Rev up the holidays with Small Business Saturday

Downtown Birmingham has gifts for shoppers, as well as visits with Santa, on Small Business Saturday, on November 26.

Birmingham is filled with small and local merchants, each with unique and special merchandise for shoppers. Those visiting and shopping on Saturday, November 26, and Sunday, November 27, will earn a $25 Birmingham Bucks e-gift card for every $100 spent at local retailers and restaurants in the Birmingham Shopping District.

It's a double treat because Birmingham Bucks e-gift cards can be redeemed at over 70 stores and restaurants throughout the downtown.

"Local businesses reinvest on an average more than 70 percent of their earnings back into their community," BSD Executive Director Cristina Sheppard-Decius said. "They not only invest in their downtown, but also the people who live here."

Best of all, be sure to welcome Santa to town. Join Santa Clause by joining him on a stroll through downtown Birmingham to his Santa House in Shain Park, and enjoy free giveaways along the way. The walk begins at 9:30 a.m. and registration is required. Find more information and register online at ALLINBirmingham.com/events.

Shoppers and visitors will also enjoy free homemade hot chocolate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the tent at the corner of Maple Road and Old Woodward, courtesy of Hazel's.

Another magical tradition in Birmingham begins the same weekend with horse-drawn carriage rides from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy a free carriage ride from Shain Park for a tour of the beautifully decorated downtown.