Shopping season is all over but for the wrapping

Marisa O’Neil

On Christmas Eve, few people could match 5-year-old Brian Robinson’s

excitement.

Brian jumped and danced and twirled excitedly as he waited in line

at South Coast Plaza to have his photo taken with Santa Claus and

tell him his Christmas wish.

“I’ve been asking him what he wants, but he said it’s a secret,

he’ll only tell Santa,” said Brian’s grandmother, Carole Meldau. “He

really wanted to see Santa, and no one had time to take him, so I

thought I would.”

Meldau made the trip from Dana Point to the mall for no other

reason than to see Santa -- she had actually finished her holiday

shopping. So, it appeared, had many others.

By midday, the traditional last-minute shopping frenzy didn’t seem

to have hit the stores, malls or parking lots. The procrastinators,

perhaps, had wrapped things up earlier this week.

“It was pretty bad Monday and Tuesday,” said Andrew Williams, who

sells toys from a cart next to the Santa photo line. “Today, it’s

Christmas Eve. Lots of people want to be at home.”

No such luck for mall employees. Sure, they can dash out on their

break to do some shopping. But surrounded by pricey designer shops,

they sometimes have to weigh their options.

“I still have to buy my girlfriend a gift,” admitted Kevin Tayebi,

who works at upscale children’s boutique Oilily. “There’s a bag at

Coach I want to get her, but it’s like: eat or purse, eat or purse?

And I still have to get this young man something,” he added, pointing

to co-worker Nima Moradian.

“Just buy me some sour worms,” Moradian said.

Luxury retailers such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton were still

doing a brisk holiday business, said Debra Gunn Downing, South Coast

Plaza executive director of marketing. This has been the best holiday

season ever, she said, and they expect to see double-digit sales

increases over last year.

“There’s a lot of consumer confidence,” Downing said. “Orange

County has a very strong economy, and our luxury goods collection

attracts very affluent customers.”

Retailers at Fashion Island in Newport Beach have also reported

sales figures well above last year’s, said Shayne Voorheis, director

of sales and marketing for the mall. Even people who’ve shopped

through their Christmas list are showing up to soak in the holiday

spirit.

“Even if they’re not crazily shopping, they’re still enjoying the

ambience,” Voorheis said. “They’re coming out to see the tree, the

lights, have some coffee. They can actually enjoy the season once

they get things done.”

On the other end of the spectrum, at Target in Costa Mesa,

Fountain Valley residents Amanda Burden and her brother Jared picked

up some last-minute gifts and decorations.

“I think I started [shopping] on the 23rd [of December],” Amanda

Burden said. “We’ve still got a ton to do. We got up at like 7 [this

morning] and we’ll probably finish at 7 tonight.”

Those who put things off also put their luck to the test. Sony

Style, which carries tech gadgets galore, was sold out of its $999

DVD camcorders. And the 60-inch plasma televisions, at $4,000 a pop,

were going fast.

Some procrastinators, however, managed to get a bargain or two.

Santa’s Little Helper Christmas tree lot on Bristol Street cut tree

prices in half. They sold a dozen in one hour on Wednesday morning,

worker Daniel Hardy said, and had about 150 left.

Any trees left after Christmas get cut even further -- cut into

mulch.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.