Shoppers, some waiting before dawn to enter stores, scrambled to wrap up their Christmas gift buying Friday, crowding malls and leaving many retailers looking forward to picking up more business from post-holiday bargain hunters.
The rush began early on, with some retailers reporting shoppers waiting outside stores, eager to begin checking off the remaining gifts on their to-do lists.
At Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo crowds swamped stores such as Legoland and Macy's looking for deals on last-minute gifts.
Santa Claus was a draw at Hillsdale with the wait lasting up to an hour-and-a-half to sit on the jolly man's lap.
Some dads were on kid patrol in line to see Santa while moms dashed to the stores.
Andrew Acevedo, 6, of Redwood City waited in line with his dad while his mom was busy elsewhere.
"I asked Santa for some toy airplanes and dinosaurs," Acevedo said.
The line to see Santa was about 50 deep in the early afternoon.
Malls were packed across the state yesterday.
"We had a lot of people waiting to get in this morning," said Cecilia Campos, manager at the Bath & Body Works store in the Burbank Town Center mall. "At noon we get a rush and after 4 p.m. it's a line out the door."
A few shoppers, like Paola Garcia of Burbank, attributed their last-minute buying sprees to busy work schedules and other commitments, but also to wanting the best sales.
"I work during the night, so I couldn't come before," said Garcia, 19, a full-time student. "There's better sales now."
Garcia was carrying several bags with perfume, lingerie, clothes and shoes. She couldn't find everything she wanted, however.
"The shoes that I wanted are sold out," she said, adding she was spending about $600 this season on gifts, less than last year.
"This is it," Garcia said. "I'll be done today."
Randy Link, 34, and friend Cyndi Huynh, 30, both of Burbank, also waited until the last second to finish their shopping.
"Laziness was a biggie," said Link, a film animator, who recently returned from working in New Zealand and had been too busy to shop.
Link figured he would be spending about the same as last year on gifts, and after buying video games, clothing, DVDs and a bird bath, he only had a few more gifts to go.
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"Our goal is to finish today," Link said. "If it comes down to it, we'll get them gifts from a gum ball machine."
Rosa Soriano, a housekeeper from Glendale, said she couldn't get to her Christmas shopping earlier because of a busy work schedule.
She and her daughter, Evelyn Salas, were battling crowds at the Glendale Galleria mall Friday afternoon.
"There's too many people here," said Soriano, 61, as she took a break drinking coffee, several bags at her feet.
Several retailers said business was about the same as last year, or slower.
At Bath & Body Works business was brisk, though not as strong as Campos hoped.
"We're doing about the same (as last year)," Campos said. "Expectations were higher. I think Internet shopping brought us down this year."
Will Mejias, manager of the nearby Vicki's Gifts store, which sells model cars, trains and other collectibles, said the store had rung up less business than last Christmas.
"It's a little bit slower than last year," Mejias said.
The store's main inventory items - detailed die-cast metal replicas of classic cars - sell for around $100 and up. After the holiday, they would be on sale at up to 50 percent off, which would hopefully help draw customers, Mejias said.
"We'll get them Monday," he said.
Not everyone was trying to encourage people to buy something for Christmas Friday.
Two topless activists from the animal rights group People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, tried to discourage people in downtown Los Angeles from buying clothing made or lined with animal fur.
Lisa Franzetta, 30, and Melissa Garcia, 25, both of the San Francisco Bay area, arrived at the Pershing Square outdoor ice rink with their bodies painted yellow, with black leopard spot marks.
Stressing that their skate boots were not real leather, they joined dozens of kids and adults on the ice, covering themselves with a banner.
"Merry Christmas. Don't wear animal skins. Don't wear fur," chanted Franzetta, a PETA campaign coordinator.
Judy Verheul of Los Angeles, who watched the demonstration with her husband, Stan, was nonplussed.
"In L.A., you can expect to see anything," said Verheul, 60. "I'm not sure it is appropriate. But I agree with their cause."
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