By John Ivie
As students prepare for finals, employees at the BYU Bookstore gear up for the last stretches of the holiday shopping season.
'It seems like the worst it gets is during the week of finals,' said Darcie Imamura, a Bookstore employee. 'We also get a lot of people in here when we have the big sales.'
Imamura said the Bookstore slows down after finals week, but picks up again a few days before Christmas.
'We have been pretty busy for the last couple of weeks,' said Camille Covey, a sophomore from Lindon, who works in the Bookstore. 'I think something that draws people into the store is the free gift wrapping. People really like that.'
Covey said employees are trained and ready to handle the holiday rush.
'I feel ready for the holiday season,' said Callie Maxwell, a Bookstore employee from Corona, Calif. 'It''s fun to be here and work.'
Maxwell said many students come to the Bookstore to buy gifts to take home to their families.
She said regular customers also come in for a variety of items.
'One thing I see a lot of people coming for are the nativity scenes,' Maxwell said. 'A lot of people want the nativities and that brings in a crowd.'
The Bookstore loses some employees who travel home to their families for the holidays, but local residents who work in the Bookstore fill in the gap.
'When employees who aren''t from Utah go home, we get to work a little extra,' Covey said. 'I don''t mind working a little more, either. At least I''ll get some extra spending money for the holidays.'
Imamura stays in Provo over the holidays to work at the Bookstore.
'I wish I could just take off for a couple of weeks and do nothing, but I know that''s not possible,' she said.