LOCAL : Let the Holiday Shopping Begin! Yule Tide Hits O.C. Stores Early

Orange County merchants braced for a major onslaught of early Christmas shoppers today in what is traditionally their busiest day of the year, buoyed by overcast skies that they hoped would lure more people to the malls.

“This is definitely the big day of the year for us,” said Priscilla Middleton, part-owner of the “Once Upon a Christmas” seasonal store at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. “Our only concern is the weather, but today looks great.”

Stores opened as early as 8 a.m. to take full advantage of the marathon shopping schedule. Mary Ann Connelly of Costa Mesa, heading out with an armload of bags before 11 a.m., remarked, “I came early in order to beat the rush and I’ve had no problems at all. It’s marvelous.”

By mid-morning, lines of eager children waiting to sit atop Santa’s knee had already formed at Fashion Island as a four-car train circled part of the mall.

Even open-air merchants seemed to be faring well. Cars were already headed for the overflow parking lots at the Orange County Market Place swap meet at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa at mid-morning. Richard Olsson, the Market Place’s managing director, said 1,200 vendors were expecting 50,000 shoppers.