Jingle while you Mingle

On the night of November 9, downtown Saratoga resembled something similar to a Hallmark movie as people milled in and out of businesses with shopping bags in tow as they participated in the inaugural Jingle Mingle.

The shopping event was sponsored and developed by the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce and its CEO, Amanda Knotwell. According to Knotwell, the idea of the Jingle Mingle first began in September.

“I was out visiting businesses and stopped in to Strong Tower Designs,” said Knotwell. “While talking with Ray (Bernal), he suggested doing a night of shopping. I loved the idea and started playing around with names.”

Along with a name for the idea, Knotwell also looked for a date which wouldn’t be conflicting with any local events or high school sports. That date was November 9, though it did end up conflicting with a few things: namely parent teacher conferences for the Encampment K-12 School and a rescheduled Saratoga Middle School girls basketball game. After coming up with a name and a date, Knotwell then went into local businesses and asked if they’d be willing to participate by staying open late one night to help kick off the holiday shopping season.

Nearly all the downtown businesses participated and the night also served as a grand opening of sorts for Saratoga’s newest business: The Lucky Pearl. The night, it seemed, was a success for all the businesses.

“The night of I had at least four businesses reach out during and immediately after saying how much fun they had and had so many people stop in,” said Knotwell. “Several businesses saw sales they don’t normally see on a Thursday.”

For Knotwell, it wasn’t exciting to see a number of local businesses participate in the inaugural event.

“It’s great to know that when you have these ideas your local businesses see value in what you are trying to do for them,” said Knotwell.

While the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce still supports Shop Small Saturday, Knotwell said the Jingle Mingle was a variation of the nationwide campaign.

“I like to promote shop small, shop local all year,” said Knotwell. “The Jingle Mingle was an event created to allow locals and businesses to connect. The goal was to get people into stores they don’t typically visit and see what they have to offer.”

With the first Jingle Mingle finished, Knotwell can begin planning for next November. This year the primary goal was just to create the event and have it go off “without a hitch.”

“Now, for next year, I can take feedback from businesses and customers and add to the event,” said Knotwell.