The early morning rush was not the only place where money was flooding into registers on Saturday, with many other retailers enjoying a busy day.
Rob Davidson, of the Earnscleugh Orchards Co-Op, said custom at the market had been crazy, especially when they opened at 6.30am.
The stall was selling cherries, which were a popular choice for Christmas.
However, due to a relatively flat growing season, they did not have any other stonefruit such as apricots available, Mr Davidson said.
Ettrick Gardens owner John Preedy said sales had been "flat tack" since the gates opened.
Raspberries had sold out in just 30 minutes, and by 11am, they had hardly anything left.
Mridula Mannan, who was working on the till, described the crowd as a "massive horde of people," but noted that they had been well-behaved, unlike in some previous years where some in the crowd had been a bit pushy.
Brightside Market Greens proprietor Ben Brightside said the day had been awesome, with a lot of regular customers and new faces turning up despite the rain.
He said it was about twice as busy as a normal Saturday, and the busiest Christmas he had experienced.
Ronia and Pippi staff member Anika Fletcher-Zirke said they were very happy with the day's sales, but noted that berries and cherries were selling the most.
Tartan Sari Pickles staff member Danielle Culling said the market had been "really good" and they had sold a lot of last-minute gifts, with many people buying chutneys for cheese platters.
Overall, the vibe had been good, Ms Culling said.
Later that afternoon, Dunedin resident Kate Caldwell was racing against the clock to get all her Christmas shopping done.
She was usually the most organised person in her family, but this year she had left things later than usual because of work commitments .
Shops had been busy, although less than she had expected, possibly due to rain in the morning, Ms Caldwell said.
Acquisitions co-owner Richard Thomson said sales figures showed it had been a very busy Christmas eve, which had been preceded by a strong couple of weeks.
The Dunedin store was on a par with last year, but across his stores elsewhere in the country sales were up compared to 2021, Mr Thomson said.
