With only a few days left until Christmas, time is running out for shoppers.

And for those who will procrastinate until the final hours, downtown merchants offer some suggestions of popular last minute gift ideas.

Karen Ruggles, the owner of the Cinnamon Tree said some of their most popular items include Ronaldo bracelets, Vera Bradley, candles, pottery and even ornaments.

The Cinnamon Tree will open from 11 a.m. to around 3:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and Ruggles said she is curious as to how it will play out this year, since it falls on a Sunday.

“Typically we have a big crowd on Christmas Eve,” Ruggles said.

Most of the other stores downtown will close on Sunday, with Saturday being the last day to shop for Christmas gifts.

Last minute shoppers gravitate toward jewelry, slippers, lotions, hot chocolate on a stick and paper white bulbs at Sassafras, said the owner Nancy Bullard, and at Peterson’s Antiques, Kim Ferris said they sell a lot of food items, which are already wrapped in gift bags and ready to give.

“We also sell a ton of Melissa & Doug,” Ferris said, which is a children’s’ toy line. 

Dragonfly owner, Shanon Shealy said popular last minute gift items in her store include jewelry, candles and bath and body products.

And for Kay Monsour, the owner of the Southern Cottage Green Door Market, she said she has no idea what to expect from those who will be shopping at the last minute.

This will be Monsour’s first time as a retailer on Washington Street, but so far, popular items sold have included handmade makeup bags and candles and Fingerlings, which is an interactive toy.

“We got 60 in and sold almost all of them in three days,” Monsour said.

There are still a few left in the store for those interested.

While a few folks will simply put off Christmas shopping altogether until the absolute last minute, Bullard said most shoppers are just looking to add to what they have already purchased

“There are some who are just looking to pick up something extra,” Bullard said.

Although men are known to wait until the last minute to shop, downtown merchants concurred they also see women out on the last shopping day, too.

“We see both men and women shopping,” Shealy said, but Ruggles added that it is usually more men.

“You get all these guys that don’t know what to buy,” Ruggles said.

For those who have delayed their Christmas shopping, Ferris had a few words of wisdom, “Don’t wait too late!”