ALGONQUIN – About nine hours after Christmas concluded, Melissa Cooney was looking toward Christmas 2013.

“We had very little to do leading up to Christmas,” said Cooney, who was hoping Wednesday to accomplish a significant portion of her shopping for next year – a strategy she implemented last year. “We were done by Thanksgiving.”

Cooney, of Woodstock, was at the Algonquin Commons on Wednesday morning, joining a rush of day-after-Christmas shoppers looking to take advantage of the day’s sales. Others hit local stores with gift cards in hand or carrying bags of items to return.