NATCHEZ — Christmastime sales tax collections for the city were up more than $12,000 over last fiscal year’s collections for December.

Collections for December were approximately $522,000, up nearly 2.5 percent from December 2010, and the best December collections since the 2007-08 fiscal year.

Sales tax numbers for February reflect collections in December. Collections are reported two months after.

Christmas in Natchez Committee member René Adams said she attributes the success of the Christmas celebrations to the community’s increasing momentum and support for Christmas events.

“In general, I think there has been huge collective effort of the community to get behind Christmas in Natchez,” she said.

Adams also said she believes the recent push toward shopping local is responsible for a more successful Christmas season.

“I think there has been a conscious effort during this recession to shop local with the people that keep the community going.”

Christmas in Natchez Committee Co-Chair Ginger Hyland said she, too, believed increased community support of Christmas in Natchez events and shopping local, as well as the increase in Christmas activities boosted the local economy during the holidays.

“It’s wonderful for numbers to be up for this Christmas, especially since we have such a tough economy right now,” Hyland said.

Adams said she believes new events during the Christmas celebration, such as ice-skating on the bluff and the multiple fireworks shows, brought more people downtown to spend money.

Christmas in Natchez, Hyland said, will continue to grow, and she said she expects an even bigger Christmas next holiday season.

“When we started the committee three years ago, December was the city’s second-worst month of the year,” she said. “Christmas should make it one of the best, and I want to see December get to be one of our top months.”