If you are like most people you do the majority of your
Christmas shopping at the last minute. Visit any mall or
shopping center in the final days before Christmas and you are
likely to find parking lots that are filled to capacity and
stores that are literally filled with shoppers who are still
searching for the perfect Christmas gift for their friends or
family members. As it gets closer and closer to Christmas the
crowds tend to get more and more restless and the search for the
perfect gift becomes a search for an acceptable gift.
Although
Christmas falls at the end of the year and people have a whole
year to prepare for this joyous occasion, most people leave
their shopping until the last minute every year despite New
Year’s resolutions to get the Christmas shopping done early.
This article will discuss a few different types of last minute
Christmas shoppers. There are those who do their Christmas
shopping at the last minute out of necessity, those who do it
because they have procrastinated and those who do it because
they find it to be exciting.
People become last minute Christmas shoppers for a number of
reasons. Perhaps the most innocent last minute shoppers are
those who shop at the last minute out of necessity. Consider
college students who typically end the semester around mid to
late December. Many of these students are living on campus
without access to a car. This can make Christmas shopping quite
difficult but when you combine this living situation with the
fact that they have finals to take at the end of semester,
Christmas shopping becomes downright impossible. Finals often
account for as much as 50% of a college student’s grade and it
is understandable that they would have to spend the early part
of December studying, the middle of the month taking their
finals and then wind up last minute Christmas shopping almost
immediately after their last final.
Other last minute Christmas shoppers include those who are just
born procrastinators. They may go to stores every weekend in
October or November. This could be an excellent opportunity for
them to get their Christmas shopping done early but instead they
wind up window shopping or purchasing items for themselves.
While they are aware the Christmas season is approaching, they
don’t feel compelled to start shopping until the absolute last
minute. When this happens they find themselves in the
unfortunate position of fighting the crowds in a last minute
Christmas shopping frenzy.
Finally, there are others who are last minute Christmas shoppers
simply because this is when they prefer to do their Christmas
shopping. Some of these shoppers see shopping at the last minute
as a challenge. They know they are short on time but are
confident they will be able to find great gifts for everyone on
their Christmas list this year. Other shoppers who intentionally
wait until the last minute to do their Christmas shopping may do
so because they enjoy the excitement of the crowds. Although
last minute Christmas shopping can be stressful it is often
exciting. Those who enjoy this excitement love shopping at the
last minute because it gives them a sense of energy they
wouldn’t feel if they were shopping for Christmas presents in
October.