TO SHOP WHEN PRICES DROP; BUYERS SWARM YEAR-END SALES.Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff WriterThirty early-bird shoppers pressed eagerly against the glass doors of Mrs. Anderson's Personalized Treasures early Friday, waiting for the first shot at slashed prices on Christmas decorations. Lori Bowe stood at the back of the crush, keeping an eye on a $349 wooden nativity scene A nativity scene, also called a crib or crèche (meaning "crib" or "manger" in French) generally refers to any depiction of the birth or birthplace of Jesus. In Italy it is known as presepe on the other side of the glass - the one item she was willing to brave the crowds to buy. ``I want this nativity scene, but only if it's marked down enough,'' she said as her husband went off to buy bagels and coffee to sustain them during an hourlong wait. ``We usually don't shop the day after Christmas because it's always so crowded and we're burned out on spending money.'' Apparently that sentiment was not shared by most of the shoppers who arrived at The Oaks shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into as early as 7 a.m., ready to join the post-Christmas 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. for red-tag sales and deep discounts. ``We always hit the day-after-Christmas sales,'' said Donna Beckman, who brought her 7-year-old son, Scott. ``We all got money (for Christmas) so we're out spending it today.'' By 8 a.m., Helen Shores of Newbury Park already was carrying two bags of half-price sweat shirts and jogging outfits as she left Robinsons-May to go to work at a Chinese restaurant See:
``I love shopping in the morning because there's less traffic and you don't have to worry about parking,'' said Shores. But the parking lot was soon filled with harried motorists using horns, hand gestures and other tactics to jockey for precious parking stalls. Inside the mall, the scene was more civilized but no less crowded. The Disney Store drew an early line of about 75 people, including Pamela Brown of Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. , who left in disgust soon after the doors opened at 9 a.m. ``You can't move. The store's too crowded,'' said Brown. ``And then you have to stand in line for a half-hour. I don't need anything "I Don't Need Anything" is the twelfth single by 1960s British girl singer Sandie Shaw. Released in January 1967, this ballad was her first A-side since "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" back in 1964 that was not written by Chris Andrews. that bad.'' Tom Dawes, a Newbury Park resident and basketball coach at the local high school, sat on a planter planter, farm or garden implement that places propagating material such as seeds or seedlings into the ground, usually in rows. Broadcasting, i.e., scattering seed in all directions, by hand followed by harrowing (see harrow) to cover the seed with soil was an early outside Macy's, watching with amusement as shoppers darted about. ``They're nuts,'' he said. ``They go crazy over nothing. They think they can get a big bargain but you can probably get the same kind of sales before Christmas as after, except on maybe gift wrapping.'' Dawes was visiting the shopping center to exchange an ill-fitting sweater. His wife, Nancy, was there to make an exchange, too, but she also found time to pick up some new items and socialize so·cial·ize v. so·cial·ized, so·cial·iz·ing, so·cial·iz·es v.tr. 1. To place under government or group ownership or control. 2. To make fit for companionship with others; make sociable. with a friend she had not seen in years. Chance social encounters were common at The Oaks, which attracted people from throughout Ventura County like metal filings to a magnet. ``I noticed today was much busier than the day after Thanksgiving,'' said Linda Sheridan, a customer service representative for The Oaks. ``It was incredible. Normally, I can get a parking space, but today I had to search around for a while.'' The bargain hunters Bargain Hunters was a game show on ABC in the summer of 1987, hosted by Peter Tomarken. Games Each episode featured six contestants, with two playing one of the following games — Bargain Quiz, Bargain Trap and Bargain Busters — at a time. clearly outnumbered Outnumbered is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One in 2007.[1] It stars Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner as a mother and father who are outnumbered by their three children. those returning gifts, and often there was no distinction between the two crowds. For 15-year-old Kristi Konish of Thousand Oaks, clothes from grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl would soon be converted to compact discs. ``We use the money we get from returning to go out and buy more stuff,'' she said. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Jan Morales and her 11-year-old daughter, Lauren, look at holiday ornaments in the post-Christmas sale at the Cost Plus store in Westlake Village. (2--Color) Barbara Kiely loads up Friday on half-price wrapping and bows for 1998 at a Target store in Simi. (3) Raising his bargain high, a shopper threads his way through the crowd Friday in Simi. Bob Halvorsen/Daily News |
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