Be the holiday magic for your community
Okay, confession time: I am super cheesy when it comes to holiday romance movies. Hallmark, Netflix, Hulu, doesn’t matter. If it’s December and there’s a predictable plot, a small town, twinkle lights, a bakery that’s one rent payment away from closing, and two people falling in love over a snowstorm and a peppermint latte?
I. AM. THERE.
I’ll have them playing in the background all month long—while I’m cleaning the house, charting, planning, or doing whatever. They’re cozy, comforting, and honestly? They get me every single time.
But here’s the funny thing I’ve realized:
We’re all kind of living in a Hallmark movie right now.
Because here’s the truth behind almost every holiday movie plot:
Plot 1: Big-city character returns to their small hometown, falls in love, and saves a struggling family business.
Plot 2: A small business is on the verge of closing until the community rallies around them… or someone places the magical Big Order… or someone shows up right when the owner is about to give up.
And while we laugh about how predictable they are… those plots are real life for so many small businesses right now.
Small businesses are struggling.
Service providers are feeling the squeeze.
Mom-and-pop shops are hanging on with grit (and spreadsheets and late nights).
And many are just one slow month away from serious hardship.
But here’s the magic: YOU can be someone’s Hallmark moment.
You are the community.
You are the support.
You are the person who can walk into a small shop or book with a service provider and create that “everything turned around” moment.
You don’t have to do something huge. Small actions matter:
✨ Buy from a local maker instead of a big box store
✨ Get a gift card from a small business
✨ Schedule a service with someone who’s been trying to grow
✨ Share their post
✨ Leave a review
✨ Click “like” and comment so the algorithm doesn’t bury them
✨ Tell a friend about them
Those actions keep doors open.
Those actions keep dreams alive.
Those actions are the holiday magic.
And I say this both as a small business myself and as a neighbor who sees how many small businesses in Lincoln, York, and all our surrounding communities are hustling, adapting, struggling, and hoping.
I’m incredibly grateful that even though things have slowed down a bit this December, my clinic is stable. I worked hard all year, planned well, and I’m okay. That is a blessing, and not one I take lightly.
But many small businesses don’t have that cushion.
They’re doing everything right, and still holding their breath.
So if you love holiday movies…
If you love the moment when everything turns around…
If you love that spark of kindness that changes the whole story…
Don’t forget: you can be that for someone in real life.
This season, if you’re buying gifts, donating, showing love, or supporting your community…
Shop small. Shop local. Engage. Share. Show up.
You never know whose Hallmark ending you’re helping write.
