Hillary Whitmore said holiday sales in 2004 weren't anything to wag your tail about.

Whitmore, owner of Aristocats and Dogs, a pet supply shop in Skaneateles, characterized her seasonal sales as flat, with people buying more, but spending less per item than they did in 2003.

"I haven't totally done the research, but I have to be honest and give the season a D," she said.

In the Fingerlakes Mall, Tim Bridenbecker, owner of The Riverbend coffee and gift shop, didn't meet his sales goals either, but gave the season an 'A' anyway. Things picked up the final two weeks before Christmas, when the mall was full most days.

"We finished up well," said Bridenbecker, who opened his business in June.

"It was our first holiday season, so it was hard to judge. I may have set my goals too high, but we proved to be very busy."

In general, the season averaged out to a 'B' grade, according to the Retail Council of New York State's annual Holiday Sales Watch, a weekly snapshot of consumer trends and shopping activity between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"We have members who experienced one of the best seasons in their history, and others who are quite disappointed with the end result," said James Sherin, president and chief executive officer of the council.

JC Penney Manager Curt Finley said the Fingerlakes Mall store had a great year, including sales increases in many departments, including fine jewelry and women's apparel.

"We did extremely well," said Finley who gave the season a solid B+. "I think a lot of it had to do with the mall coming back to life. I think the results here were positive across the board."

Both Bridenbecker and Finley said Bass Pro Shops certainly played a role, but they looked at overall improvements to the mall - new decor, a better food court and a bunch of new stores - as drawing in shoppers.

Greg Bulkley, Bass Pro's manager, said the holiday season was "everything we expected."

"The company as a whole is happy with this whole year," he said. "We had a busy last week. We sold a lot of gift cards and people came in and used them."

Bulkley gave the holiday season a 'B', reluctantly, because it was against company policy for the privately-held retailer to provide sales figures.

"But there's been Christmases that I've seen that stores didn't have to work for sales," he said. "This year, I think every retailer had to work hard for every dollar."

The retail council's survey attributed the moderate season to the lack of "must-have" holiday gifts, high auto/home energy costs and a growing number of consumers already mired in debt and unable to spend as much during the holidays.

Tammy Flaherty, owner of Uniform Fashions, blamed some of her sluggish holiday sales on a move to State Street from the Auburn Plaza in 2004.

"Some people may have gone out to the plaza and didn't find me, and didn't pursue it," she said. "I did have some customers come in and say they went there first, and others called and said, 'Where are you?' It was slower than normal. My uniform sales were OK, but I was down on gifts and gift certificates."

Second Childhood, a toy and collectible doll shop, also moved this year, and like Uniform Fashions, didn't have a very good holiday season.

The store was in the Fingerlakes Mall and is now in a converted house on Grant Avenue in Sennett . Owner Sheryl Potter moved, she said, because the increased rent the mall charged as a result of Bass Pro did not translate into enough new sales to allow her store to stay in the mall.

Many of her older customers didn't follow her, she said, because they didn't want to have to navigate busy Grant Avenue. She also was harder to find and did not attract the new shoppers she had hoped would notice her as they drove by.

"It was not that spectacular," Potter said, noting that her new store is significantly smaller than the space she had at the mall, which caused her to modify her displays. She gave the season a 'C and is looking to make changes in 2005 to help increase sales.

Whitmore is also looking to see what she might need to do differently. She blamed some of mediocre sales on the weather. The week before Christmas was rainy, a detriment to businesses in a village like Skaneateles, which rely on sidewalk browsers.

"We had a good season, but I don't think it was exciting as last year," said another Skaneateles merchant, Steve Moore, owner of SJ Moore's Jewelry. "We didn't have the foot traffic we might have had because of the weather. But it was still a nice year."

Joe Olsian, owner of Pet Depot on Grant Avenue in Auburn, said sales were comparable to last year's and he exceeded what he had budgeted to earn. Still, he gave the season a C+ and also blamed the weather - chilly and rainy - for keeping shoppers away.

In Moravia, Mark Wood said things got off to a slow start at Jennings Department Store.

"For us, it was because the weather was fairly mild," said Wood, who stocks a lot of winter clothing, including Carhartt merchandise, boots and gloves.

But things picked up, with more people coming in for gifts as Christmas got closer, he said.

And what were they buying?

"Heavy boot socks, a lot of gloves, jeans and sweaters," Wood said. "Christmas is also the only time of the year we sell wallets."

Wood and his wife took over the store from her parents two years ago. He didn't have a whole lot of history on which to base how well the store did this year, but was happy nonetheless.

"I'd give it an A-minus," he said. "Obviously, everyone would like to do better."

Flaherty hopes she will see some recovery Jan. 31 - Feb. 6, when the state and county exempts clothing and shoe purchases less than $110 from sales tax.

"I'm grateful to the state, and to the county legislature," she said. "I always do well tax-free week. I'm counting on it this year. I bought a building. I don't need to be slow."

Staff writer Louise Hoffman Broach can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or louise.hoffman@lee.net.