Las Vegas shoppers brave elements and each other in search of last-minute holiday gifts

Cool temperatures, gloomy skies and slick sidewalks don’t exactly make for ideal shopping conditions.

But neither the weather nor parking delays could keep people away from the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets on Saturday as they navigated crowds to score deals and grab last-minute holiday gifts.

“I’m normally done the day after Christmas for the rest of the year,” said San Diego resident Janette French, shopping bags in hand. “This year I don’t know what happened.”

French, who was in town for her two-year wedding anniversary, strolled the outlets mid-morning, searching for last-minute gifts for her goddaughter and others.

The crowds weren’t out in full force yet to her delight and relief, so she parked quickly and didn’t have the headache she had expected.

“I thought it’d be more nuts,” she said.

Around her, locals and tourists donned lengthy and thick coats. When temperatures dipped below 50 degrees, patrons hid their faces beneath puffy scarves and jackets as they wandered through the outdoor mall.

And despite frigid winds, lines of more than a dozen people formed outside of stores by early afternoon.

Throughout, some shoppers dodged other pedestrians as they rushed through the mall.

“(They) waited until the last minute, now they can’t find the sizes they need. That’s the problem,” said Las Vegas resident Maryetta Brewer with a laugh.

Brewer, who said she started Christmas shopping for her 13 grandchildren about a year ago, stopped by the outlet mall before work to grab one last gift.

Since she knew exactly what she needed, she wasn’t feeling the Christmas Eve pressure and instead used the time to scope out deals.

“They rush out there on Black Friday, 4 o’clock in the morning, 5 o’clock,” she said. “The better deals are on the day before Christmas.”

Los Angeles resident Suzette Gerges and her husband, George were also shopping for deals, and they were happy with what they found as the clock ticked toward a party later Saturday with friends and family.

The two said Las Vegas was the ideal place to spend Christmas Eve as they purchased gifts for family and friends, and they weren’t the least bit stressed by the shopping, despite parking trouble.

“This is exciting,” Suzette Gerges said. “This is stress-free shopping for us.”

Driving to Victorville, California, to celebrate Christmas Day before coming back to Las Vegas to spend Sunday night with a friend might be a little stressful, her husband added.

“We like driving,” he said of their holiday plans, “or we’re crazy.”

His wife laughed.

“We’re crazy,” she said. “But you know what, we have to relax. We have to be free from work. We have to take it easy.”

Contact Pashtana Usufzy at pusufzy@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4563. Follow @pashtana_u on Twitter.