Last-minute shoppers pack Hawaii malls on Christmas Eve

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - For some people, Christmas Eve is the only time to shop.

“I actually work in retail so this is my day off to do my Christmas shopping and he works in the food industry so these are our days to actually do our shopping,” said one couple at Kahala Mall.

“Of course my husband and my boys. I always wait until the last minute to find stuff for them but I found it,” Kimber Kahanu said.

For others, it can be a tough habit to break.

“I tried not to. Every year I say I’m not going to do it and all of a sudden it just comes too fast,” said Donna Glatzel, who was shopping with her daughter Seanna.

But this mother and daughter say they work better under pressure.

“I actually do better under stress. Same. Last minute things makes me get it done quicker. Yeah if I do it too early then I think too long about it and say I work well under pressure,” they said.

A few shoppers realized they needed more gifts.

“We felt like our gifts weren’t enough for our parents… not sufficient. We saw the piles hidden in the closet for us and we were like oh no we got to step it up,” said young shoppers Kate, Wil and Emma.

There is a price for procrastination -- the National Retail Federation says shoppers can expect to pay between 8% to 10% more this year compared to last year.

This as 57% of Americans say it’s harder to afford gifts this year, compared to 40% last December.

Added to the risk of leaving empty handed on Christmas Eve.

“It is a little stressful. Worried that we’re not going to get something,” said some young shoppers. “Our stepdad has everything so all the gadgets we were looking at they weren’t enough… I asked my mom about 3 things and he apparently already had all of them.”

Still, many said they found what they wanted — well, almost everything.

“Just finding parking. That’s the hardest part,” Kahanu said.

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