What's at stake:
For many, the holiday season highlights the pressures of consumer culture and economic inequality. Local efforts to share resources, support small businesses, and rethink traditions offer both relief and a model for stronger community connection.
This holiday season, many Fresno residents are flipping the script on the usual frenzy of shopping and sales. Instead of racing to big-box stores or hunting for online deals, neighbors are coming together to celebrate creativity, community, and sharing.
A Deloitte Holiday Retail Survey released in October found that, amid economic uncertainty, shoppers are relying more on deals, digital conveniences, and seasonal experiences to keep spirits up. Younger consumers, particularly Generation Z, expect to tighten their budgets, planning to spend about 34% less than they did last year.
And at least some Fresno-area businesses are feeling that pain this year.
Ashley Mireles-Guerrero, cofounder of Judging by the Cover, says inflation, economic uncertainty, and shifting tariffs have all made this holiday season more challenging for the Fresno bookstore.
“We don’t need folks to complete their entire holiday list with us (though we wouldn’t complain!), but even shifting $20–$40 of your gift budget to a local shop makes a real, tangible difference,” Mireles-Guerrero said. “For big-box stores, $20 is nothing. For us, it’s a lifeline. Small, consistent purchases truly keep us going.”
Shoppers are spending more cautiously, she said, and some regulars, such as those affected by government furloughs, have pulled back. Nonprofit partners have also reduced bulk orders as arts funding shrinks and new restrictions limit federal grants to LGBTQ+ organizations. Several nonprofit publishers the store relied on have closed after losing National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) support.
Tariffs have added instability, leading some publishers to cancel products entirely.
Mireles-Guerrero said nearly all of the store’s box sets and puzzles vanished from orders this year. Spanish-language titles are harder to source and more expensive, with one book rising from $12.99 in June to $14.99 by October. Overall, holiday sales are down 20% from last year.
Why holiday spending feels harder this year
Many shoppers joined national economic blackouts of big corporations who have rolled back DEI initiatives throughout the year. More people are finding it harder to afford the things they want to give as gifts or to afford food for holiday meals. This is especially true for lower and middle-income adults, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Word-of-mouth is another powerful way to support local businesses, Mireles-Guerrero said. Advertising costs have surged, and social media algorithms make it harder for small businesses to reach customers. Personal recommendations, sharing events, or simply liking and commenting on posts can help independent stores break through the noise.
“When someone recommends us to their friends, suggests our store for a day out, or shares our events, that kind of organic support matters more than people realize,” Mireles-Guerrero said.
Shopping local, Mireles-Guerrero added, also keeps money circulating within the community, often supporting multiple creators at once. A purchase at a neighborhood bookstore or café can uplift local artists, authors, and small vendors housed under the same roof, Mireles-Guerrero said, helping sustain a fragile ecosystem of independent businesses during a make-or-break season.
At Bad Kids Club, a vintage clothing store, owner Fabio Linares, says tariffs have had less impact on his vintage clothing shop than the broader climate of fear caused by ICE activity and immigration raids, which have affected both suppliers and customers.
He adds that community support doesn’t have to be complicated: engaging with and sharing posts on social media helps visibility, and choosing local alternatives over big-box chains whenever possible keeps money in Fresno’s small-business economy.
Events have popped up across Fresno, from an Anti-Holiday X-mas Party to a grassroots “Black Friday Alternative” mutual aid market, which offer an alternative to consumer culture.
“Anti-holiday sounds negative, but that’s not the purpose,” Fresno artist and organizer Antonio Quevedo said. “We can’t be the only ones feeling this way right now, so let’s make a message out of it.”
For many, these events are a practical response to rising living costs, shrinking Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit reductions, and other economic pressures.
But it’s not all bad news for business, in the U.S., online shoppers spent $44.2 billion during the five-day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, according to an Adobe Analytics report. The Adobe report also predicts that online spending for the full holiday season (Nov. 1 to Dec. 31) will reach $253.4 billion, compared to $241.4 billion last year.
While the concept of “anti-holiday” is almost as traditional as the holiday itself, many Fresno residents said this year is different because of the uncertainty surrounding the economy, which has made traditional holiday spending more stressful for local families.
How a local anti-holiday Arthop event celebrated creativity over consumerism
For Quevedo, the annual holiday shopping rush felt like the perfect moment to do something different.
Quevedo coorganized on Dec. 4 what he called The Anti-Holiday X-mas Party, also known as Essence of Art Hop: Ugly Sweater Edition, in collaboration with My Homie’s Kitchen. Rather than leaning into the commercial aspects of the season, he said the goal was to showcase Fresno’s creative community.
“The main thing is to support local talent, local vendors that make jewelry and stuff like that,” Quevedo said. “Instead of having to go to the big stores, let’s try to get some folks to come and fuck with us, and celebrate the creative people here in town.”
The tongue-in-cheek branding, with its “anti-holiday” theme and ugly sweater contest, served as both a critique and an invitation.
“We didn’t want to say, ‘Fuck Christmas,’ that’s not what we’re saying,” Quevedo said. “Hopefully people read between the lines. It’s anti-corporate-ish.”
He said the mood around the holidays may be shifting in Fresno. While major traditions like Christmas Tree Lane remain beloved, recent changes, such as the cancellation of “walk nights,” sparked frustration among community members, including himself.
“That little stuff is kind of important,” Quevedo said.
Angelica Quintero, who sold pens and assorted trinkets at the anti-holiday event, said she appreciates pop-up events that celebrate a different take on the holiday season—inclusive spaces for people who don’t connect with traditional Christmas imagery.
Quintero launched her small business, Jelly Falls, in 2020, inspired by her love for the Nintendo game Animal Crossing.
“When you think of Christmas, what I see is a traditional Christian holiday,” Quintero said. “But this is a way to embrace all people. It very much embraces the alternative side of things.”
Quintero describes herself as Christian and says she loves Christmas, but in both her business and her full-time work with the public, she tries to hold space for different beliefs and celebrations.
“If you love Fresno, support its people,” Quintero said. “Just support small businesses, local businesses. It’s hard to promote your business, so places like this are pretty cool. I’ve learned a lot about Fresno within this space already and I’ve lived here my whole life.”
How a Fresno sharing collective is rethinking consumption
Besides shopping locally, a group of Fresno residents has challenged the holiday shopping frenzy with a “Black Friday Alternative” sharing market, held Nov. 22 at Jaswant Singh Khalra Park.
The group, called Share Fresno, is a grassroots mutual aid collective founded in May by community members who grew concerned about access to imported goods after the President Donald Trump administration announced high tariffs. The group hosts events that encourage residents to rethink consumer culture.
“It was about coming together and sharing what we had instead of panicking,” said Emily Cameron, one of the organizers. “Our goal is to help people see that they can reuse or share what they already have, and not feel pressured to buy new things from big box stores.”
Items shared at the event ranged from children’s bikes and school supplies to clothing, household tools, and electronics. The requirement was for people to bring items they no longer needed, exchange them with others, and not sell anything.
Share Fresno plans to continue the sharing events into the new year, with another gathering tentatively planned this spring. The organizers hope to expand beyond holiday-specific events and explore additional food-sharing initiatives.
“It’s a simple idea: What if we used something twice?” Cameron said. “What if we borrowed something instead of buying something that’s probably not well made anymore? “People are getting fed up with the predatory tactics of these big stores and hyper-consumerism culture.”
