Last call for Christmas

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.

“I always like to venture out and see if there are any last-minute deals I missed,” she said.

The store’s archery manager, Brian Klauser, said business has been picking up steadily, and hunting guns and archery equipment were among the more popular items.

Starfish Distinctive Gifts and Treasures of Surf City advertised Christmas sales everywhere in the store, with items beginning at a 15 percent markdown and some up to 75 percent off.

Employee JoAnn Sands said many customers were locals but some drove out from Wilmington and Jacksonville to shop.

“We draw them from everywhere,” she said.

Lois and John Sutton, of Kinston, said they were shopping for the last few people on their list. Over the weekend, they stopped into a number of small Surf City shops, looking for “just the perfect things.”

“We’re not a K-Mart, Wal-Mart kind of family,” Lois Sutton said.

After shopping selectively since New Year’s, she said, this was their last trip to the store.

“When the stores close today, we’re going to be done,” she said.

Britney Morrow, the acting manager at Docksider Gifts and Shells in Surf City, said she had noticed a trend, also cited by other storeowners, that customers were opting to buy a few smaller gifts for the names on their lists, instead of a larger, more costly item.

“(Customers have) been buying shells rather than lamps and that kind of thing,” Morrow said.

For Christmas procrastinators, there is good news: Bumblebee Market will be open from 9 a.m. “until people stop coming” on Christmas Eve, Bell-Voorhees said. Eastern Outfitters will be open until 9 p.m. that day, and Starfish and Docksiders will both stay open until 3p.m.

Sands said even if customers are battling an afternoon rush on Christmas Eve, they shouldn’t worry.

“If we’ve got a crowd, we won’t close,” she said. “We never do.”

Contact Hope Hodge at 910-219-8453 or hhodge@freedomenc.com. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment.