We hope everyone enjoyed a little yoga, fixed a nice extra special meal one night, and then threw down at a big dance party. We are all wearing lots of hats these days – from small business CEO and the school's head master to the top chef and building custodian. That means its even more challenging to get everything done and to have a little spare time for fun. This week we have a few more suggestions to shake up your stay-at-home routine with activities and a movie night.

If the situation was different, we would all be excited to spend time at home. We are all in this together, and we’ll make it through it with creativity and grace. We’ll be offering a few ideas to break up the boredom and routine while you’re spending more time at home for the next few weeks. Let’s get started! 

One of the traditions John and Faye Cooper established as soon as they could afford to after re-opening the Original Mast Store in Valle Crucis was giving back to the community. Over the years, that tradition has grown and now includes organizations and causes in three major categories – human needs, arts and education, and conservation across all our home communities. That tradition is continuing, but this year, we need your help. That's where Gift Cards for Good comes in.

General stores have always been there for their communities. Now, we need everyone to be there for all.

Do you remember visiting your grandma's house and getting a cut or a scrape? She knew just what to do to help. If you looked in grandma's pocketbook, we bet you'd find a whole arsenal of beauty and health supplies to keep her looking great from sun up to sundown. And they had other uses above and beyond outward health and beauty. It just so happens that many of grandma's go-tos are popular today, too!

This year’s Be a Sweetheart campaign runs February 8th and 9th. For 17 years, sweethearts have doubled their gift giving by embracing the greater community in their expression of love. For each pound of candy purchased on these two days, Mast Store will donate $1 to a food security partner.

Warning, warning … Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching. Now’s the time to make your gift selections to surprise your Valentine. We’ve scoured our stores to come up with nine gifts – some traditional and some you may never have considered for Valentine’s Day. We think they’ll connect with what’s important to your loved one and, by extension, to you, too. Let’s get started.

Have you ever wondered where the practice of making New Year’s Resolutions started? According to History.com, it’s a practice that’s at least 4,000 years old. The Babylonians made promises to the gods to pay their debts and to return items they had borrowed to curry favor. The Romans changed the calendar to start the New Year in January, named for the god Janus, who had two faces – one looking into the past and the other focused on the future. 

The holidays – it’s a time when lots of questions are asked. How do reindeer fly? How does Santa visit everybody’s house all on one night? And what would be a good thing to get John, Susan, and Beth? While the answers to the first two questions will require a lot of research and debate, Mast Store has the answers to the last question. Here are our top 13 gift ideas for 2019.

There is a Japanese proverb that says, “One kind word can warm three winter months.” If a kind word can be so powerful, what can a kind action do? Colder weather is on the way, so coats, hats, and gloves are needed to be ready for it. During the month of November, Mast Store and Columbia Sportswear are partnering for the fifteenth time to Share the Warmth Coat Collection in our home communities

The U. S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “the lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.” Merrell Footwear, an active lifestyle brand, joins the Mast Store for the eleventh year in 2019 to provide Food for Kids (October 21-November 3), a cause that supports funding the weekend food efforts in each of Mast Store’s home communities.

Fall finally made it, and with that, it’s time to pick over the tomatoes, beans, peppers, and whatever else you might have lingering in your gardens one last time. You’ll want to savor what you can as it’s fresh off the vine, but what do you do with the excess? We have a few ideas.