PLYMOUTH - Stung by a lackluster summer and an ongoing economic squeeze, shop owners here are trying to boost business with a new focus on Christmas they hope will extend the spending season beyond Thanksgiving week, the town’s busiest time of the year.

"We’re doing everything we can to entice people to come back to the downtown Plymouth area,’’ said Selectman John T. Mahoney.

The town has scheduled a half-dozen new December holiday events, including the Enchanted Storybook Village at the Village at Colony Place shopping center, which will feature more than 20 Christmas trees decorated by local schools and businesses to resemble storybook characters. On Dec. 14, Plymouth’s Memorial Hall will present Christmas with C.S. Lewis, featuring British actor David Payne taking the audience through the world of the "Chronicles of Narnia’’ author. Plimoth Plantation is sponsoring a local foods fair Dec. 17 to call attention to local growers.

And businesses will compete in a Christmas window-decorating contest with the hope of spreading cheer, winning a $500 grand prize for the best display, and getting shoppers in the door.

"We understand if we all come together we can get through this together,’’ said Jeff Cripps, executive director of Destination Plymouth, the town’s tourism bureau.

"It’s a lot like the Pilgrims,’’ he said, recalling their storied perseverance through tough times.

For Plymouth’s business owners, the summer of 2009 may go down in history much the way the Pilgrims regarded the winter of 1620. A combination of the recession and the summer’s often cool, rainy weather left many restaurants and shops cash-strapped this fall, as they are in many other communities.

"This was the worst summer ever,’’ said Linda Shumway, owner of Plymouth Winery, one of three wineries in Plymouth. Sales were down more than 10 percent from last year, she said, leaving her unable to afford full staffing. Shumway said she expanded her giftware selection this fall and lowered some prices to encourage people to spend.

Dave Iandoli, owner of Crow’s Nest on Water Street, said the restaurant’s biggest annual holiday party was canceled last week and he cut back on his cooking staff this year. He, too, pointed to a summer marked by a cold, wet start. "June just sucked the life out of us,’’ he said.

But Iandoli said he is mixing it up: changing the menu around and offering dinner specials.

"We’ve booked some new bands that we have never had before, and we have a few more parties booked,’’ he said.

Mahoney said the recession has taken a significant toll on the town.

"Business receipts are down, restaurants are down,’’ he said. "People are watching their dollar a lot more, and fewer people are dining and spending nights in the hotel rooms.’’

But there are some positive signs. When the Thanksgiving celebration kicked off Nov. 21 with tens of thousands gathering to watch the town’s annual parade, the hotels and inns, which had hovered below 50 percent capacity all year, were booked solid, and good numbers are expected this week.

"We’re full right now, starting tonight right through next Sunday,’’ Michael Legault, owner of the Bayberry Bed and Breakfast, said in an interview last week.

He said the holiday season usually slows down for him and other inns in December, but he has had requests for reservations on Christmas and New Year’s Eve this year.

Over the five-year period from 2002 to 2007, the most recent numbers available, Plymouth saw an increase on the average of nearly 8 percent annually in tourism revenue, according to the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. This year, Cripps said, hotel occupancy had been down about 5 percent over the first nine months compared with last year.

Restaurant owners hope a meals tax hike passed last month will not deter diners. In October, a Town Meeting vote narrowly implemented a 0.75 percent increase in the meals tax despite a recommendation from the Plymouth Board of Selectmen against any additional tax "on principle’’ during tough times.

But the tax could bring $650,000 in revenue to the town, which would well counter the $330,000 Plymouth is set to lose from the state in the form of cuts to payments in lieu of taxes on state property under the proposed state budget.

Restaurateurs like Iandoli are not happy with the tax.

"Raising the tax rate doesn’t help,’’ he said. "I can’t just go around and change all my prices to pay for all the taxes.’’

But some, such as Mark Connolly, proprietor of The Cuisine of Mark Connolly bar and restaurant on Sandwich Street and owner of a catering business, are optimistic about the extended holiday season for Plymouth.

"December looks real good,’’ Connolly said.

"It should be the busiest month of the year for us.’’

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.