Last-minute shoppers count down to Christmas by filling local malls
Could Christmas shopping at the last minute get one bumped from the nice list to the naughty one?
Customers who bustled through locals malls Friday with their shopping bags and boxes in hand probably didn’t care one way or the other.
On the eve of Christmas Eve, the foot traffic at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa was almost bumper to bumper.
Families lined up to take pictures with Santa Claus near the carousel while other groups paused by the Christmas tree outside Macy’s to watch a guitarist play blues renditions of holiday carols.
As Seal Beach resident Brittany Rippeto took the escalator down to South Coast’s first floor, she carried all her shopping bags from Macy’s, J. Crew and Madewell in one hand and prepped herself for the journey to her next stop, Nordstrom.
“I’m the worst procrastinator,” Rippeto said with a laugh. “But also, most of the sales tend to happen right before Christmas.”
Rippeto’s mission Friday was to hit South Coast’s clothing stores in search of the perfect gifts for her husband.
“He never tells me what he wants, so I finally just got him clothes,” she said. “It’s what he needs. I go for the needs, not the wants.”
Shoppers coming out of the mall’s Disney Store took their mounds of goodies home in giant blue tote bags the shop was selling for $2.
Many customers with totes hauled “Star Wars” pillows and action figures from the store — timely buys given that “Rogue One,” the latest in the Disney-owned “Star Wars” film franchise — was released in theaters last week.
There was a similar buzz at the Bella Terra outdoor mall in Huntington Beach as customers with hands full of shopping bags zoomed past the poinsettias and other holiday decor.
Even before 10 a.m., the mall’s central parking structure had four of its six floors packed with cars.
At the Huntington Surf and Sport store, assistant manager Jared Mohl said he’s been seeing customers come in all the way up until its 9 p.m. closing.
“It does surprise me,” Mohl said of the last-minute shoppers. “We’ve been selling a lot of flannels and jackets, especially with the rain going on. It’s funny, because when we first got [the shipment], I was saying, ‘No one is going to need this.’”
The surf gear shop put up holiday stockings above the cash register, each stocking bearing the name of one of the 20 employees.
According to Mohl, that kind of morale building keeps the crew going during the busy shopping season.
“To have the fellowship we have here is special,” Mohl said. “We just want to put that confidence in each other. That’s all we can really do to prepare.”
This holiday season, gifts such as visits to Bella Terra’s food and entertainment venues have been popular, according to Sarah Corrigan, senior director of property marketing for DJM Capital Partners Inc., which manages Bella Terra.
For Huntington Beach resident Nancy Gorak, her 7- and 9-year-old grandchildren and their father, Pascal Ruelle, that was exactly the case.
The group arrived at Bella Terra’s movie theater Friday morning to see “Rogue One” and then catch lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.
“We came here because it’s close to my house,” Gorak said. “But there’s also a variety of things to do here.”
Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
