It’s true. The last Saturday before Christmas is a busier shopping day than the Friday after Thanksgiving. Just ask any downtown Lawrence store manager.

“Oh definitely,” said Lisa Bakke, manager of Borders Books, Music & Cafe, 700 N.H. “We’re having a good day.”

Mark Swanson, owner of Hobbs Inc., 700 Mass., agreed. He was just hoping that Saturday wasn’t the peak shopping day.

“I hope every day is a peak day,” Swanson said of the remaining four days before Christmas.

Tom Price and Anne Marie Chilton, both of Lawrence, were among a throng of shoppers who braved the downtown store crowds and bumper-to-bumper traffic along Massachusetts Street to get last-minute gifts.

“It’s crowded, but not stressful,” Price, 36, said.

Price and Chilton said they started their shopping earlier but liked to catch the bargains offered by stores as the end of the holiday shopping season neared.

“I definitely hope to be done by Christmas Eve,” Chilton said.

Kansas University students who hadn’t left town for the holidays also were out shopping. Dave Warren and Erica Brittain were walking to The Gap, 643 Mass., to start their shopping.

Austin Thompson, Kansas City, Kan., shops in downtown Lawrence with his family. Holiday shoppers flooded downtown Saturday for one of the last shopping days before Christmas. Local retailers reported strong sales.

“I haven’t done anything because I’ve been busy with finals,” said Warren, a junior from Wichita. “Lawrence has a lot of nice places to shop down here.”

Warren and Brittain, a senior from Wichita, also welcomed the 50-degree day, although they agreed it wasn’t exactly Christmas weather.

“A little snow does kind of get you in the mood for Christmas,” said Brittain, adding that there was still a Christmas atmosphere downtown because of the people and the decorations.

At Borders, many last-minute shoppers were after this past year’s best seller, “The Da Vinci Code,” by Dan Brown, Bakke said. Local and regional-themed books also were selling well, she said.

Hobbs, a specialty gift store, is where people come to get “fun and odd” gifts, Swanson said. Figurines from the movie “Nightmare Before Christmas” and other items based on the movie were selling well, he said.

Items from another movie, “A Christmas Story,” also are popular at Hobbs, including the lamp in the shape of a woman’s leg.