HOBOKEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — If you want to skip the mega-malls and big department stores, think small. Local mom-and-pop shops also have holiday deals.

Those stores will be highlighted Saturday for national Small Business Saturday.

“We love Hoboken. We love this town. We definitely want to support in any way, especially all the stores that were hit by Sandy,” Hoboken resident Lara Litton told CBS 2’s Dave Carlin on Friday.

Sheila Dallara of Hoboken can buy toys elsewhere, but she said she’ll only do it in her town, where her bucks help buy a bounce back.

“It’s so important to support local businesses and help bring them back,” Dallara said.

When Sandy zapped the store’s power, Big Fun Toys on Washington Street lost more than just a week of business.

“It’s a huge hit for a small business,” storm manager Kathleen Childs said. “We really are going to be relying on this holiday season to catch up with the effects of Sandy.”

Sandy-related flood damage and power problems cost one owner Carlin met her business, but as he toured the business district with Gregory Dell’Aquila of Hoboken’s Chamber of Commerce he saw most of the merchants on busy Washington Street ready for shoppers and a big event on Saturday.

“A lot of these stores were flooded. A lot of these stores had no power,’ Dell’Aquila said. “Tomorrow is shop small business Saturday.”

“When you’re supporting local businesses you support people who live, the people who work here, live here and it’s a good, efficient way of supporting the town you live in,” Childs added.

Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below …