SAN MARCOS - Chocolatiers, florists and gift shop owners across North County are racing the clock to fill boxes with tasty truffles, arrange roses and lilies into elegant vases and stock their shelves with sparkling jewels for one of their busiest days of the year.

Mother's Day, and the week leading up to it, can get almost as hectic as Christmas or Valentine's Day, business owners said Friday.

"People started coming in last week, but the couple days before (Mother's Day) is the real crunch," said Michelle Gearhart, assistant manager of Joelle's Salon & Medi Day Spa in Rancho Bernardo.

Sundays are typically slow, but that's not the case on Mother's Day, Gearhart said.

While the salon sells a lot of gift cards to mark the occasion, many husbands and sons surprise their wives and mothers by actually bringing them into the salon on Mother's Day for a day of relaxation, she said.

"Moms deserve to be pampered … they need a day for themselves," she said, as she fielded calls and booked appointments. "It's just something they wouldn't get for themselves, so they love it."

Massages and facials are what customers ask for most when they come in on Mother's Day, she said, but they are also treated to manicures, pedicures and hairstyling.

Cheryl Phibbs, owner of Heaven on Earth Gifts and Books in Escondido, said she has to hire a few extra hands to handle the rush. Starting the weekend before, customers pour into the boutique to browse through artisan jewelry, scented candles, angel statues and lavender body products.

"As Mother's Day gets closer, every day is busier and busier," said Phibbs. "I think people literally buy gifts on their way to mom's house. But it's OK because they can stop by here and get gift wrap and a card, too."

Phibbs said the crowds don't die down until about 3 p.m. on Mother's Day, but she doesn't fault last-minute shoppers. She admitted she has to remind herself to be a customer for a moment and pick something out for her mom.

"Here I have a gift store and I just bought my mom a present (Thursday) because we were so busy," she said, chuckling.

For Cindy "C.C." Casady, owner of Chocolates Etcetera, a San Marcos candy shop with retro flair, preparing for Mother's Day means ordering chocolate, and lots of it. Casady ordered more than 100 pounds of chocolate and eight boxes of truffles to be able to satisfy her customers' cravings for a sweet gift.

"Who doesn't love chocolate?" Casady said with a smile, as she looked around her store. "It's just the ultimate gift for any occasion."

Casady said she wanted a gift that would be extraspecial for Mother's Day this year, so she has been putting in 12- to 14-hour days at the shop to handcraft more than 20 milk chocolate heart-shaped edible jewelry boxes, which she filled with truffles.

"It's the sweet memory that's going to stick," she said of the creations that each take a couple of hours to make. "Everything I make, I make as if it's for my family. And I'll be making chocolate up until we close that door tonight."

At Simply Beautiful Flowers in Oceanside, owner Shirley Gibbons spent the week cutting off hundreds of thorns on roses, slicing green leaf fillers and preparing colorful ribbons to tie onto vases.

"You do everything you can ahead of time," said Gibbons, who filled her coolers with arrangements of tulips, stargazer lilies, roses, and irises Friday.

She said she'll put together more than 200 floral arrangements, with the help of her husband and grandchildren.

"There's people still calling and ordering and you finally have to cut it off," she said. "I'll probably be here all night so they'll be ready to deliver in the morning."

Flowers are a popular choice for a gift because, "they're just something mom can look at, enjoy and know that they came from you," she said.

- Contact staff writer Noelle Ibrahim at (760) 761-4404 or nibrahim@nctimes.com.