I don’t know about you, but the holidays have always been a time for teaching my kids important life lessons. I made sure to emphasize how the holidays are about spending quality time and not about accumulating more “stuff”. Gifts were few and well thought out - and I even went as far as sewing fabric gift wrapping bags so that we could reduce our wasteful paper consumption. You can only imagine how proud I was when my daughter made herself her own set of fabric gift bags when she became an adult. These important lessons do sink in!

What are the things that you live by example for your family?

When I think about the origins of Black Friday, a day driven by Big Box stores corporate greed - that want you to spend your money for things you don't necessarily need.

We think it's time to start a new earth-friendly movement. As the holidays come closer, we hope you take the opportunity to shop small and find gifts made with love. If you're looking for a way to help people and the planet this holiday season, shop from local businesses this Black Friday.

When you shop small, it changes everything.

• You put money back into the local economy
• You help small businesses be competitive and thrive
• You support local manufacturing, good wages and better benefits
• When you shop Indigenous owned you support economic reconciliation with a segment of society who has been excluded from the financial world

If you are interested in a teaching tool that I've used in the years that I did Indigenous youth empowerment programs and something I used with my own family - the Youtube called: The Story of Stuff is a eye-opening 20 minute video that helps us to consider the true cost of all the goods we consume, helping us become more conscious consumers.