As Thanksgiving kicks off the pre-Christmas shopping craze, millions of gift-givers, nationwide will crowd the stores, abuse their credit cards and try to find “perfect” gifts for loved ones.

In DeKalb, the task might be made easier for Christmas shoppers when about 20 local merchants open their doors for the annual, Downtown DeKalb Open House Merchants’ Holiday on Sunday.

Storeowners will sponsor sales, serve refreshments and extend Sunday’s hours to 5 p.m.

The merchant’s holiday is done in collaboration with the Greater DeKalb Partnership, an organization that coordinates downtown activities and promotes tourism for the DeKalb area. The partnership also is responsible for the Christmas decorations that line downtown DeKalb streets.

Lance Hansen, owner of Lansirs On Lincoln clothes store, 112 E. Lincoln Hwy, said the open house is “a great pre-Christmas kickoff,” and it is always fun for the merchants to take part.

Some of the stores will be running sales, and others will be extending hours and services. Each store also will be holding a drawing to win a Thanksgiving turkey.

“Even though several businesses have closed up in recent years, we have more stores participating in the event than ever before,” Hansen said.

John Chilton, co-owner of Chilton’s Sporting Goods, 250 E. Lincoln Hwy., which has participated in the open house for ten years, said the store will not have any special attractions, aside from the turkey raffle for that day. “We have good sales all year-round,” he said.

Maurice’s clothes store, 263 E. Lincoln Hwy., will have more employees available for help on Sunday along with discounts and the turkey raffle.

Brenda Baie, keyholder for Maurice’s said the open house does a great job of kicking off the shopping season, while at the same time, better acquainting the consumers with the downtown shopping area.