The holiday season is upon us.

There are so many ads everywhere all the time. From TV to radio and even on social media.

So many of us want to shop local, but it’s hard to know when small shops are open, much less for holiday hours or what special offers they might be running.

With fewer options for communication, small businesses can often be forgotten for the larger ones who are literally in front of our faces all the time, especially during the holidays.

So if you want to shop small, turn to social media.

Many small businesses announce their special hours, events and sales on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

When you’re making your list and planning a shopping outing, visit their page and see how their shop could fulfill your needs.

If you want to make sure you see their posts, be sure to like the posts that you do see, so the all-powerful algorithm knows you’re interested in what they are sharing.

You can even take it a step further and opt to see their posts first on their page settings.

Shopping small helps an actual local person, their family, their employees and helps keep our small-town feel.