Clothes, toys and games.

These items were among the most popular gift ideas for shoppers in town this past weekend.

Despite the Thanksgiving break and students leaving town, several downtown businesses seemed to do well on Black Friday.

Mike Croft, assistant manager at Eastern Mountain Sports, 216 W. College Ave., said the store is busy around the holidays, and he expects the same until students leave for winter break.

"Black Friday was busy, but after that, the weekend just died off," he said.

Croft said there are several items that sell well this time of year.

Some items expected to be popular include Global Positioning System units, Nalgene water bottles, knives and headlamps.

"We like to joke around and say that the North Face Denali jacket is the unofficial Penn State uniform because it's very popular, particularly with the girls," he said.

Like Eastern Mountain Sports, Metro, 320 E. College Ave., also sells a lot of winter clothing.

"We sell clothes, but a lot of gift items like books, shot glasses and games, too," manager Vanessa Wharton said. "And now we're getting and expecting a lot of hat and scarf sales in the coming weeks -- Christmas definitely helps with our sales."

Tadpole Crossing, 101 E. Beaver Ave., carries a variety of items that can be used as stocking stuffers, such as books, necklaces, pendants and several games catering to children.

"We do get students, but we had a lot of visitors from out of town as well," manager Sharon Lester said. "Our merchandise changes all the time, but games and puzzles do well all the time."

However, students looking into the latest technological advances look elsewhere.

Mike Warren (freshman-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) said he is looking to buy speakers for his sister.

"I saw this 160-gigabyte hard drive at Best Buy this week for only $29.99," Warren said. "And I should have gotten it because it was a real good price."

Electronic retailer Paul and Tony's Stereo, 121 S. Burrowes St., had a busy weekend, which co-owner Paul Newfeld attributed to the increased foot traffic associated with Black Friday.

"Black Friday was good," he said. "We had strong traffic and strong sales overall. The weekend was good two out of the three days."

Newfeld said the business's primary customers are home owners looking to buy home theater systems, but he said students will come in to buy mini disc players, headphones and stereo equipment for cars.

He added that DVDs and DVD recorders will be popular in the next month.

"DVD recorders are replacing VCRs, and they're finally becoming affordable," Newfeld said.

Other products include TV screens for installation in cars; XM Radio, digital satellite radio; and remote start systems, which allow users to warm up their cars before leaving their homes or offices.

Yater Ben-Jebria (sophomore-mechanical engineering) said he plans to spend about the same amount of money as last year during the holidays.

He added that he mostly purchases gift certificates for his friends.

Digital cameras, DVD players and Halo 2, a game for Xbox, would be popular with students, Ben-Jebria said.

He added that the state of the economy could affect how much money people spend during the holidays.

"If prices are too high for technology, then people won't be willing to pay for it," Ben-Jebria said.