SHOPPERS GET HEAD START ON THE HOLIDAY

Shoppers braved drizzling rains and cool temperatures to get a day's head start on the official Christmas shopping season Thursday, visiting two big retail outlets before and after Thanksgiving Day feasts.

With the Yuletide celebration less than a month away -- 29 more days -- many shoppers appear to be taking advantage of every shopping opportunity.

Wal-Mart and Kmart were the only big retailers to open their doors in Cape Girardeau Thursday.

Wal-Mart, which locks its doors only one day a year -- Christmas -- had cars on the parking lot early Thursday, and crowds continued to increase during the day.

"A lot of shoppers were visiting our grocery department early in the day," said Pat Fultz, an assistant manager. "They were gathering up last-minute trimmings for the Thanksgiving dinner. But, by late afternoon, shoppers were doing some early Christmas shopping."

Fultz said a steady stream of shoppers were in the store throughout the day.

The report was about the same at Kmart, which opened at 10 a.m. Thursday and closed at 6 p.m.

"We had lighter traffic during the morning and early afternoon," said Deon Fossie, an assistant manager. "But, starting about 2:30, we began to fill up, and had good traffic the rest of the day."

Fultz and Fossie were looking forward to the day after Thanksgiving.

"We'll probably be swamped all day," said Fultz. "That's always one of the biggest shopping days of the year."

Fossie agrees. "We'll open at 7 a.m., and are looking for heavy traffic throughout Friday and Saturday."

Other retailers -- West Park Mall, downtown merchants, Town Plaza area stores and other west end merchants -- join the retail scene today, many with extended shopping hours.

This weekend's shopping crowd may have more inclement weather to contend with. The extended forecast calls for rain or snow today through Sunday, with high temperatures in the mid-30s and lows to about 20 to 25.