The holiday hustle can be exciting, but sometimes it is good to take a break from the season's stress and regroup physically, mentally and emotionally -- and The New Leaf Tea Room in the Victorian Village of Riverton is just the place to rejuvenate the soul. Read more...

On a recent Saturday afternoon, Bethany Karn perused a display of earrings and necklaces in the Now & Then gift store in Old Town Takoma Park. Although finding the perfect holiday gifts for her loved ones was at the top of her priority list, Karn also was on a mission to give back to hometown businesses by buying as much as possible in the city. Read more...

Local retailers have been busy so far, but many are expecting a flood of shoppers during the eight days before Christmas. Store managers are hoping that shoppers enchanted by the holiday mood will help shore up sales to end an otherwise dismal 2009.

This year glittering holiday ornaments, scented candles and other presents have been moving out the door swiftly at Margo's Gift Shop at Utica Square, said Margo Nelson, whose family has owned the store since 1935. Read more...

Salem, MA - If you’re not done holiday shopping by the time you pick up this week’s Salem Gazette, you probably wish you were.

Now is the time of the dreaded traffic backup all over Route 128 to access the malls, where the crush of people and tedious lines rob some of the joy from the holidays. Read more...

For a long time, customers at Loome Theological Booksellers in Stillwater have asked if the store might consider selling religious gifts in addition to the more than 250,000 books that already line the store’s shelves.

And for a long time, the answer had been no.

However, co-owners Christopher Hagen and Andrew Poole have changed that response. The duo opened Loome Sacred Gifts Nov. 15. Read more...

When the retail going gets tough, the tough tweet.

Retailers have waded deeper and deeper into social media in recent years, going viral to reveal a bit of personality or simply pump promotions.

Yet this year's holiday season, retailers are taking more chances in a medium both tantalizing -- it's free and instantaneously reaches thousands -- and terrifying as companies' once highly controlled voices can be twisted, taken out of context or taunted in a fickle online community with extreme distaste for flagrant self-promotion. Read more...

New York — Mall traffic rose this past weekend as retailers increased their use of promotions to attract cash-strapped shoppers looking for holiday bargains, an analyst said Monday.

Wedbush analyst Mark Benson said there was an increase in shopper traffic, although the number of customers actually carrying shopping bags wasn't high. There is just one more shopping weekend before the Christmas holiday. Read more...

'Tis the season to do some business.

It's the time of year that some East Texans look forward to as the season when their niche businesses shine as they help shoppers celebrate the holidays just right.

Some area business owners who deal in ornaments, Christmas trees and fireworks all cited one of the same keys to having a good season — finding a way to make their operations stand out. Read more...

Love the holidays but hate wrapping gifts?

A new business has the answer to every non-wrappers’ prayers.

And That’s A Wrap, located at 3 Second Ave. in Pitman, will beautifully wrap any size and shaped package, according to Carol Klein, business partner. Read more...

North Andover — For years, the phrase "Think global, act local" has been associated with the environmental movement.

Activists proclaimed that if people helped the environment in their own backyards, they would in turn be helping the global environment.

But a growing number of small retailers here and across the country are adapting a version of that phrase, trying to encourage people to shop and buy locally to help Main Street shopping districts survive and even thrive in an era of big-box megastores and sprawling suburban shopping malls. Read more...