Thanksgiving is over which means the Chrismas shopping season has commenced with a flourish.

While Black Friday is an annual event that typically leads to stores flooded with shoppers, the Saturday after it has brought visibility to local businesses in recent years.

This year, Seymour Main Street has organized the Downtown Shop Around to get shoppers to downtown Seymour today.

From 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., shoppers can pick up a punch card at participating businesses, get a punch for as many stops as they can, then turn it in at one of the stores to be entered for a gift card giveaway.

The participating businesses include 3’z Company, Blush and Brush Beauty Bar, Dragonfly Boutique, Greemann’s Furniture, Hearts Desire Gift Shop, Indiana Vapor Labs, Lea Boutique, The Flower Cart by Prestigious Affairs, Seedlings and Co., Seymour Healthy Zone, Shoppe 425, Stout’s Upscale Resale, Tiemeier’s Jewelry Store and The Magic of Books Bookstore.

Many of those businesses also are offering special deals for the occasion.

Dragonfly Boutique, located at 106 S. Chestnut St., is offering buy one get one half off for any item in the store, and shoppers can get $25 in gift certificates with a purchase of more than $100 in gift certificates.

Monica Stuckwisch, a co-owner of Dragonfly, said shopping local is important to the survival of those businesses.

“I think it’s very important because last year was a hard year for everybody and what some people may or may not realize is big box stores will survive,” she said. “It’s the mom and pop shops that might not.”

Supporting local businesses also might mean supporting someone you know, she said.

“When people support a downtown business they’re supporting people that are their friends and neighbors,” Stuckwisch said.

Dragonfly’s receives new inventory daily so shoppers will find something new on every visit.

The boutique is inviting 1852 Cafe into their store for the Downtown Shop Around to offer coffee and samples of their menu while people shop.

Danny Stout runs Stout’s Upscale Resale at 208 W. Second St.

Stout is known as the “The Singing Salesman” for his Facebook videos in which he lip syncs and impersonates music legends such as Michael Jackson, John Mellencamp and Bob Segar.

Shopping local, he said, helps small businesses grow.

His mother Deb Stout said when people spend money at a big box store they don’t know who their money is supporting, but supporting a local business allows the shopper to know who their money is going toward.

“During the holidays people want to go to the big name brands,” she said. “For us it warms our hearts to know that people would shop local and support a local business.”

Buying local helps supports someone’s business venture, she said.

“When you go to a local mom and pop shop you’re supporting someone’s dream and allowing them a chance to thrive in a small community,” Stout said.

For the Downtown Shop Around, Stout’s Upscale Retail is offering photos with Santa from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Everyone that takes a photo with Santa is entered into a drawing for a $20 gift certificate for the store.

Blush and Brush Beauty Bar employee Jess Meredith said she felt shopping local was important because local residents can directly support a business.

“I think it’s good to build each other up because what goes around comes around,” she said.

Located at 113 W. Second St., the beauty bar is offering 50% off all retail items today. For the entire weekend, it is 50% off all skin care and hair products.

Jenna Martinez, owner of The Magic of Books Bookstore, said that shopping local has become important for small businesses because of the pandemic.

“With COVID, shopping local has become very very important because business has slowed,” she said.

Her store, located at 113 W. Second St., is offering a “Dollar a Book” sale today where everything storewide is $1 excluding new books.

Many stores this year are struggling with global supply chain problems and delayed shipping.

Martinez said her store has largely avoided problems related to supply chain issues but recommended coming into the store as quickly as possible if a customer is going to need her to order a new book from a distributor.

A year out from a shopping season heavily hindered by the pandemic, Martinez said she expects there to be more business this year.

“We’ve only been open for a little over a year and I can tell business is just continually increasing,” she said.