Like tinsel on a tree, these last few days of Christmas shopping are essential for making the holidays bright for local retailers.

With the Christmas countdown days away, Ann Arbor area shoppers are making a mad-dash: They are focused, fast and ready to open their wallets.

Saturday was the busiest day that Lewis Jewelers on West Stadium Boulevard has seen so far this season, manager Jonathan Farnsworth said. “It was constant all day long," he said.

The week before Christmas usually accounts for 30 percent of the month’s sales, he said, and frequently brings extravagant purchases. On Saturday, a man bought an $80,000 second engagement diamond ring for his wife.

The next day, another man purchased a $50,000 diamond tennis bracelet, Farnsworth said.

“Our clients come in ready to buy. They buy more and they buy quick. They feel time is running out," he said.

David Lewis, owner of Lewis Jewelers on Stadium Boulevard, is pictured with a $55,000 Heart of Fire diamond necklace. Last-minute shoppers, especially men, aren't afraid to buy expensive gifts at the last minute: One man purchased an $80,000 ring for his wife Saturday.

Janet Miller | AnnArbor.com

December sales were up markedly up from a year ago, he said. Lewis Jewelers was already 40 percent ahead of last December, with five shopping days left.

David Lewis, owner of Lewis Jewelers, said last-minute shoppers are frequently big spenders. “The really big sales won’t come until Dec. 23 and 24,” he said.

And, yes, it’s mostly men shopping the final days, Farnsworth said. While early December sees an equal mix of men and women, the waning days before Christmas brings mostly men, Farnsworth said. “Guys think they have all the time in the world and then it creeps up on them," he said.

Eli Morrissey, co-owner of The Rocket, purveyors of candy and novelty gifts in downtown Ypsilanti, extends his evening hours in the days before Christmas to capture the last-minute crowd, even staying open until 8 p.m. Christmas Eve.

“It’s the perfect store for last-minute gifts,” Morrissey said. “Everyone can come out of here with something satisfying.”

The final week before Christmas sees a non-stop rush, he said. “People come in on a mission. They’re in last-minute mode.” The last two weeks before Christmas bring in 75 percent of the month’s receipts, he said, and December accounts for a quarter of the store’s annual sales.

While he welcomes the frenzied procrastinator, they present a challenge, Morrissey said. “We don’t know what’s going to be big for the holidays, and we can’t re-order at the last minute. It doesn’t give us time to react," he said. Hot this year is anything John Wayne, from John Wayne travel mugs to John Wayne lunch boxes.

Elmo Morales, owner of Elmo’s Mainstreet Custom T-shirts in downtown Ann Arbor, began seeing the look of desperation on shoppers’ faces on Friday. They’re happy to hear that most of his T-shirts are on-demand and can be ready in 30 minutes or less. “The rush usually starts 12 days before and continues to the day before Christmas," he said.

While the number of transactions doubles in the final days before Christmas compared to other days, his profits do not. “Everyone’s buying the inexpensive stuff, the $10 Michigan shirt instead of the $25 World Cup (shirt),” Morales said.

Elaine Selo, owner of Selo/Shevel Gallery in downtown Ann Arbor, said shoppers focus on buying regular gifts earlier in December and save the last minute for the splurge. “And we benefit from that,” she said.

It’s not unusual to sell some of the gallery’s most expensive items -- large wooden jewelry boxes or high-end jewelry -- a day or two before Christmas, Selo said. “We sell things then that we don’t sell the rest of the year. It’s very exciting. It’s pent-up buying. People are through with looking and thinking and they know they have to make a decision.”

Like Morrissey, Selo said it would be easier if sales were more spaced out. “I think most retailers wished it was spaced out year-round. It would be easier on us and easier on the shopper,” she said. “But it’s true that it’s holiday shopping that keeps most small retailers alive.”

Janet Miller is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com.