Nothing like the impending holiday season to remind you why you put “stop procrastinating” at the top of your New Years’ resolutions list every single year.

No matter how hard you try, you never seem to greet the week before Christmas with all names checked off your holiday shopping list. You still have shopping to do, but know you’ll have to squeeze in that trip to the mall between work, the umpteenth trip to the grocery store for red and green sprinkles, and extracting the cat from the Christmas tree. Again.

Have no fear, says Powhatan Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tina Bustos. County residents can easily save themselves the headache of heading past the county line for holiday purchases this year by getting their gifts from local retailers.

Bustos is heading up a push to show residents that heading to the mall isn’t always the only solution.

The slogan, one the Chamber has used for some time, is “Give Powhatan the Business.”

“Many businesses in Powhatan County can offer unique and practical gifts and services,” said Bustos. “This season is a great opportunity to buy from our friends and neighbors who are not only convenient, but offer more personal kinds of gifts.”

The gifting possibilities run the gamut this year, says Bustos.

She said a list of local retailers and gift ideas is currently available at the Chamber office (3829 Old Buckingham Road)

“If one out of five of our residents spent $100 in Powhatan County that they typically spend in Chesterfield or Henrico, that would be approximately $500,000. Of that about $10,000 would go back into our county through the sales tax and support our schools and county services. Of course there are many ways to measure the economic benefits. One layer is the tax benefit and another would be the benefit of employing more of our residents so they can spend their money in the county.”

In the end, Bustos said, buying local is as much about supporting the Powhatan community as it is about saving time.

“They are the ones who are volunteering for PYAA, our PTOs, and the many nonprofit organizations throughout our county,”she said of local vendors. “They are the teachers, fire fighters and neighbors who are working hard all year long and in the end it is all about supporting each other.”