Spending for the Holidays (from the New York Times): The consumer is back — but for how long? Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping bonanzas hold outsize political significance this year with the retailing events emerging as key recession and inflation indicators. So far, so good. Bargain hunters turned out in force for Black Friday sales, and Cyber Monday is forecast to be even bigger. But with consumers showing signs of pulling back on spending, will this splurge be enough to save retailers’ Christmas and keep the U.S.

The Pasadena Chamber is once again holding a Holiday Celebration for members and the community.

Kelly Shearer, member services coordinator, is putting together a fun event for Chamber members and the community at the Romanesque Room at 50 east Green Street on Thursday evening, December 14th from 5pm to 7pm. (Park on the street or in the lot across Green Street.)

Help kids in the Pasadena area enjoy the holiday with a visit from Santa and/or Mrs. Claus!

The Pasadena Junior Chamber of Commerce hosts Operation Santa Claus every year. On Christmas Eve, toys are delivered by the jolly elf himself to needy children in our community.

YOU CAN HELP! 

Drop an unwrapped toy off at the Pasadena Chamber office at 44 N. Mentor Avenue before December 20th.

That (or those) toys will be delivered on Christmas Eve to children in our community.

Be generous and deliver a little joy and delight to children.

During this time of year, we often see a surge in impersonation scams. Stay safe by learning to identify and avoid them.
 
In impersonation scams, a scammer reaches out to you pretending to be someone you trust to get sensitive information like social security numbers, bank information, or something such as Amazon account details. Scammers change tactics quickly making them hard to detect.

The LA Times published their 2023 Best of the Southland list in November. 

Among those noted were several Pasadena Chamber of Commerce members:

• Pasadena Playhouse
• In 'n Out Burger
• The Hat
• Randy's Donuts
• Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles
• Raffi's Catering and Banquet
• Clearman's Northwoods Inn
• True Food Kitchen
• Optum
• Merry Plumbing of San Marino

Pasadena Magazine called out their editor favorites, including:

Ask yourself 5 questions before buy-now-pay-later holiday purchases-By Jackie Veling

Shoppers gearing up for the 2023 holiday season won’t have to look hard for a convenient way to pay for all those presents.

“ Buy now, pay later ,” a type of payment plan that divides the total cost of your purchase into smaller installments, is offered at most major retailers, including Walmart, Target and Amazon. It’s expected to fuel $17 billion in online holiday spending this year — up almost 17% from 2022 — according to forecast data from Adobe Analytics.

By Soumya Karlamangla, California Today, Writer

What an El Niño winter could mean for California. Plus, Interstate 10 in Los Angeles fully reopens today.

More than 150 inches of snow was reported in areas in California from snowstorms last winter.Philip Cheung for The New York Times

Odds are that this winter’s going to be a wet one.

To shine a spotlight on small and independent local businesses heading into the holiday shopping season, the city of Pasadena and Visit Pasadena have partnered to launch the “Authentically Yours, Pasadena” campaign, which begins on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 25.

The campaign will create welcome stations at 25 small businesses across the city to help inspire both community members and visitors to shop small and dine local. The station will be stocked with canvas shopping tote bags that will be gifted to shoppers on a first-come, first-served basis.