The Tribune editorial staff

As soon as the leftover turkey and dressing is stowed safely in the refrigerator, the holidays truly begin for millions of Americans with the after-Thanksgiving Day sales.

It marks the "let's get serious" stage of holiday shopping and truly kicks off the Christmas shopping season.

Last year, the Friday after Thanksgiving was the busiest shopping day of the year. The milestone reversed the traditional trend of the last Saturday before Christmas as being the busiest shopping day of the year.

All of that buying illustrates that Christmas is truly a season of giving, but too often shoppers buy on impulse and do not consider where their holiday gift-buying dollars go.

Lawrence County is a unique area. In terms of retailers, we're mostly thought of as a secondary market or even tertiary market to Ashland, Ky., and Huntington, W.Va. That's simply because we may not have a mall or as many huge retail outlets found in other cities. But what we do have is buying power.

The more than 60,000 people who live in our county can make a huge impact on the economy of this county by thinking about where and how they spend their shopping dollars.

Despite the lack of a large mall, our area offers a number of smaller shops and retail stores. And, what we may not have in terms of sheer size, our local retailers make up for it in customer service and quality.

Spending money at home, in Lawrence County, can make a huge difference to the economic well being of the area - your friends, relatives and neighbors.

Dollars spent here generate taxes that help benefit our county, our cities and villages and ultimately your own pocketbook.

We urge you to be considerate when you spend your hard-earned dollars this shopping season. And before buying something at a far away retailer, ask yourself: Could I have purchased this in Lawrence County? If the answer is "yes" please consider doing so. The entire family of businesses in the area would certainly appreciate the gift of your patronage.