LAST HURRAH FOR HOLIDAY GIFT-BUYING PROCRASTINATORS LAUNCH ASSAULT ON SHOPPING CENTERS.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

The desperate, the cash-strapped and the out-of-time all went shopping Wednesday. And they weren't picky.

For the extreme procrastinators, shopping the day before Christmas and more than halfway through Hanukkah is a bit of an art. Get in, they plan, grab what's left, then get out. And those who linger too long risk ending up giving nothing for Christmas.

``The shoppers are very predictable at this point - all impulse buys,'' said Allison Peck, store team leader of a Van Nuys Target. ``We know the men will come in and grab anything in the front. Hopefully, they won't buy just their wives vacuum cleaners.''

For those unfortunate enough to wait until the last minute, shopping turned into an all-out assault. On Northridge Way, leading to the Northridge Fashion Center, cars jockeyed for position, careening down the curved street as if competing for the checkered flag at the Indianapolis 500.

``Some do it deliberately because they hate going shopping, the jostling with the crowds in the stores,'' said Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Forecasting. ``They want to find the best possible discount, but there will be some holes in displays. The procrastinators may be disappointed. The tie they wanted will still be there, but not in the shade that's to die for.''

Casey Walton and Sandra Andrews were in that pack of last-minute consumers, and they found Barnard's words to be all too true. Friends and co-workers at Windsor Fashions in the Valencia Town Center, they used a rare day off to shop, hitting Northridge at 9 a.m. to try to find bargains for friends and family. Though they each had several bags apiece, they found the selection disappointing.

``Stuff's pretty picked through by now,'' Andrews said with a frown. ``There's not as much color or selection.''

Bail agent Raymond Negrete was still out cruising Wednesday morning, as well. His wife, Judy, carried their son Ray Jr., while daughter Kayla raced alongside. The Sylmar resident converted his son's stroller into an impromptu shopping cart, piling on bags from Robinsons-May.

``It's too rushed to do everything today,'' he said, rolling the stroller onward. ``There's just a few things left, though, stuff for my mom and shoes for the baby.''

Malls opened early, to catch the before-work crowd, but closed early, as well. Combined with the rapidly dwindling time frame, this made for a chaotic day for stores.

``It's hectic and people are on edge because they're up against the wall by that point,'' said Linda Smith Frost, senior marketing manager for the Northridge Fashion Center. ``It starts winding down a little before closing. Then, they're just tired, thinking, it's over, I've got to get home now. I've done all that I can do.''

By 10:30 a.m., Elena Ochoa and her daughter Drina had finished up after dashing through Macy's. The Sylmar machinist barely paused on her way out the door, regretting waiting for the final hour.

``We didn't have time,'' she said in rapid-fire Spanish. ``Now we're running around and buying what's here, not what we want.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Shoppers crowd the Northridge Fashion Center on the day before Christmas. For those unfortunate enough to wait until the last minute, shopping turned into an all-out assault.

(2 -- color) Shopping bags are seen in a blur at the Northridge Fashion Center, reflecting the last-minute rush of holiday shoppers.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer