More than 70 million Americans were expected to be support their locally owned businesses and do some shopping on Small Business Saturday. Among the crowds were some well-known faces.

President Barack Obama and his daughters Malia and Sasha headed to Politics & Prose, a Washington, DC, independent bookstore. The White House reported that the President bought a list of 21 books as holiday gifts, including All That Is, a fiction novel by James Salter that accounts the life of a World War II veteran, and The Kite Runner by Afghan-American novelist Khaled Hosseini. 

Many athletes, actors, politicians and other celebrities expressed their support for Small Business Saturday on Twitter and said they planned to shop or eat at local retailers and restaurants.

World champion tennis player Serena Williams tweeted that she planned to eat at Christopher’s Kitchen, an organic lifestyle restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida: “Today is Small Business Saturday! I will #ShopSmall @cklivingfoods. Where are you shopping today?”

Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, said she planned to visit Birch Coffee, a small New York City coffee chain, while Glee actress Lea Michele said she planned to shop at Switch Boutique in Beverly Hills, a high-end women’s fashion boutique.

U.S. Senator Cory Booker spent a full day supporting New Jersey’s small businesses. He visited several towns over the course of the day, including getting bagels at Knot Just Bagels in Woodbridge, eating lunch at Old Man Rafferty’s in Asbury Park, and buying coffee at The Coffee Mill Roasters in Millburn.

Booker reminded his Twitter followers, “Small businesses employ more than 50% of the NJ workforce: http://cor.bo/Ik46Op  (2010 numbers) #smallbizsaturday #shopsmall.”

Two members of President Obama’s cabinet, including acting Small Business Administration administrator Jeanne Hulit, were hitting up small shops in Portland, Maine.

Many of the celebrities and politicians out showing their support for Small Business Saturday stopped to pose for photos with fellow shoppers and fans. “Ecstatic that I got to meet Cory Booker in #millburn pic.twitter.com/xSt8AyDcrQ,” tweeted one happy supporter, @azwolk.

Read more Small Business Saturday articles, including an interview with the small-business owner President Obama shopped with last Small Business Saturday.

Photo: Getty Images