Last-minute shoppers get their Christmas goodies just in time
Malls in Estonia were packed with last-minute Christmas shoppers on Christmas Eve.
As in most northern European countries, the main celebration for Christmas, including exchanging presents, comes on December 24th. This makes those shopping on Wednesday really doing so at the last available opportunity.
For retailers this came as no surprise; December 23–24 is always peak period for Christmas shopping, they said. "Aktuaalne kaamera" visited the Kristiine keskus mall.
"Today is the day for specific purchases — people come who are definitely missing something. There are no more hesitators, just those who put the gift straight into the package," seller Holger told "Aktuaalne kaamera."
"Some people are running around and are in a real hurry and want to buy something on the fly, but then they end up choosing and listening," another retailer, Andrus, said.
No one had to leave empty-handed in any case.
Shopper Ralf, a noted racecar driver, was one of those who did his shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve. "Everyone was very nice, everyone wished you a merry Christmas, I even got some coriander. All the gifts [got bought], though I wouldn't recommend leaving them to the last day, definitely not. But if it happens, then it's not an issue," Ralf said.
Sometimes there are genuine reasons for leaving the shopping to the last instance, such as illness.
"We have the RS virus in the family, so they're just starting to recover a bit, meaning I was stuck at home for quite a while," Tanel said.
Once the gift purchases were finally bagged up, everyone could take a deep breath and enjoy the rest of the festive season.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Marko Tooming
