Shopping--A Holiday Tradition

There are some clever little jingles and bumper stickers that talk about shopping until you drop, and some people being born to shop. Well, if they ever had any application, it is the last few days before Christmas, when all through the malls every creature scurries.

At right, 15-month-old Christian Padilla looks frightened as he tries to get away from Santa during a picture-taking session at Montebello Town Center. Alisha Ruiz, 2, on the other hand, appears eager for her turn on Santa’s lap as she waves from her stroller seat, also at the Montebello mall.

Below, Liz Koch, 15, of Los Alamitos wears her Christmas spirit on her head as she waits for a ride on sidewalk outside an entrance to Los Cerritos Center. A steady parade of shoppers passes her bench in and out of the mall in Cerritos. In bottom photo, traffic is heavy as cars parade along a row of cones that forbid turns in certain areas of Los Cerritos Center.

The shopping frenzy will come to a halt tonight and take a day of rest on Monday. But brace yourself, it resumes again on Tuesday with returns and exchanges.