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Halloween just ended, and Thanksgiving is still three weeks away. However, if you walk in stores, you can already see everything being changed over to be Christmas-themed. Soon, holiday music will be blaring on loudspeakers as you’re shopping. 

Black Friday is the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season, and it’s still weeks away. However, stores are getting more flexible with their holiday sales these days. It’s not just Black Friday. 

Walmart is breaking its Black Friday sale into three parts, all being held over three different weeks. (The first begins online on Nov. 7 and in stores Nov. 9.)

We’re sure other big box retailers will follow suit with something similar as well. 

We encourage you to spend these next few weeks looking around LaGrange and Troup County at local shops. There are so many stores downtown, many offering their own, unique products you might not find somewhere else. With no offense meant at all toward big, chain stores where most of us spend a lot of money, a unique gift from a small business often can mean much more than something shipped in large quantities to stores around the country.

We know some of you are laughing, thinking there is plenty of time for Christmas shopping. We agree, but we also know how easy it is to procrastinate and run out of time, leading to a last-second shopping trip right before the holiday.

Usually, if you start local, you might be surprised at what you can find. Plus, those tax dollars are staying in Troup County, where they go back into the community.