Many business owners celebrate the holiday season in different ways and local businesses are no exception.

Oswego businesses decorate for the holidays, just like big businesses. How they decorate varies depending on the store. Businesses such as Stone’s Home Made Candy Shop use their merchandise to decorate. Stone’s makes candy that looks like Santa Claus and other Christmas figures.

“We start in early November making stuff,” Stone’s Candy owner Margret Stachowicz said. They also sell special and popular candy, like sponge candy, more often during the holiday season.

Another business that decorates in a special way is the river’s end bookstore. Since the bookstore sells many holiday-related books, they use those as decoration along with traditional decorations. During the holiday season, the bookstore puts out a catalog each year, which is distributed throughout the store and the Palladium Times. The books that are in the catalog are discounted, along with best-sellers being discounted throughout the year; this helps draw more people in to purchase books at a lower price.

At the Mustard Seed Natural Foods Market, manager Eric Mena said they “focus on whole foods and products which go with the season.” Just as other businesses, the Mustard Seed also decorates their store but tries to keep it simple.

“We also recognize that people of all faiths and backgrounds shop here, so we remain sensitive to that and try our best to put on a cheery look within the store without going overboard,” Mena said.

Not only are businesses decorated for the holidays, but the city of Oswego, itself, is decorated. Along Bridge Street, wreaths and other decorations are put up on the telephone poles, giving the city a Christmas-like look and feel.

During holiday season, most college students are at home and are not around Oswego, which affects sales at businesses like the river’s end bookstore and the Mustard Seed.

“College students are important, but we don’t rely on them for business,” owner of The River’s End Bookstore Bill Reilly said. The holiday season brings just as much business to stores as college students would.