NATCHEZ &045;&045; Celebrating a 20th anniversary at her Main Street shop this year, Mary Lees Wilson has high hopes for an excellent holiday shopping season on Main Street and beyond.

&uot;We’re excited about the season. We are full speed ahead,&uot; she said, with bustling sounds of a full house of shoppers behind her as she spoke by phone from One of a Kind Gifts, 409 Main St., on Friday.

Learning recently about the surprising third quarter rise in the economic numbers nationwide, Wilson wondered whether Natchez, too, could expect a good shopping season.

&uot;It is very important for us, especially this year,&uot; she said. Jobs lost as a result of the closing of International Paper’s Natchez mill has had all retailers nervous.

&uot;But we already had planned for a big season and already had bought for it,&uot; she said. &uot;And I think business has started to pick up now.&uot;

Wilson told of one customer who lives in Woodville who vowed to do no holiday shopping other than in Woodville or Natchez.

&uot;That is what it will take, people shopping at home,&uot; Wilson said. &uot;If we don’t support each other, it won’t be just IP that is closing.&uot;

Christmas shopping has a huge impact on all retailers in a small town like Natchez. At one of the city’s largest retailers, McRae’s at the Natchez Mall, manager Mary Flach said the season comprises 25 percent of the whole year’s profits.

&uot;People need to know how important it is to shop at home,&uot; she said. &uot;The whole season is extremely important.&uot;

Like Wilson, she has urged buyers for McRae’s to send plenty of new merchandise for the shoppers. This year, they listened and responded, she said.

&uot;Oh, my goodness. We are packed. We have joked that we may have to hang some things from the ceiling,&uot; Flach said.

In addition to all the extras in departments such as cosmetics, where fragrances are a big Christmas selection, McRae’s Natchez store also has added an entirely new department to the children’s store. &uot;Our new FAO Schwartz toys is doing very well,&uot; Flach said. &uot;We’re in the toy business now.&uot;

Local stores have all the Natchez-area shopper could want, she said. &uot;We have everything the big stores have.&uot;

At Turning Pages Books & More, 208 Washington St., owner Mary Emrick said small retail businesses absolutely depend on local customers, especially during the busy

holiday shopping season.

&uot;It helps so much when people shop locally. We really depend on our locals in order for us to stay here,&uot; Emrick said.

Book stores add to inventories for the season, also. &uot;We have tons of books we don’t normally have and then lots of copies of books we usually have only one of,&uot; she said.

Natchez store owners have learned to provide special touches that will bring the customer into the store and encourage them to return. Many, like One of a Kind and Turning Pages, are open seven days a week.

&uot;And we also are participating in the First Friday program,&uot; Emrick said. That program, sponsored by the Downtown Development Association, provides shopping at participating stores until 8 p.m. each first Friday in the month.

Kathleen Curlee at Audubon Gallery, 603 Franklin St., echoed the emphasis on shopping at home. &uot;We have everything anyone else has right here in Natchez,&uot; she said. &uot;And merchants take extra steps to attract shoppers, like giving extra discounts to those who don’t use the credit card.&uot;

Free gift wrap is important to many shoppers at this time of the year, and most of the small retailers provide that service. In fact, Wilson said she believes that is a big attraction at her store.

&uot;So many people shop with us just because of our gift wrap. People like to give beautiful packages,&uot; she said. &uot;People like getting beautiful packages, too.&uot;