Periods of booming business intermingled with some slower periods kept some local stores guessing this holiday season.

The Greeneville Sun canvassed several of the county's leading retailers and other businesses for a snapshot of the all-important holiday shopping period.

Some store managers declined to characterize the season, but most business managers surveyed this week reported that -- overall -- sales this season were better-than-anticipated.

Here are some highlights of what they said.

Amye Hamilton, who has been manager of Belk in Greeneville Commons for one year and eight months, is quite happy with the way business has begun in 2012 -- "We have some good momentum going, and hope that it continues," she said.

"We had a better Christmas season this year than last," she said, "but we fell short of our plan. It was a tremendous beginning on Black Friday, but slowed during the first couple of weeks of December.

"However, we had a great end-of-December. We had more customers than last year for sure -- in fact, we had a very successful Christmas season."

Rick Barnes, co-owner of Legacy Fine Jewelers in Greeneville Commons, said, "We were very impressed with the holiday season -- with our business being up more than double in November of this year over last, and we had a huge December.

"We appreciate our loyal customers and look with great anticipation to 2012."

David Parker, owner of The Jewelers Market in the Eastgate Shopping Center said that their store was very busy during the Christmas season.

He added that customer traffic was also good during the week after Christmas.

Although Sears Holdings Corp. has made the national headlines for its recent decision to close about 100-120 Kmart and Sears stores across the country partly because of lower-than-anticipated holiday sales, Greeneville's Kmart has not been named so far as one of the stores to be closed.

"[The Christmas season] went far better than expected," store manager Rick Jones said.

"We did end up in the plus column. We were very delighted. People were spending more than what we were anticipating," Jones said.

"That really surprised me -- how well we performed here in Greeneville this year."

The holiday season started early at Kmart, with sales picking up before Thanksgiving as customers utilized layaway options, Jones said.

"Those were really, really good days," he stated.

Jones said employees made good estimates about the amount of inventory needed for the holiday season. Those good estimates, he said, left the store with less inventory remaining at the end of the season than in years past.

For customers, this means that after-Christmas markdowns may not be as heavy this year as they have been in the past several years, Jones added.

As for Kmart's best sellers, electronics did well, as always, but so did many of the items that are great for everyday use, he said.

Big Lots saw a similar trend in that electronics paired with the more-practical items to be this season's best sellers, according to assistant manager Gary Flanagan.

Top items ranged from video games and tablets to housecoats and house shoes, Flanagan said.

"Going into the season, we were kind of hesitant of what it would turn out to be. After the beginning of the season at Thanksgiving, it's been good from there out," Flanagan said.

"We've had a good season -- a great season, actually. We've done very well," he concluded.

Most people were on good behavior, even on "Black Friday" (Nov. 25) and into the early morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 26, as customers packed into the Greeneville Walmart for special savings, according to Manager Buddy Kolb.

"People were well behaved; it was just a frenzy," Kolb said. "There were a lot of people in the store."

Black Friday, the weekend prior to Christmas, and the last full shopping day before Christmas were all "extremely busy" days for Walmart, he added.

"We had a very successful season. We were really pleased with the way that the holiday season went," Kolb said.

Electronics and toys toped the list of best-sellers, but things are now returning to their "more normal flow," he said.

Inventory at Burkes Outlet still remains a little sparse from all the holiday sales, according to supervisor Robin Brown.

"Our sales were very, very good. Very, very good," she said.

"The week leading to Christmas, this little building did, like, $70,000, which is big for us," Brown said.

The local Burkes Outlet ranked fourth in its district out of about 12 to 14 stores, she added.

Griddles, comforter sets, and GPS units were all among their best-sellers.

Business this year was "quite a bit better" than in the past couple years at both Greeneville locations of Bob's Factory Outlet.

"Our holiday sales were a pretty good increase over a year ago -- both stores," owner Bob Weaver said.

"We found that a lot of the strictly holiday merchandise that we carry -- home decor and all -- did quite a bit better than it did a year ago."

Furniture and florals were also strong sales items, but one of the strongest sale items has been infrared heaters, he added.

"We've sold over 600 of them since September, which is an exceptionally strong item," Weaver said.

With January well on its way, he said the stores are getting "back into the groove" and he is optimistic about the year to come.

Fewer holiday-specific items than are found at outlets and department stores may have limited holiday sales at Roberts Furniture in the Towne Square Shopping Center.

Sales manager Pam Johnson said the practical items sold better than items such as curios and similar extras -- "things people needed, as opposed to things people might just want."

Those practical items included recliners, bedroom suites, and mattresses.

"I guess we weren't like we wanted to be," Johnson said. But, she added, "Our sales were good, overall."

Tammie Gass, operating partner for Fatz Cafe, on East Andrew Johnson Highway, said that she was extremely pleased with business for the past year, which she said has shown slow, steady growth.

"But," said Gass, "I will admit our November and December sales were extraordinary, and last week was the best business Fatz has had since the restaurant opened here eight years ago.

"Some of it certainly can be attributed to the Landair Ladies Classic, but we also had big crowds of people using gift cards, response from our Greeneville Sun coupon -- actually, I think we're realizing results from our involvement in the community."

Certainly a significant, but perhaps under-appreciated, boost to the local economy during the holidays was the 23rd Annual Landair Ladies Classic basketball tournament that was held Dec. 27-30.

According to Tammy Kinser, Tourism Director of the Greene County Partnership, the event provided at least a $100,000 ecomonic impact in Greene County.

Eight teams and their supporters stayed in local motels, ate in restaurants, purchased gasoline and souvenirs, and made other purchases.

In addition, she said, based on local persons she has talked to, many local folks ate more meals out during the tournament than they normally would have.

Tournament Director Ron Metcalfe Jr. said that between 4,000 and 5,000 persons attended the Ladies Classic, with attendance being down significantly for two days and up significantly for two days.

"We had a great tournament," Metcalfe said, "and most of the merchants I have talked to have been pleased with teams and fans' spending during the four days."