Christmas has come early for some Newcastle retailers.
Tens of thousands of shoppers have been pouring through the doors of Westfield Kotara, according to centre manager Kate Murphy.
"We're seeing more customers than last year, which is great," said Mrs Murphy.
As well as toys tied in with the latest movie releases, such as Star Wars, popular items include gifts parents hope will get their kids "off the screen". Sports equipment and beach toys have been among the big sellers.
Kate Murphy said "sustainable" gifts, such as reusable coffee cups, had been growing in popularity.
Despite a tough trading year for many Darby Street businesses, Tim McPhee, from Abicus and Scout lifestyle and fashion stores, said the pre-Christmas period had been "super positive".
While trade was not as high as last year, Mr McPhee said customers had been "making an effort to shop local and shop in the city".
"There are a lot of challenges for independent retailers, so to have a good Christmas is amazing," he said.
Charlestown Square had seen up to 60,000 customers each day over the weekend.
"We're seeing the volume in numbers," said centre manager Mardi Ashkine. "It will be interesting to see if it translates into spend as well."
Mardi Ashkine said the success of the Black Friday sales in late November had "probably taken away a lot of the chaos that you usually see in the last few days before Christmas".
Even so, she said, "our traffic is up on last year".
"Christmas is still a strong retail driver," Ms Ashkine said.
Retailers large and small are also preparing for the post-Christmas sales, with Ms Ashkine saying Boxing Day "is still the biggest shopping day of the year".
