AUBURN – With boxes and opened gifts still filling living rooms, shoppers were out in force the day after Christmas, scooping up bargains, exchanging gifts, or like Jolene Adams of Poland, spending gift cards.

With the growing popularity of gift cards, after-Christmas shopping accounts for a larger chunk of holiday spending.

Gift cards are not recorded as sales until they’re redeemed, according to the National Retail Federation.

At the Auburn Mall on Wednesday, gift cards seemed to be cutting down on return lines.

Some shoppers were asked about their best gifts.

Bryce Adams, 8, of Poland said her favorite present was “autographs from all the reindeer.” She received the autographs on a piece of paper, and it is her prized possession, she said with a smile.

Sophie Cormier’s best present is “my play teacher set” to help the 6-year-old pretend being a teacher.

Eddie Adams’ Christmas morning sounded a bit like Ralphie in the movie “Christmas Story.”

“My dad bought me a little gun, a little .22,” Eddie said. Eddie wanted the gun for Christmas, “and he didn’t think he got it,” his mother, Jolene, said. The present was hidden behind the couch, and was opened last. Eddie hasn’t used the gun yet, he said Wednesday. It’s for target shooting.

Jigsaw puzzles were Alec Latulippe’s best present. Latulippe, 8, of Lisbon, said he used to do puzzles with 50 pieces, but has graduated to 100-piece puzzles. His sister, Nicole Latulippe, 11, said her best gift was her laptop, which she’ll use for homework.

When asked about her favorite gift, their mother Tracey Caron held out her hand showing a diamond.

“I got the question popped,” she said. With extended family members present, “before dinner he got down on his knee and said, ‘Will you marry me?’ I was hugging and crying and kissing,'” Caron said. “He said, ‘Is that a yes?’ I said, ‘Of course it’s a yes.'”

Meanwhile her children filmed the moment. “It was the best Christmas ever,” Caron said.

Not far away, Raymond Sutton of Sabattus was waiting for his twins to spend their gift cards on DVDs. He said he’s not big on gifts for himself. He smiled while watching over his first grandchild.

“This is my granddaughter. That’s my present for this year … having her in my life,” he said. “Her name is Emily Mayo. She’s 9 months old.”

Betsy Dewitt of Paris took a shopping break and talked about her favorite presents from her daughter-in-law, a ceramic Cher doll, a collector’s item. She also got a tough-to-find pop-up “Wizard of Oz” book. “I almost died when I saw it.”

She was there to exchange one item, and shop. “I always shop the day after Christmas” looking for bargains. When you live on Social Security, “we have to get what you can get.”

Chris Reuter, 19, of Buckfield was wearing his best gift, a black wool coat. He also got a ski mask, but wasn’t sure what it was for. He was at the mall to get the right size Red Sox cap. His sister Jessica McGreevy of Vinalhaven was shopping for bargains.

As shoppers walked to and fro, some sat and waited at an American Red Cross blood drive. Mary Hurlbert of Lewiston was among them.

Her favorite gift was a year’s subscription to an online game site, “Pogo,” from her daughter. “It has poker and blackjack. I like the word games,” Hurlbert said. Hurlbert came to the mall “to give blood because I got so many gifts yesterday. I figured it was my time to give.”