This is how we roll

John and I have found the best way to shop for Christmas presents.  With snow beginning (1-2 inches forecast) and sleet coming later in the day, we decided to brave the biggest mall in the metro area less than 3 weeks before Christmas.  It was great.  I’ve never seen Tysons so empty (maybe not a good sign for retailers, but wonderful for us).  No huge crowds of people, no crazed shoppers, no long lines – heavenly.  We got there as the mall opened (10am), parked right next to the Barnes & Noble entrance, got some Starbucks, and got it done.  I think the weather and the threat of bad roads kept a lot of people away (something that wouldn’t have been a factor closer to Christmas).  The roads certainly weren’t great on our way home, but with fewer people out and most of those driving slowly, we got home incident-free, shoveled the driveway, put the flannel sheets on the bed (it is seriously cold out there), and now we’re relaxing and lamenting having to go to work tomorrow (like usual).  And we’re done!  We have a couple of things to order, but the plan is to do that tonight, so we’ll really be done.

Want to shop like John and Zannah and actually enjoy a trip to mall with the decorations and the Christmas music?

  1. Go early in the shopping season.
  2. Go early in the day.
  3. Bring bad weather.  This is the hard part.  It can’t be too bad or you’ll get stuck.

You’re welcome.

2 Comments

  1. Erik

    That’s how we have been doing all of our shopping with a toddler and an infant. They are always awake by 7am weekday or weekend so we get an early start. Last weekend we arrived at Pentagon City before it actually opened. That was awkward.
    The upside was we were standing in line for Starbucks when Santa Claus and crew walked up and started taking pictures. For the first time, perhaps ever in my memory, we had a picture without waiting in line.

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