We all know the minute Thanksgiving is over, the world of retail begins its annual gift-selling juggernaut. Despite the challenges and changes of 2020, including the coronavirus pandemic, that’s something that seems set in stone.

The National Retail Foundation is anticipating holiday spending of between $755.3 and $766.7 billion. To put the size of that number in perspective, President Trump’s 2020 budget proposal requested $740 billion for the entire Department of Defense.

The annual images of packed Black Friday parking lots and Thanksgiving Day commercials make it seem like most of this happens in the big box stores. And yes, lots of it does — although online sales have cut off a bigger and bigger piece of that pie each year. This year, the pandemic and dramatic spike in cases has done its part to flatten crowds.

But that is why we can’t forget about the small businesses, especially not this year.

According to a hefty handful of federal agencies like the U.S. Census Bureau, the Small Business Association and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it just seems like big businesses run everything. But small businesses — defined as under 500 employees — make up 99.7% of American companies and 42.9% of private sector jobs. When it comes to new jobs, 64% come from small businesses.

They are owned by veterans and minorities. They are run by women and started by young people. They are run out of homes and out of storefronts. And for every five years the doors stay open, there is a better chance the doors will continue to stay open.

All of those statistics come from before March 2020, when everything started to change and small businesses started to take devastating blows from the coronavirus pandemic and responses to mitigate its effects.

Businesses were deemed necessary or nonessential. Then they were allowed to open but not be as full as they normally are. And let’s be clear — capacity numbers at stores and restaurants aren’t just about fire codes and building size. They are also part of the simple arithmetic of what makes enough business to stay in business and what doesn’t.

Big businesses aren’t the bad guys. They support our communities with payrolls and tax checks.

But we can’t forget about the little guys, too. The stores in that downtown area you don’t visit much anymore. The artisans that sell through craft fairs and websites. The restaurants that would be happy to do a gift certificate that promises not just money today but a visit tomorrow.

If we are really going to spend a Pentagon’s worth of money on Christmas and Hanukkah this year, let’s try to do it thoughtfully — and in a responsible, pandemic-safe way.

Let’s remember to get that video game your son wants, but maybe the candles for mom could come from a little shop that could use a new customer. Your sister’s kids might love toys that can’t be found on every endcap.

If you can patronize a local gift shop by phone, do that. If you can pick up a gingerbread house curbside? That’s a win. If a store has a website, use it, and don’t just scratch a present off your list. You could get it shipped to your in-laws and avoid the post office.

And supporting those businesses supports your neighbors that own them or work there. They can literally be the gifts that can keep on giving.

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