Washington retailers are still crunching their numbers for the Christmas shopping season just past, but all indications say that it was a good season and that more and more out of town shoppers are discovering the joys of shopping in a small town.

“We had a good season,” said Henry Harris, whose three Petal Pushers stores saw steady traffic both local and from out of town. “We had even more out of town folks than normal.”

“Traffic in our member stores this Christmas season has been fantastic,” said Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Donna Hardy. “It’s been so exciting to for the Chamber to be here in the Visitor Center on The Square where we can see all the visitors come and go, and they’ve been coming in flocks – from all over.”

Harris attributed some of the extra traffic to regional advertising that some stores did, especially in Thomson and Lake Oconee. “Thomson was real good to us – I guess they’ve run out of places to shop there, and we had a number of Augusta people who had never been to Washington before. They discovered Washington and said they’d definitely be back.”

Thomson shoppers were frequent at Carol McTier’s The Garden Party, too. “I’m from Thomson, and I saw a bunch of folks I hadn’t seen in years,” she said. “We advertised there for the Candlelight Shopping, and a ton of folks from Thomson came for that, and said they thought it was a great idea, and that they’d be back.”

The Washington-Wilkes Visitor Center logged visitors from dozens of states and several foreign countries during the shopping season, and activities at The Fitzpatrick Hotel, Watchmakers Restaurant, and the Washington Jockey Club helped bring in visitors who also shopped while they were here.

After hours shopping parties at Petal Pushers, and Petal Pushers Christmas helped his season, Harris said. “They came from Reynolds Plantation, Elberton, all over, and from their response, we’re hoping to have even more private parties next year.”

Retailers and visitors alike commented on how full and busy Downtown seemed to be. Some downtown employees complained that all the shoppers made it hard for them to park near their stores as they had for years. “But I guess that’s a good problem, isn’t it?” one said.

One new feature this Christmas season was that many of the stores and restaurants were open on Sunday afternoons, and saw good traffic. “With Watchmakers Restaurant serving 50 or 60 for Sunday brunch every week, and a lot of the stores open, we’re seeing Sunday afternoon becoming a regular thing,” Hardy said. Chamber of Commerce volunteers manning the Visitors Center saw dozens of visitors on Sundays throughout the season, too, she said.

Although local shoppers are an important part of retail success in Washington, the growth of visitor commerce made this Christmas a success, Harris said. “We were certainly pleased with the season – folks from all over are finding out about shopping in Washington.”