Mystic - At locally owned Bank Square Books on Main Street, the Saturday before Christmas has a way of being the busiest day of the year, according to store co-owner Annie Philbrick.

And this year was no different. Fellow owner Patience Banister said the store opened 15 minutes early, at 9:45 a.m., to let in a customer waiting outside in the cold.

At 10:15 a.m., bookseller Kat McCann said the store was already busier than normal, with four to five staff slated to be working at any given time and about 15 customers milling around the story.

"This is way busier than usual for this early," she said as she giftwrapped a book for a customer.

Popular this year are editions of a book about the history of the Charles W. Morgan, America's oldest surviving merchant vessel and Anthony Doerr's novel "All the Light We Cannot See." On Saturday morning, a handful of customers had picked up copies of local author Vivian Volovar's book "Lobster Lady," about her life catching lobsters on Long Island Sound.

It was because of the anticipation of ramped up business that Banister said the store didn't plan any special events for the day as it normally would.

"The biggest piece about today is customer service," she said.

It's a day for the late birds, customers said.

"I'm always out shopping the Saturday before Christmas, let's put it that way," said Donna Vellantone, of Norwich, who said she shops at the bookstore each year.

Olde Mistick Village, an outdoor mall of mom-and-pop shops, offered a similar scene of shoppers looking for those last-minute items.

Bestemors, which sells Scandinavian imports, was bustling with shoppers browsing a smorgasbord of breads, chocolate, winter clothes and decorative trinkets.

"You can feel the buzz, you can feel like everybody's excited about it," said store owner Shaun Regan. Regan also owns Sofia's Mystical Christmas.

He said Swedish breads sold at Bestemors have been particularly popular this season, and attributed upswings in sales to two things: lower gas prices and a gradual build-up in customer base just from sticking around in the village over the past several years.

Sylvia Miller was shopping the village for gifts for her grandchildren. Miller has been a security guard in the village for about 20 years and was wearing her security garb as she toted a bag from Bestemors to the parking lot.

"It's always nice to see the village bustling," she said.

Miller said she likes to see people shopping in stores rather than online because she feels it promotes a greater sense of community - especially when it comes to shopping locally.

"It's a whole different ambience," she said.

t.townsend@theday.com

Twitter: @ConnecticuTess