As Christmas nears, downtown Decorah merchants say they have been busy this holiday season

Sparrows Candles and Gifts has many candles to choose from

Customers searching for Christmas gifts and holiday decor have been out and about in downtown Decorah, keeping local merchants busy as they try to keep their shelves filled with a good selection of merchandise for the shoppers.

Tonya Sparrow of Sparrow's Candles and Gifts has noticed traffic is busy on weekdays, as well as weekends this year. "Sales are up from last year and I've had a lot of out of town traffic. Each day has been a good traffic day for us," said Sparrow.  A favorite among her customers are Christmas candles. "They are hard to keep in stock, they are so popular," added Sparrow.

Decorah Vikings sweatshirts are popular items at Christmas time for Gallery of Tops. Owner Mike Cline says they tend to sell Decorah Viking items including sweatshirts and hats around Christmas. Personalized gifts are popular gifts to give. Adding an embroidered name on Christmas stockings this time of year is a service requested by several of his customers.

Cable knit sweaters and Saxx underwear are popular items at Amundson's Clothing. Manager Jarret Johnson commented their traffic seems to be up and the weather plays a role with shoppers. "It took longer to get colder this year and people tend to wait to shop," commented Johnson.

Socks are a trendy, stocking stuffer item and Decorah Hatchery has plenty of warm, fun colored socks to choose from. Owner Maria Jones said their customers tend to purchase warm apparel items as the weather turns colder. "We get many parents who come to Decorah to pick up their college kids and they like to stop in and shop, along with locals and other out of town shoppers," said Jones.

Executive Director of the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce Kristina Wiltgen says the events they have promoted have gone extremely well, including photos with Santa, the Christmas parade and the Countdown to Christmas promotion.

The Countdown to Christmas promotion is new this year. Shoppers receive an entry form for each $50 they spend (limited to 10 entries per visit) at participating merchants throughout Decorah.  Each week, the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce will collect all of the entry forms, hold a drawing for prize baskets, and contact those who win. "We sent 40,000 entries to all the merchants for Countdown to Christmas. We have the majority of those back and the last drawing for the final basket will be December 26th," said Wiltgen.

Christmas decorations from Sparrow's

Viking apparel at Gallery of Tops

Cable knit sweaters have been a trendy gift choice this season for customers at Amundson's Clothing

There is an entire wall full of warm socks at Decorah Hatchery