Visitors to the Dallas Farmers Market are avoiding the big box and department stores this weekend and choosing to shop local instead.
"I love artists, local artists, just to see their creativity," shopper Connie Purcell said.
More than 150 vendors at the market sell everything from traditional items to holiday gifts for the season.
"This is the opportunity for the community to come out and show them how important it is to bring new products to market," Dallas Farmers Market Director Susan Armanovs said.
Amanda Trochman and Nikki Shaw make died yarn creations in their tiny homes and sell them at their booth, Knot + Rain.
"If we don't have people shop from us, we can't be creative and they have something hand made that worked really hard on their walls," Shaw said.
For Monique Littleton and Sandra Moore, keeping their business alive is an act of love.
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"'My Dear' was my grandmother and she loved canning jams and jellies. This is just something I wanted to continue to spread her love and tell people about her every day," Littleton said.
Whatever the motivation, small business owners here said they couldn't survive unless people come out and shop. And Santa agrees.
"My thought on that is really simple — if you buy from a small business owner, you're helping to support their kids, send them to college, to dance school. If you buy from a big corporation, you're buying another yacht," Santa Claus said.
Just one more reason to consider shopping local this holiday season.
In addition to the small business booths, this holiday the Dallas Farmers Market has a "Letters to Santa" station for kids, a hot cocoa bar and photos with Santa offered on various weekends. For more information, check out dallasfarmersmarket.org.
