CHRISTMAS HUSH LAST-MINUTE SHOPPERS ENJOY EASY GOING.Byline: Amy Raisin raisin, in botany and cooking raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapevines bearing grapes with a high content of sugar and solid flesh. Although the fruit is sometimes artificially dehydrated, it is usually sun-dried. Staff Writer VALENCIA - In hardly the quick-tempered, stressed-out stampede stam·pede n. 1. A sudden frenzied rush of panic-stricken animals. 2. A sudden headlong rush or flight of a crowd of people. 3. of Christmas Eves past, last-minute shoppers at Town Center Mall Town Center Mall may refer to:
v. lin·gered, lin·ger·ing, lin·gers v.intr. 1. To be slow in leaving, especially out of reluctance; tarry. See Synonyms at stay1. 2. at other malls Monday. ``It's empty, compared to Northridge (mall),'' said Terry Clay, a Canyon Country resident buying last-minute gifts with her brother. ``You can get what you want and get out. And you still have the rest of your day.'' Clay said she grew frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: the previous day, trying to find a parking spot at the Northridge mall This article is about a mall in Salinas, California. For the dead mall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, see Northridge Mall (Milwaukee). Northridge Mall, located in Salinas, California, serves as Monterey County's largest shopping mall. . But staying closer to home Monday was the best choice. The lines may have been manageable, but the volume of shoppers at 10:30 a.m. was far above normal in the various stores in Valencia. Geoff Davis Geoffrey "Geoff" Davis (born October 26 1958) is an American politician from the state of Kentucky, who was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from Kentucky's At-large congressional district with 54% of the vote on November 2 2004. , assistant manager of Fye, a music and video store, said he had already seen as many shoppers Monday morning as he would normally see by afternoon on an average day. ``It's been like 50 times higher than normal today. No kidding,'' Davis said. ``DVDs are really selling well. I mean, what do people do with their free time? They watch movies and listen to music. They make great gifts.'' Clay's brother, Michael Joseph, came to Valencia from Sherman Oaks to shop in a calmer atmosphere than he has witnessed in bigger malls. ``It's always a pain in the butt because I don't like to shop,'' he said. ``But I come in here and it's so much easier. I just come with my list. I've checked it twice.'' Store managers said they expected the crowds to increase as the hours passed. Some who had already finished their shopping, however, chose to brave perhaps the longest line of all - to meet Santa Claus Santa Claus: see Nicholas, Saint. Santa Claus jolly, gift-giving figure who visits children on Christmas Eve. [Christian Tradition: NCE, 1937] See : Christmas Santa Claus . By 11 a.m., there was at least a 90-minute wait to have a picture taken with Santa. But wait the children did, for Christmas Eve was their last chance to sit on Santa's knee. ``Oh, we're definitely last-minute people,'' said Heather Dessalines of Canyon Country, holding a place in the Santa line while her husband and daughter shopped. ``I keep saying it's going to be tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. And then it always ends up to be today, the day before Christmas.'' Dessalines, too, had done some of her shopping at a larger mall in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. in recent days. She said waiting as much as two hours to get a picture with Santa was better than waiting in two-hour lines to pay for gifts. ``This is so much more manageable here - from the parking to the shopping,'' she said. ``I'm lucky. I'm already done with my gifts. But my husband still has shopping to do. We figured I'd wait here while he does his gift shopping.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Judith Vallin and her mother, Socorro Vallin of Sun Valley, finish shopping Christmas Eve at the Valencia Town Center. (2 -- color) Last-minute Christmas shoppers find the prices right and the crowds manageable at the Valencia Town Center. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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