STORES WILL BE DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS TRADE

Will Take on Yuletide Appearance by the Beginning of Next Week

MERCHANTS OPTIMISTIC

Expect Good Volume of Business Will Be Transacted During Next Month

[The Welland-Port Colborne Evening Tribune, 25 November 1931]

November 25- just one month until Christmas-and yet there has been no snow and very little cold weather. The past week has made one think more of Easter than of Christmas. Despite the mild weather, the people of Port Colborne, Humberstone and district are beginning to think of Christmas and to plan their Christmas shopping while the merchants are turning their thoughts to the Christmas business and to planning Christmas displays. It is reported that prospects for an excellent volume of Christmas business are good.

Conditions are better for a larger volume of the holiday business this year than in some time for prices are generally lower than they have been for a number of years. Such seasonal articles of merchandise as china, glassware, leather goods, silverware and the numerous article so wearing apparel of wools and silks, are priced lower this year than in a long time and it is certain that a great many gift shoppers will take advantage of these lower prices this season.

Gift Merchandise Lower Priced

Silver is from 15 to 20 per cent lower at the present time than last year and the corresponding drop in the price of articles of this metal such as plates, baskets, trays, cutlery, dinnerware and dresserware will, it is anticipated, enjoy a much larger sale than in other years. China, with the duty removed, is lower in price, reductions of about 15 per cent over prices of recent years prevailing. Enquiry reveals that gift merchandise of almost every variety will sell this season at prices which will range from 10 to 20 per cent lower than during the past few years.

Merchants Preparing

That the Christmas business will begin a few days is indicated by the preparations being made this week by the merchants of the town. Already displays of toys are being arranged in one store while another has a Christmas display in one of its windows. At a meeting of the executive of the merchant’s association held this week, plans were made to have every store in the association decorated for the Christmas trade by the first of next week while the displays of gift merchandise will begin to appear during the remainder of the week and by next week much of the display space in the stores will be given over to the Christmas trade.

Officers of the businessmen’s association interviewed yesterday, stated that they were preparing for the largest Christmas trade in years, saying that prevailing prices, they were certain, would make for even better holiday season buying than in the past few years.