MOUNT VERNON — As the holidays make their way to area homes, stores and workplace, many local businesses have been preparing for the merriment to begin. First Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and, finally, Christmas, will arrive. Many people have already begun their shopping through online stores or summer sales, but the closer the holidays come, the busier stores are, complete with longer checkout lines and more full parking lots.
“I ordered [holiday merchandise] last April,” said Jean Wyatt, owner of The Weather Vane in Gambier. “I would say I am prepared — the store is chuck full.”
The ordering process is all year long for many businesses. Right after the holidays end on the calendar, for businesses, the cycle begins again come spring.
“We actually start ordering things in the spring for Christmas, but it is really kind of an all-year-long process,” said Colette Hazen, co-owner of Country Treasures. “You really aren’t into Christmas right when you get done, but that is pretty much when [vendors] come with everything new to show us.”
“Gift giving oftentimes include sweaters and jackets, which are favorites, or a gift certificate often is the right fit for everyone,” said Wyatt.
Jewelry is also a hot sale for the holidays, explained Wyatt.
The holiday season is the biggest time to find sales, discounts and bargains for Christmas shopping.
Local events and advertising makes a big difference for a small business, explained Wyatt, who has already begun displaying sweaters, jackets and more for the holiday season and the colder weather.
Other businesses also promote sale items.
“I have a table of sweaters out front, and during Parents Weekend I do a tent in Middle Path, and that helps,” said Wyatt. “I have been blessed because Artiques, the hair salon, has allowed me to put a display there and that has brought in lots of business.
“I am a destination store,” explained Wyatt. “When people see you every day on Coshocton Avenue, that is different from having to drive to a destination.”
Which, she said, makes advertising and other promoting options so important for the holidays.
“A lot of our Christmas stuff is in, but we don’t put it out until the beginning of November,” said Hazen.
For the people who start their Christmas shopping early in the year, some stores do keep a selection specifically for that holiday season. But as for others, the holiday shopping rush usually begins in November.
“We keep a small selection for Christmas all year long and there are people who are picking things up through the year,” said Hazen.
At Country Treasures, she said, many items make the perfect gift for the holidays; candles, ornaments, home decorations are all a big commodity for the holiday season.
Certain merchandise is on sale through the holidays into the new year, making these items hot tickets.
“Snowmen are something that we carry in through January, February, and people [like to] decorate all winter with them,” said Hazen.
Although the economy has been unstable, some small businesses have persevered.
“Our business has remained steady, so I guess I am optimistic [about the holiday season],” said Hazen.
For 33 years The Weather Vane has been in business, and Wyatt understands the fluctuation that can take place in an unstable economy.
“Sure people are cautious looking for sales and looking for good deals, and that is what they tend to gravitate to. Everyone likes a bargain,” she said.
Not only does the economy affect customers’ buying spirit, national events do as well.
“I always know it is going to be slow before an election; people are too overwhelmed by all the negativity on television,” said Wyatt.
