HOLIDAY RUSH TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR FRENZIED SHOPPERS CHRISTMAS, HANUKKAH MAKE FOR HECTIC MALLS.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

Time, money, patience and parking spaces will be hot commodities this week as shoppers slug their way through the final days of the holiday shopping season.

With less than one week until Christmas, the more than $400 billion season would normally be winding down to leave only the most deal-savvy or procrastinating shoppers. But with Christmas Eve falling on Saturday and the first night of Hanukkah the next evening, shoppers intent on waiting until the last minute will keep things busy through Christmas and beyond.

``This is going to be the busiest week of the year, hands down,'' said Scott Krugman, a spokesman with the National Retail Foundation. ``And with Hanukkah falling so late, it's going to be that much busier next week, with returns, clearance and last-minute Hanukkah shopping.''

The last time Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah fell on the same day was 1978.

Laurie Morrison, a teacher in Granada Hills shopping at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks on Monday, said she was wrapping up a few last gifts. ``The things we really needed we got early and for the things we were flexible on, we waited. We saw quite a bit of good deals.''

The season started on a strong note with hordes of bargain hunters flocking to stores on the weekend after Thanksgiving, with the National Retail Federation reporting $28 billion worth of sales for the three-day period. The trade group took last week's Commerce Department figures, which showed sales up 7.4 percent in November over the previous year when gasoline, restaurant and auto sales are removed, as a sign that the season's on track for a busy close.

``It's not like it's snowing and feels like Christmas, so it sneaks up on you,'' said Jennifer Eisenberg, marketing director for Westfield Fashion Square. ``Then you've also got the value shoppers who wait and hold out for the better deal.''

This urge to wait until the last minute has become a dual function of business and thrift. While the pickings may be slim by this point, they're at least attractively priced as stores drag out increasingly deep discounts to wake up the die-hard bargain hunters.

``People are stretched more and more for time,'' said Aubie Goldenberg, a partner with Ernst & Young's retail practice in Los Angeles. ``We work harder, we work more, we have more pressures on our time, so people don't get around to doing the things they need to get done. And retailers have conditioned us to wait, since the deals get better as time drags on.''

Stanley Isaacs of Hancock Park said Monday afternoon was his ``first minute - and only - shopping.'' Clutching a pair of Tempur-Pedic pillows, crowing, ``This is it; I'm done, dudes. I knew what I wanted, got in, got out. Procrastination will kill you.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Shoppers look for bargains and holiday gifts at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks on Monday.

(2 -- 3 -- color) At left, Laurie Morrison, left, and her mother Doni Morrison tote bags at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks on Monday. Above, even the youngest take part in the last-minute shopping scramble.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

(4 -- color) Post offices flooded right before Christmas

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer