The temptation to make purchases online is great. You simply make a few clicks, enter a credit card number and your purchase just “magically” shows up at your door in a few days.

But the problem with that scenario is that those clicks and all of that money leaves our community and never returns.

The Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce is aiming to stem that green tide this year, but focusing attention where it matters — here at home.

The chamber’s local shopping campaign has been dubbed Think Natchez First.

The title is an acknowledgement that everything in the world is not readily available in Natchez or Vidalia.

But much of what we purchase at the holidays is available here, if we only stop and think about our community first.

Over the last 15 to 20 years, our community has lost a large number of manufacturing jobs and in many cases, the people who filled those jobs have moved away as well.

That puts a strain on our local economy, as does the migration to more and more shopping online.

But did you know that if you make a little bit of effort and think — and ultimately shop — Natchez first, you would be investing in our community?

Spending locally matters a great deal, both to local businesses that employ locals and pay local taxes, but also to the community as a whole.

When our economy is clicking along, everything works better. We have better, more robust police and fire protection, a better quality of life for existing residents and prospective residents and businesses as well.

Let’s make an impact locally this year by giving our area a present and simply thinking about our community and shopping at home this year.