Make shopping LOCAL this holiday season EASY! Most businesses in our community now offer online shopping, phone ordering, curbside pickup and/or shipping. All of that is to say, this is the BEST year to shop local. It is so easy to find unique gifts for your special someone AND support a local business. As you know, this has been a tough year for our local businesses. As you finish up your holiday shopping this year, make a commitment to the community and go buy something local for everyone on your list. A gift card to a local restaurant or coffee shop, artwork, craft supplies, antiques, furniture, jewelry, clothes, toys… the list goes on. There is something for everyone here in the mountains. Download the FREE Holiday Gift Guide at GoConifer.com.

Throughout the month of December, we are hosting “Light Up Conifer,” a business and home decorating competition for the holidays, sponsored by FirstBank. Businesses and residents have been decorating, and now is your chance to drive around and enjoy all the decorations. To make it easy for you to find the locations, we have partnered with MyMountainTown.com and created an interactive map to showcase all those who are participating. Log on to GoConifer.com for a link to the map, go out and grab a coffee or hot chocolate, take a drive and enjoy all the lights in our community.

Take a break from cooking this holiday season and enjoy food from local eateries. Since restaurants are currently only open for take out, we are back to promoting our TAKE OUT TAKE OVER campaign. Visit GoConifer.com/TakeOutTakeOver for a listing of all the local restaurants and bakeries.

One of the many things we have been advocating for since March is a COVID testing site in the mountain area. Locations are finally here and we are thrilled! This is a huge step for our community. In Bailey, a site is set up at the Bailey Public Library on Mondays. In Conifer, a site is set up at Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church and is open on Tuesdays. There is also a site set up in Evergreen on Sundays at Buchanan Rec Center. Links to these sites, and testing sites all around Jefferson County are listed on the home page at GoConifer.com.