What would life be like without a few curves and bumps along the road? Unfortunately, the curves and bumps for many of us lately seem to be in the form of a miserable, drippy head cold that we have been experiencing recently. If that weren’t enough, we were hit with more drips, in the form of rain on Saturday, December 6, interfering with the Narrowsburg visit of the Santa Express. Hopefully many of you were able to catch Santa on Sunday, December 7 in a neighboring area. His visit is never disappointing and worth the trip.

Let’s hope we are in store for smooth sailing now, right until Christmas. That means you have to get out and shop, wrap the gifts, bake, decorate, etc. Here’s an idea. Try to purchase gifts so that the majority of gifts are made in America. Not so long ago, this wasn’t even considered a task, since everything from cars to board games was made in America. Not so easy nowadays; but here are a few helpful ideas. Shop on Main Street. You don’t even have to check where an item was made if you shop at By Delaine, a gift shop that only sells American-made products. For that man on your list that’s hard to get gifts for, pick up a wallet made from recycled bicycle and truck tires. Go next door to Mayer/Wasner and purchase Lisa B. socks for him or her from a company based in Honesdale, PA (note: while visiting Reykjavik, Iceland I saw Lisa B. socks being sold). Walk across the street and shop in Signatures Gift Shop, where many items are made by local artists. You are not too late to catch the annual “Art in Sixes” show at DVAA, where no piece of art is greater than six inches. These small works make wonderful gifts for that hard-to-please person on your list. This is just a beginning, but if you are serious about trying to purchase American-made gifts, I suggest you shop locally, a win-win .