This year it’s the thought that counts

Val Spraggner is shopping for practical gifts this holiday season.

Instead of toys and clothing for her young nieces and nephews, the Silver Lake resident will contribute to their college funds or make a donation in their names to a charitable organization like Habitat for Humanity.

She’ll buy something small for her daughter who recently moved to Philadelphia.

“It’s all about small, thoughtful gifts, especially this year with the economy being so bad,” Spraggner said. “I think it’s more important to give the kids something they can monitor year after year, something that will continue working for them long into the future.”

Spraggner and her friend, Candice Taylor, were shopping at Mill Creek’s Town Center, where merchants have struggled through the years to keep afloat.

Several Town Center businesses have come and gone, including — most recently — the House of Bread, which alerted local customers in a mass e-mailing last month that the bakery would close after Thanksgiving.

The economic forecast heading into the holiday season suggested tough times were in store for retailers and consumers alike.

“The way the economy’s going, it’s definitely changed the way we celebrate Christmas in my family,” Taylor said.

She’s shopping for her three grandchildren this year and one other family member whose name she pulled out of a hat.

“Restraint” is the word on everyone’s lips these days.

Local retail centers appear busy enough; the parking lots are full and the sidewalks are packed with people carrying shopping bags.

But it turns out consumers’ purchases this year are far more conservative than in years past.

People like Mill Creek resident Mark Wilson are cutting back on their expenses should they need a cushion down the road,

“I picked up the paper (on Saturday) and it said right there on the front page that 550,000 jobs were lost in November alone,” Wilson said. “It’s staggering.”

He thought nothing last year of spending hundreds of dollars on his friends and family at Christmas time. This year, Wilson isn’t exchanging gifts with his friends and he’s shopping very conservatively for select family members.

“People are more worried about keeping their jobs than they are about Christmas pres -ents,” he said. “It makes you think twice about the stuff you buying; you want to hold onto your money just in case.”

Mill Creek Business Association president Mary Basili has heard rumblings that a number of local merchants are on the verge of closing shop; some are gone already.

“It’s affecting everyone,” Basili said of what economists are now calling an economic recession. “A lot of businesses are hurting, especially those on the retail end. But some businesses are flourishing. It varies quite a bit.”

It’s not surprising to hear retail giants like Macy’s complain of lackluster sales.

But many small, local-based establishments are sailing through, in some cases reporting better holiday sales over last year’s receipts.

The owners of Musings, a gallery boutique in Town Center, have seen a steady stream of customers come through their doors since Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

“We’re doing great,” store co-owner Leigh Ann Weller said. “We’re seeing a lot of Mill Creek folks in the store than we have in the past, so it certainly seems that people shopping closer to home this year” as opposed to the malls and discount stores in outlying areas.

Weller says Town Center merchants offer something consumers can’t find at the mall — customer service combined with unique, affordable merchandise.

“We’re fun,” Weller said. “People visit our store and find things here they can’t get anywhere else. Once they find us they usually come back.”

Specialty stores like Musings cater to shoppers who — instead of buying loads of gifts for their loved ones this year — are looking for one or two thoughtful keepsakes

“The holidays aren’t really about the gifts this year,” Taylor said. “Because of the economy, people are focusing less on buying and receiving and more on what the holidays are supposed to be — a time to spend with friends and loved ones and being thankful for all that we already have.”