Even though Christmas is just hours away, shoppers in Brockville, Ont. went to find some last-minute gifts on Tuesday.
Except for David Apps, who finished his shopping in early October.
“I went early. Get it done,” he said
Apps was hoping to avoid large crowds who would pick the shelves clean, opting for a stress-free shopping experience in the fall.
He spent his Christmas Eve buying groceries, thankful he wasn’t still checking off his list.
“They’re going to scramble around and run around with a lot of stress and hopefully find something that they want, but probably end up with something that they don’t want,” he explained.
Despite Apps’ concerns, others who were still buying gifts Tuesday were not bothered by potentially large crowds and the pressure of buying them at the last minute.
“It doesn’t bother me whatsoever,” said Chris Triemstra, who was picking up little gifts at Canadian Tire. “As long as it’s done. And this is just extra. So, it’s not like it’s, ‘Oh, if I didn’t get this, I’m in trouble’ type deal.”
On the other hand, Shawn Hewitt still wasn’t sure exactly what gift he was going to buy for his wife – but wasn’t stressed about it, saying it’s tradition to buy the gifts on Christmas Eve.
“Definitely a last-minute shopper,” he explained.
“I only have my wife to buy for. She does all the shopping for the grandkids and the kids and stuff. She’s a big shopper, so I’m lucky there, but I always leave it for the last day, you know?”