Residents scramble to finish holiday gift shopping as Christmas looms
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ALPENA -- People who have procrastinated and put off their Christmas shopping are down to their final few days to check gifts for friends and family off their lists.
The last few days, stores in Alpena have been busy, as people scoop up presents, leaving them just enough time to wrap them, and place them under the Christmas tree.
Beth Hearst was at Walmart on Saturday pushing around a cart full of toys, tools, and children's clothing. She said it is not unusual for her to shop just before the holiday and she often scrambles to come up with gift ideas for those she is buying for.
"The hardest thing, I think, is I don't know what to get everybody, so I put it off until I come up with something, or they tell you what they want," Hearst said. "I have to work the next couple days, so I might not even be able to wrap them until the morning of Christmas Eve, but I'll get it done."
Kevin and Malorie Logan visited Alpena from Hubbard Lake over the weekend trying to put the finishing touches on their holiday shopping. They loaded up on snacks for Christmas Eve, Malorie said, as well as food for breakfast and dinner on Christmas Day. The couple also purchased a few more gifts to add to the ones they already purchased several weeks ago.
Kevin said some of their holiday plans were up in the air until a few days ago because of the COIVID-19 pandemic. He said that pushed back shopping a bit, but now that the family gathering was given the green light, a trip to Alpena was in order to get what was needed, and things that weren't needed.
"Just when we think we are done buying gifts, we see something someone would like and pick it up," Kevin said. "Normally, we have everything planned out, but a member of my family had COVID and we sort of had to wait to see how that played out. Thankfully, she is fine and we are ready to celebrate."
Many people shop online, but the time has passed to have most gifts delivered in time for Christmas. Susan Pruit said she orders most of her presents online, but this year she was a little late to the game, and now it is too late. She said some items on her list are unavailable in stores now, which has set her scrambling to find other options.
"I kept saying I will do it tomorrow, but it finally got to the point where I couldn't put it off any longer, '' Pruit said. "I'm not a big fan of shopping anyway and would rather do it online, but if I want anyone to have gifts to open, I will have to get them from the stores."
Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.