As snow blankets the ground and festive cheer fills the air, businesses in downtown Orillia are embracing the bustling holiday shopping season.
“I usually come up here at least once in the Christmas season to pick up items,” says Kathy Miller, a longtime visitor from Uxbridge. “I’m just kind of looking for those one-of-a-kind, unique things that you might not find at a generic, big-box store.”
Miller has been Christmas shopping at Mariposa Market for about a decade.
“It’s very pretty and it’s very uplifting; it gets you in the spirit,” she says.
Patti Bailey, the owner of Allure, says staying open later during the holiday shopping season is helpful for the downtown district.
“A lot of people work during the day. They finish work at five or six and they want to come downtown and do some shopping,” she says. “As a downtown group, I think we certainly got together and tried to pull through for our late-night shopping on Thursdays.”
Other stores like Gilbert Guitars and Lahay’s Hobby & Crafts are opening on Sundays to accommodate holiday shoppers.
Jeff Gilbert, owner of Gilbert Guitars, says the festive decorations put up by the Downtown Orillia BIA help draw people in.
“I really like how the BIA did all the Christmas decorations downtown,” he says. “It makes it look a lot nicer with all the poles, like the lights on all the poles and all the decorations and the wreaths and all that stuff. We’ve got a reindeer out front of our store that’s all lit up all the time. That helps.”
Deron Johnston, executive director of the Downtown Orillia BIA, says this time of year is “very important” for local businesses.
“It naturally falls at the end of the year, so it’s a nice, big, sort of sales boost for the businesses to finish the year on a high like this. And, of course, because there’s so many people and so much traffic, it’s sort of a great way to connect and try to find new customers,” he says.
The BIA also invests in physical improvements, such as decorating the Orillia Opera House tree and wrapping downtown lamp posts in Christmas lights.
“All of those investments are adding up to what we want, and that’s to beautify, illuminate and animate the downtown. It’s about creating the environment where people want to come downtown and go for a walk, shop, and wander,” he says.
Megan Murray, who owns and operates Jack & Maddy — A Kids’ Store with her mother, has noticed a change.
“We’ve seen an uptick in foot traffic, so we have seen more folks coming through, which is nice to see,” she says.
Despite this, Murray says she was worried tighter budgets may be a challenge for families this year.
“I actually think we’re on par with previous years,” she says. “I was a little bit concerned because I know budgets are a bit tighter this year and everything’s gotten a little pricier, but folks seem to have been spending about the same as they have in previous years.”
Daniele Aquino and her son were doing some shopping in Murray’s store earlier this week. Aquino says her budget is the biggest challenge she faces while shopping this year.
Even though she is concerned with pricing, she tries to support local businesses.
“I try to shop locally when I can. I try not to, you know, support Amazon and Walmart too much,” she says.
Sue Guilherme, owner of Lahay's Hobby & Crafts, says one of the new toys she brought in for the holiday season hasn’t sold as expected.
“I think it’s the price point. That’s why people are afraid, looking at it,” she says. “That was one thing that I thought would have just flown off the shelf, but I still have a couple in the store.”
While businesses like Lahay’s navigate pricing challenges, other store owners, like Michael Fredson of Manticore Books, focus on adapting their stock for the holiday season.
“We sort of have three different seasons in books. So, it’s very different kinds of products that we bring in for the holiday season compared to a normal part of the year,” he says.
He was referring to the “more giftty books ... say, humour ones, or some art-style stuff or different products that people really usually only give as gifts, not necessarily something that somebody buys all the time for themselves.”
Fredson says the Canada Post strike has made ordering books though couriers more difficult as everything has backed up.
“Usually, even this time of the year, we’re sort of able to order stuff special, but we can’t get anything in right now,” he says. “We kind of had to buy a little bit more this year compared to normal and just hope that we’d be able to get stuff in, so it’s a bit of a challenge.”
As the holiday season continues, downtown Orillia’s local businesses stand ready to welcome shoppers, offering unique gifts, personalized service, and a festive atmosphere.
Abigail Noble is an intern from Carleton University.
