Buying local/independent

[MagpieCursedTea]

Every year I've been increasingly doing all my Christmas shopping online, mostly through Amazon.
I thought that this year I might set my challenge of buying everything (or maybe as much as I can) from local independent shops and traders.
Anyone want to join me?
I know it's early but I'm obsessed with Christmas thought it might take more organising than online shopping.

I really, really wanted to do this last year, but I ended up with masses of Amazon vouchers somehow and no other money, so ended up buying from them again. They've riled me by putting up the price you have to pay before getting free postage.

I live in a beautiful little town which is almost entirely independent shops. I think I could do all of my shopping here, aside from for DS (no toy shop unfortunately). I'd only need to go to the next town for a really beautiful toy shop though.

I'm also going to do home made as much as possible.

Have you got a list yet?

I did my best last year. I always patronise the local butcher, deli and greengrocer, so that doesn't change, and I buy locally made goats cheese from the farmers market. Gifts not so much, but I don't have many to buy.

I do for some things - in particular any board games (which always feature in our Christmas as we are game-obsessed). There's a wonderful indie game shop with incredibly knowledgeable staff in the next town over, so I always get games there if I can. It's quite a niche shop (mostly war gaming and strategy stuff, rather than must-have Hasbro type games that get advertised on TV) so I really feel like it's a use-it-or-lose-it situation IYSWIM.

If getting any regular toys/lego, I'll always check the little toy shop in our town and get it from there if possible - it's a very small local chain, set up by people who lost their jobs when Woolworths closed, so I think it's important to support it.

Now if we had any little bookshops around I would totally support them, but there aren't. :(

I try to do this as much as possible and I'd like to do more, but there's limited choice. I order meat from the butcher's and there's a toy shop that's half decent for the odd stocking filler, but that's it. I wish we had a fishmonger and greengrocer so I could do pretty much the whole dinner, but there aren't either of those.