Hinsdale merchants say this holiday shopping season was stronger than last year's
Shoppers at Meredith Jaye consider potential gift purchases in the week before Christmas. Hinsdale merchants said the holiday season was its busiest in the final days before Christmas. (Jim Slonoff photo)
Toni Patisserie & Café had its busiest holiday season ever this year, owner Toni Cox said.
"Both Thanksgiving and Christmas we did way more than our projections, and our projections are pretty aggressive," Cox said last week. "We were pleasantly surprised."
The buche de Noel (yule log) cake, stollen and cookies were the biggest sellers.
"Cookies were crazy. We had a hard time keeping up with them," Cox said.
For the first time this year, the shop sold hors d'oeuvres for folks hosting cocktail parties or holiday dinners.
"We were pleasantly surprised at how well they were received," she said. "It definitely was a good addition."
Holiday baking isn't over for Cox and her staff, who will prepare gallettes des rois, or King's Cakes, for Epiphany on Jan. 6.
"That's a tradition we've been doing for years," Cox said.
The busiest day of the season was Christmas Eve, she said, with Dec. 23 being the second-busiest day.
Staff at Alixandra Collections also found the store getting busier the closer it got to Christmas. Manager Toni Gentleman said she thinks a late Thanksgiving altered shopping patterns.
"There was no urgency, then all of the sudden it was the weekend before Christmas," she said. "Even the 23rd and 24th were like full throttle, everybody out and about shopping.
"That Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday leading up to Christmas were busier than last year," she added. "That was like our season in those five days."
Marketing manager Danielle Piscopo agreed that it seemed to take shoppers some time to start thinking about Christmas.
"When we were setting up our tree, like a week or two before Black Friday, people were like, 'It's so early to set up your tree,' " she said. "It's almost like people's minds weren't in the holiday season until the week before Christmas."
Popular items were Peter and Gabby jewelry, assistant manager Emily Jahn said. And sweaters.
"I think a lot of people here were shopping for themselves," Piscopo said. "A lot of people were looking for outfits for themselves, for holiday parties."
JoAnn Pesa, an associate at Meredith Jaye, said this shopping season was better than last year's and noted that customers filled the store for several weeks.
"Actually we were very busy right around Thanksgiving and throughout the season," she said.
Apparel and home goods, especially Christmas items, were the top sellers. The Dec. 26 sale brought in even more shoppers who wanted to get ready for Christmas 2025.
"A lot of holiday (merchandise) was discounted," Pesa said.
