LOUISVILLE, Ky. — While the Christmas trees fly out of The Plant Kingdom in NuLu, the business offers plenty to put under them as well. Like a holiday cactus, which comes in red or pink blooms.
"People pass them down from generation to generation. They're very easy to propagate, so you can get a little piece to your friend," Sarah Nold said of the gift that keeps giving—without needing much water.
A gift that keeps giving—without needing much water.
The Plant Kingdom is one of several local shops along a HoLOUday bus tour on Friday organized by the Local Independent Business Alliance, drawing in holiday shoppers.
"Maybe from different neighborhoods that aren't so close by so they get a chance to come in to NuLu to see what we have to offer," Nold said.
While they're there, she hopes shoppers can fill out a thank you card for their tree supplier who managed to ship the trees out of his flooded farm in North Carolina.
Murphy's Camera is part of the HoLOUday tour as well and since it's on Bardstown Road, it puts it right next to Bardstown Aglow which'll fill the Highlands with music, lights and trolley rides. The Saturday event runs from noon until ten at night.
It contributes to the foot traffic the store relies on.
"People want to actually be able to come in and hold something, take a look at it, instead of buying online where, sight unseen, you don't know what you're gonna get sometimes," manager Doug Lutz said. He sees shoppers, particularly younger ones, grabbing 35 millimeter film and Polaroid cameras.
"What's old is new again," he explained. "I think they just like the look of film as opposed to what a digital print is looking like."
Handmaking that old-fashioned Christmas vibe, Jane Trigg knitted scarves, hats and miniature stockings at a Holiday Bazaar setup inside of the Milestone Wellness gym in St. Matthews.
"I sell things because I can't stop making them and I need to move them on," she said with a laugh.
Pop-ups like these are just another way to buy gifts locally. Trigg even buys her yarn in town.
"Even if the prices are a little bit higher," she elaborated, "it benefits the community to have that small business there. And if people don't patronize it, it won't be there."
It's why she shops small all year round, even if she can make the presents herself.
"I love shopping local," Nold reflected on her own Christmas list. "It just keeps the economy moving, keeps dollars here in Louisville, which is really important. These small businesses are really special."
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