HOLIDAY CRUNCH : SHOPPING MARATHON CONTINUES.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

Everyone had an excuse for shopping at the last minute for Christmas gifts over the weekend.

Many people claimed they were just picking up stocking stuffers.

Shopper Mary Vaughn at the Valencia Town Center said she has been distracted by packing for a holiday trip to her son's home in Washington, D.C.

Saugus resident Alexis Mancino insisted that prices are lower closer to Christmas.

``Last minute?'' asked Jim Watterson of Palmdale.

``Usually the last day for me is Christmas Eve. I'm ahead of schedule,'' he said, while hunting for a gift for his wife at Robinsons-May.

Terry Wankel, who works in women's fragrances sales at the department store, belies the notion that women love to shop.

She said she waits until the last minute because she dreads shopping.

``The last thing I feel like doing after work is to go shop. . . . I don't like to shop.''

Some Sunday shoppers found the merchandise pretty well picked over.

Canyon Country resident Sharon Gorman, a working mother of an 8-month-old baby, was coming up empty-handed in her search for a smoker-type barbecue.

``I'm having a hard time finding things,'' she said.

An exasperated Athina Shelby of Lancaster finally gave up looking for a particular item of clothing and ducked into a theater to catch Tom Cruise's new movie, ``Jerry Maguire.''

``I looked around and didn't find anything. The sizes are picked over a lot, too,'' she said.

Jackie Fernandez, a retailing expert with the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche in Los Angeles, said that the shopping season was a week shorter this year because Thanksgiving landed so late in November.

Apparel is faring better in holiday sales than in the previous four years, she said.

``It's an inexpensive gift and it's an easy gift for someone,'' she said.

This year, shoppers are more often paying with cash instead of plastic because they're already in debt, Fernandez said.

``This year is the first year (since 1990) that we've seen people excited about the holidays. People feel good about the economy,'' she said. ``There's a sense of job security . . . but people are still somewhat conservative.''

Fernandez said the big sellers for kids this year are anything having to do with Barbie, Nintendo 64 and, of course, Tickle Me Elmo.

November sales are up from last year at many stores at the Valencia Town Center, according to General Manager Traci Taitt.

Wal-Mart, which opened in Valencia in late October, reported strong Christmas sales.

Anything in the electronics department was selling Sunday, said Shawn Kaul, assistant manager.

``The merchandise is blowing through here like the winds. People are backed up to the aisle-ways,'' he said.

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Photo

Photo: (color) On the last Sunday before Christmas, shoppers flock to the Valencia Town Center.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News