With just seven shopping days to go until Christmas, the gift-buying traffic was accelerating to a near frenzy at local retail stores on Saturday.

While most local retailers say last minute shoppers are routine around Christmas time, they also say this year’s crowd has been exceptionally patient.

“I wouldn’t say we’re getting the last-minute crowd yet,” said Jeff Roberson, co-manager of Books-A-Million in the Cullman Shopping Center. “Christmas Eve is when we get the real last-minute shoppers.”

While Roberson admitted sellouts and long lines are part of season, he said they still have a full supply of all the hot-ticket items.

Top sellers for the bookstore this year include anything related to J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter,” Christopher Paolini’s “Eragon and the Eldest” and Eli Gold’s “Crimson Nation,” a book about “the South’s most dominant football team,” Roberson said.

For a local flare, Roberson advised the cookbook “Southern Table” by Cullman native and chef Frank Stitt.

“We’re fully stocked right now,” said Roberson. “But if you’re interested in purchasing some of the more popular items, you might want to hurry up.”

For Cullman resident Nancy Weissend, the hurry was over. While leaving Books-A-Millon, she said she had just finished her gift buying this year.

“I did a lot of my shopping on the Internet this year, and it’s wonderful,” said Weissend, who has three children and eight grandchildren to shop for this year.

That was not the case for Sarah Denny, who was waiting in line at the near by J.C. Penny store.

“I’ve really just started, and it’s been pretty crowded,” said Denny, whose shopping list included clothes, make-up and jewelry.

According to J.C. Penny manager Clay Shearer, business this year has been holding right on par to last year’s sales.

In addition, he said, since Christmas is on a Sunday this year, he said he expects the total to be a little higher with one extra Saturday shopping day before the season ends.

Shearer said cooler weather has driven up sales in leather coats and flannel sleep pants this year.

“Jewelry and watches have gone ballistic, too,” he said.

It was all iPods at Stereo Center, a RadioShack dealer in the Cullman Shopping Center, but according to Dillon Lee, a sales associate, they are almost out of the tiny, music-playing gadget.

“We’ve sold like 65 of them since the end of November,” he said. “We’re working desperately to get more in, but there probably won’t be any left after Monday or Tuesday.”

Other major sellers, he said, included robots of all kinds, of which they have plenty.

After his interview, Shearer relayed a recent conversation he had with a last-minute shopper.

He said the man told him he liked waiting until the last minute to do his gift buying. That way the prices were lower. Even better, the selection is easier, because there is nothing left to choose from, said the man.