This holiday season, support local businesses

Giovanni’s Room has been a community space for over 40 years.

Amidst a global pandemic, the last two holiday seasons were dominated by online shopping and social distancing. Nobody would blame anybody in 2020 and 2021 who got all their gifts on Amazon and called it a day. If it helped a person retain some of their sanity, not putting much thought into the economic ramifications of a particular gift was completely acceptable.

But it’s 2022 now, and we need to get back to supporting local businesses — especially local LGBTQ businesses — as much as we can. It’s truly not hard to do. And even if something isn’t available locally, you can still find something, somewhere, that has nothing to do with Amazon. So here’s a quick guide to buying holiday gifts without putting even more money into Jeff Bezos’ pocket.

Electronics: I know, I know, Amazon has everything and you’re not guaranteed to find something if you go to a store. But Best Buy and Target are right there in South Philly. If you’re looking to buy a new TV or computer, try searching one out in person first. There are other stores, too, like P.C. Richard & Son in the northeast or Staples in various locations. A lot of stores will even tell you if a certain model is available in store.

Music, Movies & Games: Does anybody still buy physical media anymore? Does anybody appreciate liner notes, or instruction manuals with artwork, or the alternate cover on the inside of DVD cases? Does anybody listen to the director’s commentary of films they love? I do. And I know many of you do, too. You can go to Philly AIDS Thrift or Giovanni’s Room and find a deluge of used movies and CDs. Most of them are cheaper than renting a movie on demand. Once, I even found some old CDs by the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus on a shelf at Giovanni’s Room. If board games are your thing, Philly has several thriving board game stores, including Queen & Rook Cafe and Thirsty Dice.

Cards, Trinkets, and Random Crap: One of my favorite holiday gifts to give to dear friends is what I’ll dub the “box of crap.” It’s exactly what it sounds like. You find lots of little items that a person might like: pins, cards, figurines, small soaps, CDs, little toys, t-shirts, basically anything that can fit into a small box. You put all the stuff into the box, unwrapped, and just hand it off or mail it. It’s so simple. There are a lot of places to find things for the glorious box of crap. South Street Art Mart has a lot of 80s and 90s items, including custom stickers, jewelry, greeting cards, and artwork. Same with Worms Emporium right across the street. There’s also Open House in the Gayborhood, Omoi Zakka Shop in Old City, South Fellini on Passyunk, or Trans Art Mart in the Bok Building.

Books: Oh, bookstores. I can already see the day that they’re all gone. Books were and are my favorite gift to give and receive for any occasion. There are so fewer bookstores now than there were even 20 years ago. I’m going to list a bunch here. Please buy things from them this holiday season: Giovanni’s Room (12th and Pine), Head House Books (2nd and South), A Novel Idea (Passyunk and Morris), Harriett’s Bookshop (Girard and Marlborough), Book Corner (20th and Wood), Barnes and Noble (18th and Walnut), Mostly Books (5th and Bainbridge). 

Hopefully this gives you plenty of ideas (and time, if you’re reading this the week it comes out) to holiday shop without having to use Amazon. The local economy and culture will thank you, and I’m sure your loved ones will too.

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