As Canadians in other parts of the country cut back on luxury expenses, Calgarians are still willing to pay companies thousands of dollars to have their homes decorated for Christmas.

December is the busiest time of the year for the city's Christmas-light hangers and home decorators specializing in decking the halls. Despite concerns about a worldwide economic slowdown, those who can afford this little bit of holiday luxury in Calgary don't seem to be cutting back.

"I've been working eight days straight now with about 10-hour days," said Brad Winter, an employee at Light Kings.

Owner Julie Warthe said her company is decorating more than 500 Calgary homes this season. Some customers pay as much as $10,000 to have their houses done up.

"Business is booming," she said. "I think Calgary is either doing all right or they are ignoring it because Christmas lights is one of those expenses that could easily be trimmed from the budget."

Georgia Martin, an interior designer, said Calgarians are still shelling out to have festive touches added to their home. She said she has been just as busy decorating homes for the holidays this year as in the past.

"I have seen people spend $50,000 to get their homes ready for Christmas between outdoor lights and indoor decorations."

Two reports last week indicated that Albertans are more confident about the economy than other Canadians.

Statistics Canada reported that retail sales in Alberta were up 1.3 per cent from August, slightly higher than the national average of 1.1 per cent.

And an Angus-Reid online survey concluded that Albertans were the most upbeat about Canada's economy, with 67 per cent of respondents giving a good rating to the national economy, compared to 42 per cent nationally and 29 per cent in Ontario. The margin of error in that poll was 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.