Residents digest turkey and then break out the decor

Turkey dinners and midnight trips to big-box stores aren't the only hallmarks of Thanksgiving weekend. Many spent the time decking the halls — and lawns, decks, windows, mantels and just about everything else imaginable.

Chris Race of Delran had started decorating Saturday and continued Sunday with a trip to Riverton Pool and Garden Center in Cinnaminson to get a tree. He said he always decorates in the days following the turkey holiday.

"(Decorating on) Thanksgiving weekend? Always!" said Race as he strapped a 10-foot Fraser fir to his car's roof. A townhome resident, Race said he breaks out as many holiday adornments as his homeowners association will allow.

Inside the store, Jane Phillips of Cinnaminson browsed the selection of artificial holly boughs. This year was the first time she expanded her annual holiday decorating to the backyard, which is festooned in lights.

"It's like a winter wonderland," she said. "Now I'm working on the inside."

Like every year, the store offered photos with Santa, a petting zoo and free popcorn during the holiday décor rush. Manager Brenda Ainsworth said the same families return year after year to start their decorating tradition.

Santa held court in the Christmas tree room, while Stoney the Llama entertained outdoors along with two sheep, a goat, a pony, a potbellied pig, an alpaca, a rabbit and geese. Most wore reindeer antlers and holiday vests.

Similar fun could be found at Stellwag's Hidden Acres Farm in Delran, where live animals, model train displays and sleigh rides spice up the holiday shopping pilgrimage. Owner Dawn Gorbe said the trains are a new offering meant to give customers a rare treat while shopping.

Many area retailers say holiday lawn ornaments, greenery, lights, figurines and garland are flying off the shelves with gusto, a finding that contrasts with projections of lackluster consumer behavior for the season. According to holiday spending research findings by the Consumer Federation of America and the Credit Union National Association, 41 percent of 1,011 adults surveyed said they were planning to spend less on the holidays this year than last year and only 8 percent said they planned to spend more.

But Thanksgiving weekend was good as always at Moorestown Hardware on Mill Street, said owner Pete Bender.

"We're having a good season with decorating. There's no doubt about that people are in the spirit," said Bender, who describes retailing in a slumped economy as "flying, but at a low altitude."

"This weekend, we're really seeing a nice little blip of sales. Next week, it will probably flatten out," Bender said.

Both Bender and Beth Perkins, owner of Haines Farm and Garden Supply in Cinnaminson, said the usual hot sellers haven't really changed but the popularity of energy-efficient LED lights over traditional incandescent ones is definitely growing. The technology now illuminates everything from traditional garland to holiday photos to figurines, such as the flower-shaped "hyacinth" lights sold at Riverton Pool and Garden Center.

"Snowsicle" lights that adorn outdoor trees and solar-powered LED lawn snowflakes that change color are key items this year at the store, said Perkins.