Fub's.  Yes I used to participate in Black Friday at the big retailers, but it was mostly for the novelty of it all.  That and it always reminded me of my mom.

Now that I live in Oregon and can send unique gifts back home, I try to buy as many Oregon products as possible.  Since I like promoting the Beavers, I shop at the OSU Bookstore.  I'm always looking for gifts for Logan and Danica there.  Soon, I will  be buying Samantha Kay lots of Beaver gear.  This week there was a special night for Faculty and Staff.  A lot of items were 30% off.  SCORE!  I got some great deals and even got myself a prize.  I can justify it by saying I can wear the OSU shirt with the beaker on it to work. Woohoo!  Go College of Science.  

Yes, the majority of the gifts I get for friends and family come from the OSU Bookstore, but I shop other places too.  I took advantage of the city's Buy Local First Day.  Many of the shops I already visit regularly were having sales to promote buying local.  I had already anticipated shopping at many of the shops participating in the day, so I thought that it would be great to take advantage of the discounts and support my local merchants.  (I rarely leave Corvallis anymore unless I'm going to Eugene to hang out with some fantastic ruggers.)  

For Buy Local First Day in Corvallis I shopped at The Toy Factory, Many Hands Trading, and Animal Crackers Pet Supply...hey, the kitties need love on Christmas too.  I also bought some catnip to donate to Heartland Humane Society as part of their giving tree.  

I'm happy to say that I am probably 85% done with my shopping.  There are a few more trinkets I want to add.  After that, I just have to package up the gifts and ship them off to the Midwest.  There is one present that I want to open up and play with myself because it looks so cool.  I don't think little Danica would appreciate me playing with her stuff before she gets the chance to do so.

The next Christmassy thing to do is make some buckeyes.  I may not be an Ohio State Buckeye fan, but I am a fan of the candy.