PORTLAND – By 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the lines at the counters at D. Cole Jewelers on Exchange Street were three or four people deep.

True to the stereotype, almost all of them were men.

“Jewelry makes everybody happy, and it doesn’t come across as last-minute,” said Denise Cole, whose family owns the business.

Last-minute shoppers brought a surge of business to the Old Port and other shopping meccas Saturday as the final countdown to Christmas began. The two days leading up to the holiday are the busiest of the year for some retailers, especially those that deal in edible products.

At Scratch Baking Co. in South Portland, the customers were lined up 40 deep when the doors of the popular Willard Square bakery opened at 7 a.m. on Christmas Eve.

“This is the busiest day ever,” said Stephany Moran, a barista.

It was a similar scene at The Standard Baking Co. at 75 Commercial St. in Portland, where people were patiently waiting outside in biting temperatures to get in. Owner Alison Pray said the day before Christmas is the busiest day of the year. She said by the time the bakery closed at 3 p.m., she and her staff would have sold 1,000 or so loaves of bread, more than 1,000 cinnamon buns and 1,200 croissants.

“All of the foodies of Portland are here,” shouted a customer laden with several boxes and bags of baked goods.

Two men directed traffic outside Harbor Fish Market on Custom House Wharf, where it was standing-room-only for customers whose Christmas Eve traditions require a seafood spread.

Ben Alfiero, one of the owners, said he had no idea how many pounds of seafood he sells in the two days before Christmas, but he had every worker, including some retirees, helping out. Even his niece, a human resources director in Massachusetts, came up to pitch in.

“She loves Christmas,” Alfiero said.

The mood remained jolly despite the deadline looming. Inspecting a sidewalk display of scarves on Exchange Street, Andrew Zachary of South Portland said he was not stressed.

“This is icing on the cake,” said Zachary, who was looking for stocking stuffers for his wife.

By noon, the early morning crush had dwindled at Renys Department Store on Congress Street. Earlier earlier throngs of shoppers had scooped up wrapping paper, stocking stuffers and other small-ticket items.

“It always tapers off around noon as they start getting ready for events in a few hours,” said Chris Steppe, store manager.

He said the store would be almost deserted by closing time at 5 p.m.

“But then it picks right up again Monday morning,” said Steppe.

Staff Writer Beth Quimby can be contacted at 791-6363 or at:

bquimby@pressherald.com