RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Halloween is just a few weeks away with Thanksgiving and Christmas not far behind. A number of local business owners are ramping up operations to prepare.

Fall and Halloween decor can now be seen on the shelves with stores smelling like pumpkin spice candles. But soon, the shelves will be filled with Christmas decor and Frasier Fir candles while shoppers rush to buy gifts. 

Local business owners like Elizabeth Mills of Gingham and Posh are looking to add more help for the holiday season. 

“It’s funny how quickly and concentrated it is like the need for help is not there. And then all of a sudden we are scrambling like we need all hands.” Mills said.

Mills said their store typically has around 5 employees. That number gets doubled if not more as they brace for the holiday rush.

Local businesses are hoping that high school and college students will step up too.

“Thankfully, we’ve got a lot of people who have worked previous holidays who like to come back and college students who are home for, you know, after exams, and they like to come back,” Mills said.

Owners said they look to hire employees for the holiday season around November, giving enough time to prepare for Black Friday and throughout December. 

“It’s just real quick and easy to train somebody. Because a lot of the production is kind of mass production. And so it’s easy to have somebody jump in know what we’re doing that particular day and then jump back out.” Mills stated.

Last year, holiday sales were projected to have reached new highs of $942 billion in the U.S. This year, analysts are expecting things to be busy once again, leading to an all-hands-on-deck approach for local business owners, staff and delivery drivers.