The holiday shopping season has officially begun.

Shops along Sunbury's village square are competing for customers against bigger stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart.

Sunbury-Big Walnut Area Chamber of Commerce administrator Cindy Hall said the smaller shops have a big advantage over the larger, "big box" stores: uniqueness.

She said there is "no comparison" between big-box stores and the small shops, where consumers can find "one-of-a-kind gifts that you can't find in the big stores."

"It's important to keep the square alive because it's the center of our community and we want it to stay vital and we want it to grow and we want the shops to stay filled," she said. "So the more people who shop at the merchants on the square, the better chance they will have of being prosperous."

Molly Kibler, owner of Molly's Flowers and More, 14 E. Cherry St., agreed.

"One of the big benefits of shopping on the square (is) you avoid the big, mad wild rushes of the big-box stores. Your items that you find in these smaller stores are one-of-a-kind, and chances are, you'll get to know the shop owner and they'll treat you right," she said.

Many of the shops will be open for Sunbury's Christmas on the Square, slated for Dec. 5.

"The night of our open house, which is Christmas on the Square, we will have 20 percent off every in-store purchase. We're a fresh flower store, so we primarily do fresh flowers through custom orders," Kibler said.

"Our arrangements aren't pre-made from some other plant and shipped to us. Our arrangements that you order are from here. If it's a delivery, we don't ship the flowers in a box with the vase along side it, expecting the person who receives it to put it together. We do it here. And all of our flowers go through proper treatment before they go out. We are a quality flower shop," she added.

Molly's Flowers & More is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and is closed Sunday.

Melanie Leland, co-owner of Linda's 3 Antiques, Art & Custom Framing, 50 E. Cherry St., said her shop also will be open during Christmas on the Square. Leland co-owns the store with Linda Powell.

"One of the advantages to antiques and collectibles is that it's part of the 'be green' thing, so you're actually recycling when you're buying an antique or collectible. Possibly the quality of what you're getting is better than the things made today. It shows that you're unique ... a little bit more consideration is in the gift," Leland said.

"The prices are definitely comparable in an antique collectible than say something new at a Pottery Barn or even a Target," she said.

Linda's 3 Antiques, Art & Custom Framing is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays, Leland said.

"We do have extended hours through Christmas, we're usually here until 5 p.m. or even later. You're often likely to catch us on a Sunday or Monday, too, but you've got to call for an appointment to be sure," she added.

The store likely will have a 10- percent discount on items in the store during Christmas on the Square and may have bigger sales on other items, including framed mirrors and certain artwork, she said.

Powell also runs a dance studio, Top of the Square Studio, 14 1/2 Vernon St., which she described as a "sister business" to Linda's 3.

"We do ballroom and swing, some line-dancing. We also rent it out for small parties. It's a small studio but it has the perfect floor for dancers and we have lessons," she said.

Classes begin again in January.

Powell is selling gift cards to the studio for people "who want to give the gift of dance."

Powell offers private lessons and will rent the space to dancers who wish to practice for exhibition or competition events. People can reach her by e-mailing her at Linda@lindas3.com.

Also offering gift cards for the holidays is the Village Hair Co., 2 S. Vernon St., said owner Gretchen Kontul.

"Right now, we're running 25 percent off our pedicures for the Christmas season," she said. Customers will get a free haircut when they get their hair colored.

The shop is open Mondays, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesdays though Fridays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The shop is closed Sundays.

Shoppers looking for unusual pets can come to Fins & Fangs, 44 S. Vernon St., for exotic pets and supplies.

"We got all the reptiles you'll ever need: snakes, lizards, frogs, chameleons, hermit crabs, spiders and scorpions," said owner Jeff Bartlett.

"When you come in, you're going to get me or my wife," he said. "I know what you have and who you are."

People who buy animals and supplies as gifts can store them at the shop until Christmas Eve, he said. Bartlett will come in between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. so people can pick up their gifts.

"Santa Claus shops here," he joked.

Also on the square is Weidner's Village Square Antique Mall, 31 E. Granville St.

Manager Connie Schafhausen said the store features items from 20 different dealers of antiques and other collectibles.

"We have different dealers that have space that they rent and they bring in all the different antiques and collectibles that they have and put them up for sale. I sell for everybody that's here," she said.

The store features a wide variety of furniture, collectibles, antiques, Indian artifacts, glassware, pottery, metal, wood and guns, she said.

"A lot of people find things they want to use as gifts," she said.

The store is open seven days a week during the holiday season from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.