“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” or so the song goes. It’s also the busiest time of the year for most of us.

Anytime of the year can be a juggling act with jobs, family, and household chores.

Then, when Christmas comes around, the juggling gets a little more difficult by adding shopping, wrapping, decorating, school programs, and holiday baking.

The most wonderful time of the year can also be the most stressful time of the year in our attempts to do it all. The weekends become a blur of activity. Imagine what it would be like to not have those weekends to fall back on.

Most retail shops are open seven days a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas for shoppers’ convenience, but when do the store proprietors and clerks get to do their shopping and other Christmas chores?

“We try to get it done before Thanksgiving,” said Dennis Creaser, of Creaser Jewelers in South Paris. “We really try to shop locally as much as we can, but we sometimes end up doing some shopping online,” added wife Julie.

The store is open seven days a week and custom design jewelry is the specialty. A piece that Dennis is currently working on will have about 40 hours of time in it when it’s completed and there is a lot more to do.

In spite of the hours in the store, the Creasers still get plenty of family time because 10-year-old daughter Annie is in the store when she’s not in school.

“We’re not open on Sunday so I get some things done then,” said Anne Mallory, of Creative Media in Norway. The print shop will be filling orders right up until Christmas Eve and hosts Tucker’s Pub on Friday and Saturday nights with Mallory not getting out of the building until 1 a.m.

“My family is here with me on pub nights so we’re together a lot,” said Mallory. “As for Christmas baking and everything else, I fit it in whenever I can.

“I spend a lot of very late nights doing the baking , cleaning, and wrapping,” said Lesley Dean, of L.F. Pike’s Clothing Store in Norway.

“This is the first year that we’re not open on Sunday so I can at least do things then. If my daughter-in-law, Liz, stops by the store, I sneak out and do as much local shopping as I can. Unfortunately, since I’m stuck here in the store when all the other stores are open, I usually end up doing some mail order and online shopping,” said Dean.

Ben Tucker, helping out at The Village Gift Barn in Norway, said, “Owner Terri Linnell, who is working another job as well as running the store, will have precious little time to do much of anything.”

So, shop locally, be patient, and have a smile for the clerks. That will go a long way in helping them to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year too.