The holiday season has begun in earnest! Tinsel is all over the place. The menorah is being lit (especially early this year!). And every other commercial on TV is advertising a special discount and deal. You have to buy presents for your loved ones, but while you are at it why don’t you help your local community and economy as well?

Shop small! Shop women-owned!

This Saturday is Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday was started in 2010 in direct response to the madness of Black Friday and has been wildly successful ever since. Not only do you often get better customer service in small, local shops but you are also very likely helping women and moms. As of 2013, it was estimated that there were over 8.6 million women-owned businesses in the United States, generating over $1.3 trillion in revenue and employing nearly 7.8 million people. Many of these businesses are considered small businesses (500 employees or less). In the past year alone, women-owned businesses have risen by 200,000—this is the equivalent of just under 550 new women-owned businesses created each day.

The types of women-owned small businesses you can shop at this holiday season run the gamut. You can buy organic pajamas for your 2 year-old at Sprout  in San Francisco; a pretty new journal for your sister at Rock Paper Scissors in Ann Arbor; gourmet popcorn for your dad at Poppington’s in Greenville; the hot, new New York Times best seller for your best friend at Between the Covers in Telluride; or take a break and grab some treats at Grassroots Gourmet in Washington, DC. All of these are wonderful women-owned (and some mom-owned) small businesses open for business this Saturday and throughout the holiday season.

Small businesses are owned by your neighbors, family, and friends. These are people that live within your local community and are stimulating the economy right in your own backyard. 65% of the new jobs created since 1995 have been generated by small businesses. Compared to chain stores, locally owned businesses recycle a much larger share of their revenue back into the local economy, enriching the whole community.

And if that is not reason enough, the products these women-owned businesses create are just as fun, adorable, creative, and delicious as the big chains at the mall.

So shop local, shop small, shop women-owned this Saturday!