“I thought he was young, but Grandma knows best,” said the Mount Pleasant 6-year-old’s mom, Elizabeth Card.

Card put accessories for her son’s Nintendo and books she bought on layaway at Kmart, 2125 S. Mission St. She heard the store offered layaway and, though she hasn’t used the service in years, she decided it would help her budget this Christmas.

“It’s nice to feel like I can provide for the kids and not feel so stressed out during the holidays,” Card said. “I don’t have to wait to the next to last paycheck before Christmas.”

Lawaway, a program allowing consumers to store their items and pay in installments, was popular in a pre-credit card economy. But many believe the recent recession has fueled a resurgence of the service.

“For an old service it is relatively new, coming back into consciousness,” said Tom Scott, Michigan Relators Association vice president of communications.

Card will make monthly payments at the Kmart store until she pays for her items.

Kmart Manager Cheri Holden said nearly everyone pays for their items on layaway and if they do not, it is usually because they forgot about their purchases. Kmart is one of many stores which offer layaway at Christmas time and year round.

“People don’t want to do charge cards,” Holden said. “(It’s) a huge business for us. We have a lot of people that use it (and) it doesn’t matter their status in life.”

Holden said most people pay off their bill and pick up their purchases, unless they forget the item. Before Thursday, the store had already surpassed the number of items placed on layaway for the entire year of 2009.

Ace of Diamonds sees a spike in the number of people placing items on layaway as the days get closer to Christmas.

Most layaways at Ace of Diamonds, 128 E. Broadway St., are men placing jewelry on layaway so the people they buy it for don’t find it, said owner Kriss Roethlisberger. It also helps them avoid the temptation of giving the gift early. Usually, she said the items are in layaway for just a couple weeks before people pick them up.

“We probably have between 100 to 150 layaways,” Roethlisberger said before Thanksgiving weekend. “In three weeks, it will be double the size it is now.”

Roethlisberger said she is flexible on layaway payment terms, as long as people are paying each month.

This is the first holiday season Sears, 1400 S. Mission St., has offered layaway. Most of the people who purchase items at their store still use credit, said owner Matt Tilmann.

He was unsure how many people were using layaway at Sears, since the appliances are stored in a warehouse until they are paid off. People who do buy appliances on layaway generally place one on layaway and when they pay the item off, they purchase another.

“Generally when people buy appliances it is because they need them,” Tilmann said. “Sears just started to advertise (layaway) again.”

Jeff Gray, Mount Pleasant director of Planning and Community Development, said the two agenda items are the requested special use permit for Sinister Productions and a site plan review for Sears.

The Mount Pleasant Planning Commission meeting is at 7 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 320 W. Broadway St.

Norman Dow, the owner of Sinister Productions, 2056 S. Isabella Road, is requesting to move his tattoo parlor to 1807 S. Mission St., near Jimmy John’s.

Dow’s 15-year-old business was originally located on North Mission Street prior to relocating to its current location on Isabella Road.

“My studio was at 710 N. Mission St. for approximately nine years,” Dow said in his request for a special use permit. “(It) had no adverse impact on the neighborhood or any of the businesses around me.”

Dow believes the move to South Mission Street will give his studio more customers and increase traffic flow.

After an overview of the case, the applicant will have the option to discuss their request, and then the forum will be open to the public. After the request has been discussed, the committee will decide whether to approve, deny or postpone the request.

“It’s really the planning commission’s decision to make,” Gray said.

In addition to Dow’s request for a special use permit, the Tancor Corporation is requesting a site plan review prior to removing an outdoor enclosure at the loading dock of Sears, located at 1400 S. Mission Street.

The site plan calls for the demolition of the vacant former Taco Boy building.

The Tancor Corporation will present its request to replace the loading dock enclosure at Sears with a building addition to match the existing structure.