Originally posted on November 24, 2014. 

Over the past five years, the event known as Small Business Saturday has become a bigger-and-bigger part of the post-Thanksgiving Day shop-a-thon. As we note on the SmallBusiness.com WIKI, the promotion was created by American Express but has taken on a life of its own (And kudos for American Express spending bazillions on TV ads promoting it, but allowing all of us to use the event to promote the idea of shopping at any local store, even if that store doesn’t accept the American Express card).

While Amex started it and the official version put on by American Express has paid sponsorships, there still seems to be no effort (that we’re aware of) of Amex trying to prevent anyone from using their trademarked Small Business Saturday brand in a generic way (imagine if FTD owned the trademark to Mother’s Day).

The latest concept extenders of Small Business Saturday are the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the National Restaurant Association who aren’t spending big TV bucks like Amex, but they have sprung for a press release on PR Newswire declaring the evening of Small Business Saturday to be an official night to “#DineSmall

There you have it: #ShopSmall all day ’til you drop. Then #DineSmall that evening to celebrate the treasures you’ve found, and the small businesses you’ve supported.

After that, you may want to #BowlSmall or take in an indie movie.

(Illustrations: SmallBusiness.com, Photo: ThinkStock)