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South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin

December 2022

Last-minute gift ideas and supporting South Dakota businesses

If you’re a last-minute holiday shopper still scrambling for gift ideas, how about taking your cues from the songs of the season? For fun, we compiled a list of gifts suggested in well-known Christmas songs—and the corresponding industries where you can find the items here in South Dakota. DLR supports buying local whenever possible; there’s a direct link to South Dakota job opportunities!

We’ll start with the obvious one, a song devoted to a dozen days of gift ideas, The 12 Days of Christmas.

• Check out one of South Dakota’s 10 Nursery and Tree Production establishments with 52 workers, where you can buy a pear tree or most any other kind of substitute tree for a partridge to sit in.
• Your best bet for not only the partridge in a pear tree, but also two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling birds, six geese a laying, and seven swans a swimming would probably be one of South Dakota’s 28 Pet and Pet Supplies Retailers, which employ 177 people. If your timing is right to catch one of the feathered gifts, another possibility may be South Dakota’s six Poultry Processing plants, with 913 employees. To make sure the fowl don’t smell foul and are healthy, touch base with one of the state’s 81 Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services establishments, which employ 420 workers. Included are pet training services, so you can ensure those calling birds do their job.
• There are a number of options to find five golden rings; South Dakota has 46 Jewelry Stores, which employ 226 workers. Want to get more creative? Check with one of the state’s 54 Travel Agencies to arrange a trip to the next Olympics! They employ 116 people.
• For eight maids a milking, South Dakota has 68 Dairy Cattle and Milk Production facilities; maybe eight of their 1,441 workers would consider hiring out for a unique gift.
• The state’s 50 Fine Arts Schools and their 216 workers may be able to help you with nine ladies dancing, 10 lords a leaping, 11 pipers piping and 12 drummers drumming. Another option would be South Dakota’s seven Musical Group and Artist establishments, which employ 53 individuals. Maybe you want to let the gift recipients do their own piping or drumming. Check with one of our 11 Musical Instrument and Supplies Retailers and their 103 staff.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas offers some gift ideas too. For a pair of skates like Johnny wanted, check out one of South Dakota’s 98 Sporting Goods Retailers; their 1,476 employees are waiting to help you. Not to be outdone by Suzie in her desire for a dolly, get your loved one the perfect doll at one of our 40 Hobby, Toy and Game Retailers, which employ 398 workers. If someone on your list is more like Nellie and wants a storybook, South Dakota has 12 Book Retailers and News Dealers. They employ 89 workers.

We Wish you a Merry Christmas and have more suggestions for you. It might be a challenge to find one that serves figgy pudding, but luckily, there are 629 Full-Service Restaurants to check with; they employ 12,134 workers. Give up finding one? Look for a recipe and make your own, with ingredients from one of the state’s 189 Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores which their 7,900 workers keep stocked and operating. Perhaps a cup of good cheer would be more popular than figgy pudding with those on your list. Shop one of the state’s 41 Beer, Wine and Liquor Retailers and ask their 263 staff for suggestions. Or take your loved one to any of the state’s 381 Alcoholic Beverages Drinking Places and ask one of their 3,182 workers to serve you a cup of good cheer.

If you know someone claiming, “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth,” help replace or preserve those pearly whites by connecting with one of South Dakota’s 321 Offices of Dentists and rely on the skills of their 2,979 staff.

How about taking your gift-giving cue from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? One of the 40 Hobby, Toy and Game Retailers, or one of the 98 Sporting Goods Retailers could probably suggest reindeer games or appropriate alternatives. For a more unexpected gift, how about arranging a visit to see a real reindeer? You might get lucky at one of the state’s five Zoos and Botanical Gardens, which employ 164 workers.

Speaking of reindeer, do you have an accident-prone special someone like poor Grandma who Got Run Over by a Reindeer? Remember the state’s 311 Physicians Offices, which employ 8,115. On the flip side (pardon the pun), if you have someone on your list whose “sleigh” may need insuring against such mishaps with pedestrians, consider contacting one of South Dakota’s 911 Insurance Agencies and Brokerages, which account for 3,490 of the state’s workers. Or maybe you’d prefer to give a gift certificate to one of the state’s 373 General Automotive Repair shops for some repair or restoration work by one of their 1,303 employees.

Think you’d be smarter to take gift guidance from We Three Kings? If you have gold in mind, remember the 46 Jewelry Stores we mentioned above. If you’re thinking more along the lines of Frankincense or Myrrh, you might want to check with one of South Dakota’s 72 Other Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers. Their 227 employees might be of help. Since many of them now carry essential oils, another possibility might be South Dakota’s 136 Pharmacies and Drug Stores, which account for 1,335 workers.

Oh Tannenbaum, why didn’t we think of this sooner? Check with one of the state’s 10 Nursery and Tree Production establishments and their 52 employees to give your loved one a beautiful, fresh Christmas tree.

If those on your Christmas list are still Dreaming of a White Christmas or interested in Walking in a Winter Wonderland after the widespread winter storm last week, how about hiring the snow removal services of one of the state’s 333 Landscaping Services and their 1,667 workers? Or maybe you’ll consider relying on the 2,535 employees of the state’s 499 Temporary Help Services establishments to help with snow removal or other holiday preparations.