Old mother Hubbard may find a familiar scene in Celadonna after the 2009 Christmas shopping season.

The cupboards at the Okotoks kitchen store were bare, but unlike the nursery rhyme it brings a smile to to the face of owner Donna Pavka.

It was a strong Christmas shopping season the downtown Okotoks business.

“It just ended up being a good year,” she said. “It’s only my second Christmas so I don’t know what to expect.”

Pavka said business started to pick up in October and she expected it to continue into December.

It’s a similar story for many Okotoks businesses which ended 2009 on a good note, but it’s not the same story across town as others saw a slower year than in the past.

Cathy Reynolds, Fresh Country manager, said 2009 ended better than the previous year.

It was the Light Up Okotoks event that gave the business a good start to the holiday shopping season, she said.

There aren’t a lot of sales, but many of the evening’s browsers returned later.

“They don’t load themselves up that night, but they definitely come back,” she said.

Reynolds said the business saw a lot of customers come to Okotoks from Calgary.

According to Reynolds, holiday ornament sales always give the business a boost and it helps there isn’t much competition in town in the home furnishing business.

Karen Paterson, sommelier at The Wine Station, said it was a good year for the store’s first Christmas.

“It was really, really good. We had a great Christmas season,” she said. “It exceeded our expectations.” According to Paterson, December is always the best month of the year in the wine industry and they had a number of corporate orders for gift baskets and to supply Christmas parties.

It wasn’t all good news as a few stores reported a slow holiday season.

Kim Miller, owner of Off the Hook, said business was down over the Christmas shopping period.

“The whole year was down,” she said.

Her business dropped by 30 per cent in December compared to 2008 and sales were down 18 per cent overall for 2009.

She said weather plays a big role in shopping trends.

She said January was the only good month of 2009, something she credits to the frigid weather helping to keep shoppers in town.

However, she also said the cold spring meant she didn’t sell much from the spring lines she brought in. As a result, she has cut back on her spring orders by $70,000 for this year.

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