Define “Last Minute Shopping”

[RedAngie]

I’d say December 20 or later.

Yet I’ve seen TV, internet, and newspaper ads and heard radio ones for last minute shopping as early as the weekend of December 3-4. There’s still plenty of time.

 

[Moliphino]

On the way to the event.

I'm from a family of ADHD procrastinators, though.

 

[BrianL]

On the way to the event.

I'm from a family of ADHD procrastinators, though.

Yeah, I mean, Christmas Morning at Walgreens is "last minute." Anything else is still within the normal window.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Mom and I did a lot of Toys R Us, Hecht's and Woodies (defunct DC area department stores) at 8 pm on Christmas eve when I was a teenager. And then I'd be up all night wrapping gifts for my baby brother. That's last minute. At least I got to eat all the chocolate chip cookies I wanted.

 

[Praying Colonel]

IMHO, Christmas Eve. If you're doing the Zombie Walk through the mall on Christmas Eve, you're doing last-minute shopping. Between 20-24 Dec, it's not last-minute, but it's last-minute-adjacent (next-to-last minute?).

 

[sam_gordon]

IMHO, Christmas Eve. If you're doing the Zombie Walk through the mall on Christmas Eve, you're doing last-minute shopping. Between 20-24 Dec, it's not last-minute, but it's last-minute-adjacent (next-to-last minute?).

Gotta agree. We need to pick up one more GC for DD which we'll probably do today, but I don't consider it "last minute". Shopping on Saturday? Yea, that hits the definition in my mind.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'd say "last minute" is Christmas Eve as well.

 

[ronandannette]

I’d say December 20 or later.

Yet I’ve seen TV, internet, and newspaper ads and heard radio ones for last minute shopping as early as the weekend of December 3-4. There’s still plenty of time.

Well, I just call it “shopping” and it happens whenever I’m done work for the year, which in this case is today. I’ll be out shopping tomorrow and will get it all handled.

 

[Dan Murphy]

23rd-24th. I've been there. However online shopping and gift cards has pretty much eliminated that from my Christmas shopping adventures. Age also helps me think twice about going into stores this time of the year.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Does it count as last minute if you've ordered it and it hasn't been delivered yet?



Last minute is December 23rd- 24th.
Cutting it close is December 21st-22nd


Overachievers are done by October 1st.....

 

[Micca]

I had a boss who only shopped for gifts for his wife. On Christmas eve he'd knock-off work around lunch time and go purchase whatever it was he was going to get her. I assumed it must have been jewelry, perfume, maybe something nice for the house. He wouldn't have spared any expense, but I'll bet it was a pretty narrow window of categories.

 

[disneychrista]

The day before or of the event. The week leading up to, is late shopping but not last minute.

 

[Mysterian]

Last minute to me is Christmas Eve/Day. I see it happen on other days too: Mother's Day, Valentine's, you name it. The date before and the day of are the days everyone is flooding the greeting card aisle and buying stuffed chimps and chocolate. Then they feed the chocolate to their SO, and their SO becomes a stuffed chimp.

I will say, the local Walmart has been ridiculously busy as of even early this week. I need to go to the store again today, and I'm sensing echos of Thanksgiving: all the good eggs will probably be bought up.

 

[JLTraveling]

I'd say Christmas Eve/Day is last minute. I'm usually done about a week before, though not always, and I start getting nervous if I go into that final week with anything not bought. But one of my most special Christmas memories was when I was working in a transitional living facility. One of the residents, a 19 year old guy, had some money come through from somewhere or other right before Christmas. Not a lot at all, but more than the zero he usually had. So he asked me to take him Christmas shopping. Late Christmas Eve night. I wasn't allowed to transport in my personal car, and I couldn't arrange a facility vehicle at that time on a holiday, but we were allowed to walk. The only thing open within walking distance was a drugstore.

Talk about finding the true meaning of Christmas! I was 18 and living with my parents, and we had a huge tree with piles of presents under it that had been there for days. But watching this guy's eyes light up as he carefully rummaged through cheap dish towels and picked-over boxes of candy to find just the right presents for his mom and brother and girlfriend...it was all I could do not to burst into tears. I used to judge people who were shopping on Christmas Eve night, especially at a drugstore. But since then, I just smile, happy that they're able to do something special for someone they love.

 

[fla4fun]

I personally would classify last minute as any shopping done after you can no longer order online and be guaranteed Christmas delivery. So maybe from the 23rd on. Yes, I know places offer overnight shipping, but many places won’t guarantee delivery after a certain point as weather and other shipping delays can happen. I would hate to be the person who has ordered a gift delivery anywhere the big snowstorm is headed right now.

Technically, last minute could be going online and ordering an e-gift card while the family is opening gifts, when you realize you spent more money on one person than another, and want to even it up.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

When I worked retail in a women's clothing store, we stayed open until 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The amount of guys coming in at 10 or later willing to buy *anything* for their wives or girlfriends was unreal. We always got in a shipment of pajamas for these poor last-minute men and they bought them like hotcakes.

 

[AuntieMe3]

I don't think anything is open around here except a few grocery stores on Christmas Day so I would say Christmas Eve is last minute.

 

[loves to dive]

Christmas Eve, the pickings are slim.

My parents first Christmas Daddy "forgot" to get Mama a present, by then they already had one kid. He stopped at the drug store on the way home from work and got her a costume jewelry pearl and silver necklace. I'm not even sure it got wrapped. Thankfully for him, she liked it. It was one of the few things of hers I asked for long before she died. I now very proudly own it and it will be passed down to my grand daughter.

 

[mrodgers]

Christmas Eve.

December 20th? That still leaves 5 days where you could have a pay day, which usually also includes a Christmas bonus. That's not early. Some of us need our paychecks to pay bills, thus I need that bonus money to do my Christmas shopping, which will be tomorrow.

 

[tvguy]

Yeah, I mean, Christmas Morning at Walgreens is "last minute." Anything else is still within the normal window.

Wow, you're a big spender. I'd say Christmas morning at 7-11 is last minute shopping.