If you're in the process of buying the perfect gifts this holiday season, small businesses in the Rio Grande Valley are opening their doors for you.

The McAllen Chamber of Commerce is trying to help bring in more customers with a yearly initiative.

Edna Posada is the co-owner of several small businesses in the Valley. Her life as an entrepreneur started more than three decades ago.

"If we can get the sales, that's even a plus," Posada said.

She's been a member of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce for more than 20 years. For the second year in a row, she's part of their annual Holiday Shopping Tour Initiative.

"This year, we have higher expectations because we saw a high turnout last year. So we're really hoping that this initiative will continue to build and will bring us new clients," Posada said.

Posada says being part of this initiative brought in more foot traffic and social media engagement to Spa La Posada.

"It brings people to know about our business because too many times we get taken for granted, because we've been in business forever, and then people say 'oh my god, I remember, I used to go there all the time. Why did I stop going?'" Posada said.

Posada says her business has been booming thanks to the community's support, but she's aware some small businesses throughout the Valley are struggling.

With this initiative, the McAllen Chamber of Commerce hopes to boost the 11 pre-selected participating businesses, as well as encourage both residents and visitors to shop in McAllen.

Clients who participate in this holiday shopping tour can also benefit from it.

"Every week we're drawing special prizes, $1,000 or a mystery gift option," McAllen Chamber of Commerce President Elizabeth Suarez said. "You snap a photo of yourself shopping or if you've ordered online or previously purchased from that store, take a photo of your purchase with the logo of that store, and you're registered to win."

The McAllen Chamber of Commerce says 90 percent of small businesses call the Valley home. More than half of them have five employees or fewer.

Many of them don't have a marketing or communications person in charge of attracting more customers using tools like social media.

"We do an open a call, and it's a first come, first served," Suarez said. "The business gets a great opportunity to be part of this marketing campaign. They invest about $200 to be part of it."

The city of McAllen is contributing $100,000 to this initiative, for expenses like marketing and giveaways

The chamber hopes it grows next year, so more business can take part and bring in more sales.

Watch the video above for the full story.