Thanksgiving weekend was a welcome flurry of activity for Natchez merchants.

&uot;It was a great weekend for everyone I’ve talked to,&uot; said Tammi Mullins, executive director of the Natchez Downtown Development Association. &uot;Everyone has said it’s been really busy.&uot;

Nationally, high consumer confidence, low unemployment and gains in the stock market have created a boost in holiday spending.

Darby Short, owner and operator of Darby’s Everything Under the Sun shop, enjoyed excellent sales throughout the Thanksgiving weekend.

&uot;We had a good Friday and Saturday this year,&uot; Short said. &uot;The year before, Saturday fell a little short of the Friday.&uot;

This year, however, Short said Saturday &uot;held very strong.&uot;

&uot;We had a good weekend,&uot; she said. &uot;I just hope it continues.&uot;

Deidre Cox of the Gift Gallery on Main Street said she noticed more local traffic over the weekend.

&uot;I noticed a lot more local business. There weren’t as many tourists,&uot; she said.

The good weekend business stretched into Monday, Cox said.

&uot;I’ve been steady today, and I usually don’t have a lot of business on Monday’s,&uot; she said.

At the Antique Mall on Franklin Street, Kari Gray said the weekend was very successful, but Friday was their strongest selling day.

Across town off Seargent S. Prentiss Drive, A Private Affair lingerie shop has seen a steady increase in business, but no big boost from holiday weekend sales.

&uot;I’ve seen some pick up, but it was slow Friday and Saturday,&uot; said Jo Lynn McDonald, owner and operator of A Private Affair.

&uot;I think people were hitting the big advertised sales on Thanksgiving weekend,&uot; McDonald said.

Back on Main Street, Mary Lees Wilson of the One of a Kind Shop, saw a lot of business in children’s playthings.

&uot;We offer creative playthings for kids and we sell a world of games,&uot; Wilson said.

Wilson also moved a lot of pewter, millennium merchandise, pottery and engravable jewelry.

&uot;We spent all of Sunday just restocking,&uot; Wilson said.

One of the best aspects of the holiday weekend for Wilson was not only seeing customers, but seeing customers who were longtime friends visiting from out of town.

&uot;I saw people I went to high school with who had come home for the holiday,&uot; Wilson said. &uot;It was like a big reunion.&uot;