Your guide to the best Boxing Day bargains

Gympie Central Shopping Centre was a busy place on Christmas eve and will be open for the Boxing Day Sales today.

JUST when you thought the shopping madness was over, today's town full of Boxing Day bargains could be enough to entice your wallet open again.   

While Gympie shoppers do not have a history of trampling each other like our city cousins (with elbows protruding at just the right angle), there will certainly be a healthy amount of activity in the shops today.   

Businesses in the region are pulling out all the stops to persuade people to join in the growing trend to spend up on the day after Christmas.   

Some Gympie stores, such as Bras & Things in Gympie Central who will employ extra staff today, expect that today's trade was likely to be bigger than Thursday's Christmas Eve takings.   

The Gympie Times hit the stores before Christmas to check Boxing Day trading hours and to sniff out the best bargains on offer.   

Dick Smith manager John Hughes was excited about the number of specials in store - making claim to having some of the best deals in town.  

The store, which recently relocated to Gympie Central shopping centre, will be open from 8am-6pm and offer a Sony Hi-Fi System today for $499, which is reduced from $999.  

He said there would also be a number of hot deals on Dick Smith brand TVs.    Other Gympie Central stores will also be taking advantage of the pull of Boxing Day sales.   

Prouds Jewellers, open 9am-5pm today, is offering a huge 50% off all jewellery, Strandbags will open from 8.30am-5.30pm and will offer up to 70% off a range of brand name handbags.   

Bras & Things, which is usually runs busier today than in the lead-up to Christmas, typically attracts people wanting to spend gift vouchers, with up to 50% off sleepwear, bras and underwear. It will open from 8am-5pm.   

Open 9am-2pm, Surf Dive n Ski's biggest bargain is the men's brand name board and walking shorts on sale at two pairs for $90, and up to 50% off selected items.   

While not many privately owned stores will be open in Mary St today, the discount department stores will have plenty of Boxing Day specials, as will Rivers, which will open 8.30am-2pm today and 9am-2pm tomorrow.

Jays Jays will be open 9am-2pm today and will have men's and women's t-shirts on sale for just $5.  

Don't miss a good look through the sales racks at Target Country in Goldfields Plaza, open 9am-5pm, where shoppers can find up to 50% off clothing and homewear.   

At Monkland's Harvey Norman, open 9-6pm, the top pick is the HP multifunction printer for $16.   

It's time to get your shop on, Gympie.   

Fast facts

• Traditionally the day after Christmas Day was when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts from employers, known as a Christmas box.
• In South Africa, Boxing Day was renamed Day of Goodwill in 1994.
• In some European countries, such as Germany, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Scandinavia, December 26 is celebrated as Second Christmas Day.