A warm Christmas wish from Brendon and Caleb McQueen at the Springfield Town Center. They just visited with Santa Claus! @WTOP #MerryChristmas #ChristmasEveshopping pic.twitter.com/ozdWDF68U9
— Kathy Stewart (@KStewartWTOP) December 24, 2017
Besides last minute shoppers at the Springfield Town Center — there are last minute visitors to see Santa! The children are making sure they get that all-important toy list to the Man in Red personally! @WTOP pic.twitter.com/UstrteHAk1
— Kathy Stewart (@KStewartWTOP) December 24, 2017
WASHINGTON — It is crunchtime for procrastinators trying to finish their shopping in the D.C. area this Christmas Eve before stores close.
Six percent of shoppers this year were predicted to still be shopping on Christmas Eve, according to the annual December survey by the National Retail Federation.
But not everyone waits until the last minute. Some shoppers will actually miss the deadline completely. The survey also shows that 5 percent of Americans won’t buy their final gifts until after Christmas.
So that makes these last-minute Christmas Eve shoppers at the Springfield Town Center in Springfield, Virginia, look pretty good.
Kevin Colligan admitted that he’s always been a Christmas Eve shopper. He arrived at the mall early on Sunday “to avoid the crowds.” Colligan wasn’t looking for any deals but just wanted to get the items he needed.
Joseph McQueen made sure he got his two boys Brendon and Caleb McQueen in to see Santa Claus at the mall. The boys, who are 5 and 3 years old, were happy to tell the Man in Red what they wanted for Christmas. For Caleb, he really wants a musical keyboard.
But dad was leaving out the fact that he has not finished Christmas shopping yet, either. He said he’ll get it done between now and Christmas morning.
Not all Christmas shopping procrastinators are equal. Christmas Eve shopping is an annual tradition for some shoppers, including Charles Winstead of Alexandria, Virginia. He was leaving the mall looking very calm and said his trip was “mission accomplished.” He said he’s a poor planner, so his wife does most of the Christmas shopping each year. But he still waited until Christmas Eve to finish up the little shopping he had to do.
Shopping procrastinator Melanie McDonald had a legitimate excuse to be shopping on Christmas Eve. “Well, my son’s birthday just passed. So I had to get that out of the way first,” she said.
She just got her Christmas tree on Saturday. “I’m really late — like, really, really late.”
But she did get her shopping done. And just in case she forgot anything, the Springfield Town Center is open until 6 p.m. this Christmas Eve.
To which she laughed and said, “No, no, I’m done.”
