By Jim O'Sullivan

Hal Cohen was asking his neighbors to pony up some cash to deck the Uphams Corner business district with lights and wreaths for the holidays. Cohen, president of the local Main Street program, said sprucing up the Columbia Road-Dudley Street area would put a shine on the commercial ventures during the vital shopping days of December.

But, with merchants looking upon perceived frills like holiday garnishings as non-essential in tight times, all Cohen and his fellow fundraisers could afford were the wreaths.

"[Merchants] don't seem to want to promote anymore," Cohen said. "I think it's because they've had such a tough year, and they don't believe it's going to get better."

"They're sort of shell-shocked from this year."

Local small businesses, still slogging through a gimpy but ostensibly recovering economy, report mixed results heading into a bellwether weekend of the crucial holiday retail season.

Doubly belted by the recent heavy snowfalls and an economy that still has consumers skittish, Dorchester's business districts are attracting customers and profits at a clip that observers find encouraging.

"It seems to be going very well," said Colin Riley, executive director of Uphams Corner Main Street, a merchant advocacy group controlled by City Hall. "We don't have too many complaints from our merchants. And, from our early analysis, everything seems to be going very well."

Riley acknowledged that he had not seen receipts from local businesses, but said he found anecdotal evidence promising.

Andy Barros opened Gigi's Palace on Bowdoin Street in September. A refined and relaxed bar on a stretch coming back from years of neglect and bad luck, Barros's joint has suffered slightly from slowed traffic, its owner said.

With the weather binding people to their homes and potential customers diverting funds from entertainment and nightlife to gift shopping, Barros said he and others have seen "a slight decrease in sales."

"It's not just me, it's everywhere," Barros said. "It's probably due to Christmas shopping."

Other business owners have reported dissatisfaction with the city's efforts at snow removal this year. Along Dorchester Avenue near Ashmont, snow from the first storm two weeks ago has piled up and blocked visibility and access to shops.

Dan Larner, St. Mark's Area Main Street director, said last Friday, "We've put in a phone call to a couple of different places, but it seems like it isn't gone yet."

In Fields Corner, drifts have piled high on sidewalks, frustrating merchants and shoppers alike.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said businesses "should take some responsibility" for tending to the snow near their own storefronts.

"I'll guarantee I could find hundreds of businesses that haven't shoveled their sidewalk" across the city, Menino said.

He attributed complaints about city-sponsored snow removal to a decline in available plowing funds. "We don't clean business districts like we used to because of the budget crunch."

Riley and Barros reported that plowing in their districts had been sufficient. "We just want to make sure those city services remain at the level they've been at during the last two weeks," Riley said.

Andre Porter, the city's deputy director of Neighborhood Development, said the gradual turnaround in the economy should carry local business through the season. He said a danger for Dorchester businesses is that residents will seek their stocking stuffers at suburban malls.

"We are trying to make the point to Boston residents: Please shop locally first," Porter said.

With the weather threatening to remain not conducive to shopping and merchants hesitant about spending sparse profits on special promotions, Cohen and Porter remained optimistic.

"We're trying to do everything we normally do, plus a little more, to get into the holiday spirit," Cohen said. "People are buying, and I hope it's going to be a pretty prosperous commercial season."

"All the signs indicate that, toward the third and fourth quarter, people will start to see the improvement in the economy," Porter said. "The good news is that we have not seen any let-up in responses from entrepreneurs who have an interest in starting their own business."

The coming weekend is critical for many businesses that rely on holiday revenues to bolster their annual sales.