Even on a Sunday, crowds of Christmas shoppers can be seen looking for that perfect gift in stores like Petal Pushers Christmas. Shoppers from all over Georgia - and even surrounding states - are wising up and coming to Washington to do their Christmas shopping. Avoiding the crowded big-city malls, more shoppers than ever have been descending on Washington to find unique Christmas gifts, to relax and eat, and just to visit.

"So many people are discovering they'd rather soak up the small-town feeling of shopping among friends here in Washington, rather than fight those awful crowds at the mall," said Ashley Turner, the Chamber of Commerce's Tourism Director. "All the store owners I've talked to over the past few weekends said they had great business since Candlelight Shopping week before last, and that Thanksgiving weekend was very, very good."

"We've done very well," said Robert Geiger, co-owner of Talk of the Town. "Thanksgiving weekend was extraordinary."

The crowds of shoppers also filled restaurants in town. Mike Todd said that The Fitzpatrick Restaurant has been serving record numbers of diners through the Christmas shopping season. "We've had great crowds for dinner, and Sunday brunch sometimes even gets a waiting line, like today," he said Sunday.

Having a string of special events like Candlelight Shopping, art shows, historic Christmas events and the Christmas Tour of Homes are a big additional draw for visitors, Ashley Turner said. "There's always something else going on in town, like the art show and sale, and Christmas at Callaway, and the Christmas Tour weekend, that give folks from out of town an extra reason to come here to shop."

"The only reason I'm getting my husband to come on the Christmas Tour," said Marguerite Hammell of Norcross, "is that he won't go to a mall, but he's willing to shop with me in Washington. There's always something for him to do here, too."

"We love the personal attention you get from shop owners like Henry and Shay at Petal Pushers," said Rosemary Reynolds of Atlanta. "Plus the stores here have antiques and gifts that I just haven't found anywhere else, and we don't have to worry about parking or traffic." Some shoppers have enjoyed special

after-hours shopping parties at Petal Pushers Christmas Store, and the Aiken County, S.C., Humane Society held their fourth annual Christmas fund-raiser there Sunday afternoon, bringing scores of shoppers to Washington. Such group events are becoming more and more common.

"These shoppers are important," Turner said. "People coming here from out of town to shop, to eat dinner, to stay at a hotel or bed and breakfast inn, they all contribute to keeping those businesses thriving here in Washington and Wilkes County, and thriving businesses mean service sector jobs that people here need. This money comes into Wilkes County and spreads out all over. We all benefit from folks shopping here."