DESPITE recent job losses and economic uncertainty, Ballarat residents are still spending as normal, determined to have a good Christmas.The city's major retailers including Myer and The Good Guys have all reported strong Christmas sales.With Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's extra bonus in tow, the city has been a hive of activity over the past week, along with retailers having early sales to encourage more consumption.But according to University of Ballarat economics lecturer Alex Milnow, while consumer confidence was currently positive, people were still weary of the economy, especially with recent job losses.He has predicted bumper sales after Christmas, with people trying to save their money."A lot of people are waiting for the post-Christmas sales, a lot are not getting their presents until Boxing Day," he said."But with the interest rate cut, there's a bonus in people's Christmas stocking and petrol prices are coming down ... so they're the big bonuses that people are enjoying."The Good Guys manager Tanya Daniels said people were still "buying as normal" and had noticed nothing unusual about people's pre-Christmas spending."We're expecting a very big Boxing Day," she said.Myer Ballarat store manager Peter Griffin said while the store had been busy with its pre-Christmas sales, it was not as busy as last year."Talking to customers, they're actually sick of being told how and when to spend their money - they're quite determined to have a good Christmas," he said.