An early Easter means an early shopping season for many boutiques in town, especially those catering to children.

Although Frederick’s Children’s Boutique opened in 1950 and McKenzie Su’s Boutique opened in February, the two downtown shops have had one thing in common: a busy Easter season.

“My parents opened this store in 1950,” Frederick’s owner Norma Massey said. “For the longest time, it was just a shoe store, but my relative owned a children’s clothing store next door called Koury’s, and they were there up until 15 to 18 years ago. When they closed it was such a missing link, so slowly we kind of took on the clothing.”

Fredrick’s now has clothes for infants and children.

“Easter is one of our biggest seasons,” she said. “It used to be dressy, dressy shoes for boys and girls, and maybe a play shoe.”

Now, Massey said people are looking for a sandal that can go either way.

“They’re not quite as dressy as they used to be,” she said. “But we do have a variety so we can cater to everyone. We still have some dress shoes, but we have more of the in-between category that can go dressy or casual.”

The Easter season also brings in people looking for dresses, socks and items to stuff Easter baskets with, Massey said.

“A lot of people will give our SunSan Sandals, they’re a popular Easter bag item because almost every kid has several pair in different colors,” she said. “Of course we sell swimwear. A lot of people have gotten to where they like to put really useful things in the basket.”

McKenzie Su’s owner Michelle Cole said they’ve seen a big increase in traffic with Easter shoppers.

“We have lots of Easter dresses, lots of spring colors and lots of floral print,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of traffic on Saturdays, as well as new faces and tourists coming through.”

Cole said popular items for this season include children’s clothing, shoes, wedges, accessories and purses.

“Everyone is getting in the spring spirit,” she said.