Tagged: christmas

For Michigan retailers, Christmas is over and now it’s time to focus on After Christmas sales.

Analysts say the unusually long holiday shopping season, stretching from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, generated sales numbers only modestly better than last year.

Tom Scott is with the Michigan Retailers Association.     He says gift cards were a popular present this year.   Scott says many Michiganders will redeem their gift cards during the next few weeks and probably spend a little more as well.

The holidays bring with them added stress and depression.

Lisa Laughman is an emotional wellness consultant at Michigan State University.

She says there are many reasons why people may feel stressed or depressed this time of year.   This could be the first Christmas without a loved one.    Financial challenges may be making a 'traditional' family Christmas difficult.   Some people say the recent school massacre in Connecticut is also making this feel less like Christmas. 

Michigan retailers are checking their holiday shopping receipts.   

The longer than normal holiday shopping season wraps up amid predictions that sales have not been quite as good as expected.

"We’ve noticed it’s been a little more spread out than usual," Peggy Hayes is the marketing director for the Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, the largest shopping mall in Michigan,  "Often times, people wait until the last minute…but we’re found it’s been spread out…over the holiday season this year.”

Most Michigan children believe Santa Claus brings them presents for Christmas. 

But children in Charlotte KNOW local firefighters are handling the delivery.  Starting about five o'clock, fire engines will start rolling down local streets, delivering presents.  

The Christmas Kiddies program has been providing needy children with presents in Eaton County for more than a hundred years.   This year, more than 400 children will be receiving Christmas presents.

Tyger Fullerton is the deputy fire chief.   He’s the third generation of his family to be part of the program

The holiday shopping season is expected to wrap up in a big way this weekend in Michigan.

This has been a longer than normal holiday shopping season with five full weekends separating Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

Tom Scott is with the Michigan Retailers Association. He says stores have seen their business rise and fall during the past month. Scott says the unevenness of the holiday shopping season can be blamed in part on its length.

Holiday feasts have increased in both complexity and decadence since their 19th century beginnings.

Bill Loomis of the Detroit News spoke with Cyndy about some historic festive spreads.