Dec 21, 2009

Last call for ChristmasBy Hope HodgeENCToday.com

Onslow County shoppers took advantage of the last weekend before Christmas to check the last items off their gift lists.

Julie Bell-Voorhees, the owner of Bumblebee Market in Surf City, said she had noticed that closer to Christmas her male clientele would increase, shopping at the last minute and opting to come to a specialty store that offered gift advice and free wrapping rather than a larger store or chain.

“Christmas Eve was one of our biggest sales days last year,” she said. “We expect that this year will be the same.”

To market to shoppers who don’t have much time to get their newly purchased gifts under the tree, Bell-Voorhees ordered special gift bags for Christmas Eve to help get gifts ready for giving. She is also running a “12 days of Christmas” special, with a different free gift each day through Dec. 24 for customers who spend more than $25 in the store.

Ray Brittain, of Holly Ridge, stopped into Bumblebee Market for the first time on Saturday, looking for a white elephant gift for a coworker. Since he works at the Surf City Marina, an employee directed him to a seafood cookbook, which he had wrapped, and picked up some chocolate non-pareils and a cup of coffee on his way out the door.

It was his first day of Christmas shopping, Brittain said, but he would be back as he finished his gift buying in the coming week.

“I like Mom-and-Pop stores,” he said.

At Eastern Outfitters on Richlands Highway, Sandy Phillips, of Swansboro, looked through a bin of socks. The brunt of her Christmas work, she said, was done.

“I’m just looking for stocking stuffers now,” she said.

Phillips said her method was to travel around, looking for the cheapest deals and visiting smaller stores where she could get in and out more quickly.

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