We say it every holiday season, but this is 2020, a year when many small businesses have—or will—shut their doors forever. Western New York will lose even more unless consumers can safely shop with their local vendors. Fortunately, there are many ways to do it.

Order takeout

As outdoor dining becomes less possible and indoor dining is approached with caution, it’s still a great idea to support locally owned restaurants with takeout orders. This is the perfect way to enjoy cold weather comfort food favorites without making them yourself—and most of these keep and travel well.

Look for local (and safe) shopping events

At press time, we noted just a couple:

Kenan Center Holiday Handmade Market

10 a.m.–4 p.m., December 5–6, at Kenan Center Arena (195 Beattie Avenue, Lockport)

kenancenter.org, 433-2617

Lewiston Christmas Walk

All day, December 5–6, Village of Lewiston

niagarariverregion.com, 754-9500

Bang for the buck: multi-artisan shops

Many area shops work with a variety of local artists and artisans, so its possible to support multiple small businesses within the same storefront.

Here are a few:

Buffalo ShopCraft, 773 Elmwood Avenue, buffaloshopcraft.com

Burchfield Penney Museum Store, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, burchfieldpenney.org

Pine Apple Company, 65 Allen Street, Facebook/PineAppleCo

Rusty Button Shop, 650 Main Street, East Aurora, Facebook/The-Rusty-Button-Shop

Thin Ice, 719 Elmwood Avenue, thiniceonline.com

Village ARTisans, 5560 main Street, Williamsville, Facebook/VillageArtisansWilliamsville