Edmonton advent calendars highlight importance of shopping locally

On the first day of December, what will my advent calendar give to me?

A locally made advent calendar showcasing products made by Edmonton entrepreneurs offers choices beyond the traditional chocolate.

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"We try to do everything from sweet and savory to everyday pantry products, as well as kitchen gadgets," said Camilla Cuglietta, the assistant purchaser at the Italian Centre in Edmonton.

The Italian Centre Shop's annual advent calendar has sold out very quickly every year.

"We usually have lineups outside of our stores on the days that we do have the first day of sales for the calendar and we sell out the same day," Cuglietta said. "Online, we anticipate that we'll sell out within minutes."

A number of Edmonton and Alberta-based businesses have advent calendars, ranging from chocolate to wine and everything in between.

"We do one box that has a bubble … one rosé, three white wines, seven red, all variant styles," said Juanita Roos, co-owner of Color De Vino.

"They're all unique, they're all small production, they're all things that we believe in here as a family."

If wine isn't to your taste, coffee or tea might be. There's a calendar for everyone.

"I'm trying to get as many of the local roasters out there to some people who might not know about them," said Richard Lobb, of Locally Roasted Calendars, of the business' own advent calendar.

The shop local movement has been gaining momentum in recent years.

In 2022, the Edmonton Downtown Business Association launched a gift card that was usable at more than 50 shops, restaurants, and hospitality businesses in the downtown area.

• Downtown businesses hope you'll shop local this holiday season with the Edmonton Downtown Gift Card

In October, Edmonton held a shop local campaign to support the city's small business community.

• City of Edmonton encouraging people to shop locally for small business campaign

Edmonton is home to more than 38,000 businesses, 95 per cent of which are small businesses, according to the city.

For every $100 spent at a small, local business, $66 stays in the local economy, the city says.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny