Christmas is still two months away, but with the busyness of our lives early preparations can help alleviate stress. Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m., several of Vicksburg’s shops along or near both the North and South Frontage Roads have scheduled a Mingle & Jingle Christmas Open House to kick off the holiday season.

“Everyone is starting to think about Christmas, and our trees will be here in two weeks,” Libby Beard said.

Beard, who is the owner of Flower Center Nursery, 3150 S. Frontage Road, with her husband, Glen, is one of the initiators for the Mingle & Jingle.

Last year, Beard said some of the businesses that are participating in this year’s Mingle & Jingle inadvertently scheduled a Christmas open house the same night as Hit the Bricks, so this year they purposefully decided to make it a combined undertaking and have even included more stores to add to the festivities

However, they did schedule the open houses a week prior to Hit the Bricks, this year, Bear said.

“Hit the Bricks is scheduled for next Thursday, so that’s why we thought this Thursday would be the perfect time for our open house,” Beard said.

Kati Atkins, who is the store manager at Panaplee Boutique, located at 3215 Wisconsin Ave., said this is something fresh for their business.

“We have had a holiday open house, but this is new to join with other local businesses,” Atkins said.

In addition to the Flower Center and Panaplee, businesses that will be included in the Mingle & Jingle are River Belles, 3409 Halls Ferry Road # 3, The Ivy Place, 2451 N. Frontage Road, The Body Shop, 3420 Wisconsin Ave., Merle Norman, 2222 S. Frontage Road, Monogram Creations, 1890 S. Frontage Road #3, and Sunsational Tanning Salon, 1920 S. Frontage Road.

Each business will also be offering refreshments and door prizes, and “you will also find some great holiday ideas at each stop,” Beard said.

Some of the participating businesses will be offering giveaways and special discounts and there will be one overall door prize with a gift from each participating business.

“To be eligible you must get your card stamped at each business and drop it off at your last stop,” Beard said.